NikonGear'23
Gear Talk => Lens Talk => Topic started by: linghk on February 06, 2017, 06:12:47
-
Anyone heard of the brand Laowa? it's 105mm seems to be a budget alternative to the expansive Nikon 105mm F1.4, but no AF.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=i8J5iUoB0Z4
-
The flare on the Laowa is quite terrible judging by the lenstip tests, I would skip it for that alone. Especially on a $700 lens.
-
Same price point second hand you can get the amazing Nikkor 105mm f/2 DC that is much more comparable anyway,,,
-
i'll skip the laowa :o :o :o
as mentioned, the DC can now be had for cheap ::)
when i tested it last year at CP+, i recall that it didnt even have an Ai interface.
-
I would also go for the 105DC if AF is absolutley a requirement. The nikkor 105 ais can also be another option if one would not mind doing manual focusing.
-
I think the recent optical products from various Chinese and Korean brands are really exciting. But I observe that the essential difference between the products of these new third parties and the genuine ones is the design balance. These products may look groundbreaking in terms of, say, resolution, distortion, angle of view or speed, but there seem always to be big voids in there performances the manufacturers are not necessarily particular about.
On the other hand, even the genuine products may sometime show traces of compromise for the cost and the price, the balance of the overall performance (resolution, contrast, flare/ghost control, compatibility, handling, durability, etc.) is well figured out. Here I feel a big difference of the experiences of the genuine manufacturers and the up-and-coming ones, no matter how they are enthusiastic.
-
I'd say that the new Tamron 85/1.8 is a better alternative. Altnough the focal length is different, Tamron can go up to x1.39 at 80cm vs x1.3 at 1m on 105/1.4. Tamron has VC which should be an added bonus, and LoCA is well corrected. The price is well below the half of that of 105/1.4.
-
I'd say that the new Tamron 85/1.8 is a better alternative. Altnough the focal length is different, Tamron can go up to x1.39 at 80cm vs x1.3 at 1m on 105/1.4. Tamron has VC which should be an added bonus, and LoCA is well corrected. The price is well below the half of that of 105/1.4.
Having VC is definitely a bonus. Would it be safe to assume that in Tamron 85/1.8 wide open, the transition from focus to blur also better (or at par) with the DC wide open?
Thanks
-
In dealing with the Laowa SFT feature the adverts "forget" to inform of the changes to the foreground ... There cannot be a change outside the focus plane in just one direction. Nikon's own DC lenses do exhibit this fact quite clearly.
Minolta had an 85 lens with a similar concept way back in time if memory serves and it didn't become a success.
-
Having VC is definitely a bonus. Would it be safe to assume that in Tamron 85/1.8 wide open, the transition from focus to blur also better (or at par) with the DC wide open?
Thanks
Bern, I'm not sure if you would be satisfied with the rendition of the sharp-unsharp transitional area of Tamron, but the test images by Sten (stenrasmussen) looks good. I like the absense of LoCA which should affect the perceived smoothness.
http://nikongear.net/revival/index.php/topic,3866.0.html
-
Minolta had an 85 lens with a similar concept way back in time if memory serves and it didn't become a success.
If I remember correctly, that was a VFC (variable field curvature) lens. There also was a 24mm shift lens whose VFC function could work a little bit like a tilting one. I'm not sure if VFC function was achieved also by varying the spherical aberration, though.
-
Hard to imagine spherical aberration wasn't involved in some way.
-
Hard to imagine spherical aberration wasn't involved in some way.
That's for sure. But I'm not sure if the way the spherical aberration was balanced with other aberrations was also the same, because the purpose of DC and VFC was different.
-
Somebody with access to the old Minolta lens should try it out? Adapters to modern cameras are aplenty.
-
I would consider the new Sigma 85mm 1.4 Art. Exactly 50% less of price, this lens is on the top inside its group. Well, I did not try it yet, but what I see is simply stunning. Even cheaper Tamron is a good choice, too, as mentioned above. If VC is not that important, regular Nikon 85/1.8 - last one - is a very good choice. LZ
-
Nikon has a new AF-S 85/1.8 lens as well, that should be considered. For use on a Nikon body I'd strongly consider Nikkors before going for other brands to ensure full compatibility. Sigma will NOT ensure full electronic compatibility.
Zeiss lenses will be compatible, since they are essentially Ai-P lenses, no AF to worry about.
-
" Sigma will not..." - is it your own experience, or any reliable source? Would you kindly clarify please? In my experience with almost all Art lenses, with any Nikon body, I've not admitted any problem. The new 85/1.4 is only left one I did not try it yet. THX! LZ
-
My own experience it is. Both with using Sigma on Nikon and lately with Sigma on Sony mirrorless. In both cases native Nikon or Sony lenses work the best with full compatibilty. So for Nikon I suggest Nikkors, Voigtländer and Zeiss, the latter two brands are MF only. Same for Sony, Sony, Zeiss (Batis, Touit, Loxia series) and Voigtländer. The Zeiss Batis and Touit AF lenses for Sony work well without issues. The Batis (AF) and Touit (AF) and Loxia (MF) series that are made by Zeiss themselves and are not Sony/Zeiss made by Sony, which of course work well too.
