This tiny little lens is a gem for cityscape and landscape photography. I’ve also found a love for up-close-and-personal street photography with this extremely wide focal length. It’s great for forcing yourself to get in close and frame things in interesting ways. While the Fujifilm offerings for extreme wide-angle come in the huge XF 8-16mm f/2.8 or the slightly smaller and lighter XF 10-24mm f/4, neither of them is a slip-in-your-pocket and go lens like this little Laowa.
When I first got this lens, I reviewed it on YouTube, so if you’re interested in exact details, check that out (beware the audio – it was one of my first attempts at video!). Here’s the quick scoop, though. It’s sharp at all apertures. There’s a pretty serious vignette with wider apertures. It’s super small and light. The angle of view is fun to work with. The Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D can be as serious or as fun as you want it to be. It’s well built and a joy to use.
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