Laowa's 14mm F4 FF RL Zero-D Lens is Full-Frame and Distortion Free
Venus Optics releases a new wide angle manual focus lens that has "close-to-zero distortion."
The Laowa 14mm F4 FF RL Zero-D is the latest prime lens from Venus Optics designed for full-frame mirrorless cameras. It joins 10 other Laowa landscape photography lenses that all have focal lengths under 18mm.
Laowa's Landscape Lens Options
- 4mm F2.8 fisheye MFT
- 7.5mm F2 MFT
- 9mm F2.8 Zero-D
- 9mm F5.6 FF RL
- 11mm F4.5 FF RL
- 10-18mm F4.5-5.6 Zoom
- 12mm F2.8 Zero-D
- 15mm F2 Zero-D
- 17mm F1.8 MFT
- 17mm F4 Zero-D GFX
Credit: Laowa
The Zero-D in the name references lenses that have very little distortion in the image. Optically, the 14mm F4 FF RL Zero-D has 13 elements in 9 groups with 3 extra low dispersion elements, 2 aspherical, and one ultra-high refraction glass element. Together, the lens will keep vertical lines straight while reducing chromatic aberration. It's designed with a 5-blade aperture that produces a 10-ray sun star. The F4 lens isn't super fast when it comes to low light shooting, so if you plan on using it for video, you may need to consider your lighting setup or bumping the ISO depending on how dark the scene is.The lens will provide a generous 114° field of view and has a minimum focusing distance of about 11 inches. It also has a built-in 52mm filter thread or it can be combined with a 100mm wide filter via a magnetic filter holder. Venus Optics says there's no vignetting when using the latter. As you might imagine, the lens is compact and lightweight. It weighs only 228g and is about 2 inches in length (58 x 59mm).
The lens will be available in Sony E, L mount, Nikon Z, and Leica M mount starting this month. A silver edition of the Leica M mount will be available in October. The price for the 14mm F4 FF RL Zero-D is set at $549 for all mounts except Leica M which is $649. Laowa also mentions it will include a free 100mm magnetic filter with the first 100 orders.