You will find reports about the Sigma 18-35/1.8 here on Nikongear about AF issues.
Sony licenses the interface to third parties. Zeiss has been able to do AF for mirrorless Sony E mount right, and Sigma not. Then I think that Sigma's issues with Sony must be due to Sigma. Nikon mount Sigma lenses are based on reverse engineering of Nikon's electronic communication protocol. There is, in my opinion, no way this can be better than licensing the electronic communication protocol. In particular, compatibility with future bodies could become an issue.
-
I see thanks. But for future problem, if any, will not we have the Sigma Dock? Extremely convenience for any problem, including AF and FT ones. OK, thank you! LZ
-
I see thanks. But for future problem, if any, will not we have the Sigma Dock? Extremely convenience for any problem, including AF and FT ones. OK, thank you! LZ
I have the dock and the latest lens firmware, but despite this my 24 Art and 35 Art autofocus is bad. In low light both lenses act as if they have Parkinson's. If it really was a simple "extremely convenient fix", I suppose Sigma would have done it already, right? They just don't know how, and that is the root of the problem. I won't buy another Sigma lens, life is too short.
I chose the Nikon brand decades ago because of Nikkors. If I really had wanted to shoot with Sigma brand lenses I would have chosen Sigma camera. 8)
-
While I do share your point-of-view on Nikon/Nikkors, my Sigmas Art 20, 35, 50 have never developed problem like this. Silky smooth ones, like the others Art or C lenses, which I tried. That's why I share my experience, as well as you do, what is completely fair! LZ
-
In dealing with the Laowa SFT feature the adverts "forget" to inform of the changes to the foreground ... There cannot be a change outside the focus plane in just one direction. Nikon's own DC lenses do exhibit this fact quite clearly.
The Laowa SFT (Smooth Trans-Focus) uses an apodization filter, which works equally well on both sides of the focus plane. The Nikon DC lenses use an optical adjustment which over or under corrects spherical aberration - this produces smooth bokeh only on one side of the focus plane, the other side has harsher rendition.
If the OP is looking for a cheaper alternative to the AFS 105/1.4, surely the best option is the AFS 85/1.4. The focal length is only 20% shorter, but otherwise the rendition and bokeh are similar.
-
Thanks for the heads-up, Roland, I stand corrected apparently.
-
I have the laowa 105mm/2 STF, a red one too :)
The later 105mm STFs do have aperture coupling and was renamed to B-Dreamer. I didn't bother sending mine in for an update (shipping from and to Australia... nah) and I didn't bother lugging it to China last year either.
Alrighty, before I continue, I need to set forward some things. I am in close relationship with the company and manage their chat groups as well as flickr groups, not paid however, also not sponsored. I'm just there to help them reach an audience outside of China. So please take my subjective views with a grain of salt, I may be biased.
It's a pretty good lens, damn sharp being on-par with the otus 85/1.4 and the CA correction is just as good.
With that being said, as mentioned, the lens performs pretty bad against light and exhibit some horrendous flares. The 105/2 DC however is magical when shooting against the sun. Build quality is really solid and it is fairly heavy.
I use mine primarily as a reproduction lens, no need to deal with CA in post and it's just sharrrrrrrrppp.
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7178/27619787160_ba4e1b5388_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/J5ECsU)Laowa STF 105mm f/2 (https://flic.kr/p/J5ECsU) by Daniel Han (https://www.flickr.com/photos/133023063@N04/), on Flickr
I can complete a set of around 5-8 stacks in 15 minutes, great asset to have when I decide to shill my photography for some cash :P
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/287/31428096021_ffa2d89feb_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/PTcd1v)Delicious Blackberries (https://flic.kr/p/PTcd1v) by Daniel Han (https://www.flickr.com/photos/133023063@N04/), on Flickr
You can see that the lens' resolution is just insane. So if you're after something that is blazingly sharp that will figuratively cut you, and has pretty nice bokehballs, the Laowa 105 is great. Oh and I forgot to mention, focusing this lens is extremely hard, especially at f/2, I usually use LV. The STF filter seems to confuse the confirmation dot on Nikons. I do see a possibility to fit a chip (dandelion maybe) onto the mount. I'll try ask Laowa to see if they would like to send me some old unmodified mounts so I don't have to destroy my own.
Customer service is another problem. Reaching the company is fairly easy but getting the lens fixed/swapped is pretty troublesome indeed. I assume the same goes with Samyang? Or maybe they have outlets in the Americas.
If you want AF, the 105/2 DC is great! If you don't mind manual focusing, I would recommend the 105/2.5 lenses. Even the 100mm/2.8 series-E is great, and it can be had for as low as $100 AUD.