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Venus Optics Laowa 14mm f/4 FF RL Lens for Leica L

BH #VE1440L • MFR #VE1440L
 6 reviews
Venus Optics Laowa 14mm f/4 FF RL Lens for Leica L
Key Features
  • L-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
  • Aperture Range: f/4 to f/22
  • Two Aspherical Elements, One UHR Element
  • Three Extra-Low Dispersion Elements
Marrying an ultra-compact form factor with an ultra-wide field of view, the Leica L-mount Laowa 14mm f/4 FF RL from Venus Optics is a sleek prime lens with distinctly low distortion and rectilinear rendering to suit interior, architecture, astrophotography, nature, and landscape applications. The broad 114° angle of view is aided by an advanced optical design, which includes aspherical, high refractive index, and low dispersion elements, to realize well-corrected, sharp, and color-accurate imagery. The lens has a manual focus design and permits working with subjects as close as 10.6" away and its built-in petal-shaped hood helps to block stray light from causing unwanted lens flare.
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$549.00
$92/mo. suggested payments for 6 Mos.
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Used for$449.95
Lens Mount
Canon RF
Leica L
Nikon Z
Sony E
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Venus Optics Laowa 14mm f/4 Zero-D Overview

Marrying an ultra-compact form factor with an ultra-wide field of view, the Leica L-mount Laowa 14mm f/4 FF RL from Venus Optics is a sleek prime lens with distinctly low distortion and rectilinear rendering to suit interior, architecture, astrophotography, nature, and landscape applications. The broad 114° angle of view is aided by an advanced optical design, which includes aspherical, high refractive index, and low dispersion elements, to realize well-corrected, sharp, and color-accurate imagery. The lens has a manual focus design and permits working with subjects as close as 10.6" away and its built-in petal-shaped hood helps to block stray light from causing unwanted lens flare.

Ultra-wide prime is designed for full-frame L-mount mirrorless cameras but can also be used with APS-C models where it provides a 21mm equivalent focal length.
Two aspherical elements and one ultra-high refractive index glass element help to control distortion and spherical aberrations for improved sharpness and accurate rendering.
Three extra-low dispersion elements are used to reduce color fringing and chromatic aberrations in order to produce high clarity and color accuracy.
Impressively wide 114° angle of view pairs with a rectilinear design, which renders subjects with minimal distortion in order to suit landscape and architectural applications.
Manual focusing design and a minimum focusing distance of 10.6" suits working with close-up subjects.
Built-in petal-shaped lens hood helps to prevent stray light from causing lens flare and also offers some physical protection to the lens's front element.
Front of the lens is threaded to accept optional 52mm filters. The lens is also compatible with an optional, dedicated 100mm filter holder.
Five-blade diaphragm produces distinct 10-point sun stars and specular highlights when stopped-down and photographing point light sources.

Venus Optics Laowa 14mm f/4 Zero-D Specs

Key Specs
Focal Length
14mm
Maximum Aperture
f/4
Lens Mount
Leica L
Lens Format Coverage
Full-Frame
Focus Type
Manual Focus
Image Stabilization
No
Filter Size
52 mm (Front)
Maximum Aperture
f/4
Minimum Aperture
f/22
Lens Mount
Leica L
Lens Format Coverage
Full-Frame
Angle of View
114°
Minimum Focus Distance
10.6" / 27 cm
Maximum Magnification
0.07x
Optical Design
13 Elements in 9 Groups
Diaphragm Blades
5
Focus Type
Manual Focus
Image Stabilization
No
Filter Size
52 mm (Front)
Dimensions (ø x L)
2.3 x 2.3" / 58 x 59 mm
Weight
8 oz / 228 g
Packaging Info
Package Weight
1.23 lb
Box Dimensions (LxWxH)
4.9 x 4.8 x 4.8"

Venus Optics Laowa 14mm f/4 Zero-D Reviews

Good Lens

By Jeff
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2021-09-05

The Venus Laowa 14mm f/4 lens is being used on a Canon R5. Manual focus and manual aperture were understood from the start and the lens accommodates those functions well. The lens is quite sharp in the center from wide open and just gets better as it is stopped down, making it easy to focus with the camera's image magnification feature. Edge/corner sharpness is a bit lacking at wide apertures, but the lens gets much better by about f/8 and f/11. At that point, it will be a very good landscape lens with huge depth of field. Size and weight are very nice: The lens is pleasantly compact and not heavy although it does feel decently solid.

Laowa makes a solid lens

By Jordan
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2021-05-18

If you're on the fence about Laowa lenses, I can assure you, you will not be disappointed. As a person who normally buys strictly manufacturer lenses, Laowa is right on par with them and the Sharpness from this lens is unbelievable!

Excellent Lens

By Daniel
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2021-05-04

Use it for most of my work, great wide angle. Great light controls on the lens, easy to work with.

Wide Angle Photos

By Jordan
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2021-01-31

Get Those WAPs ( wide angle photos ) This is my first laowa Lens and I am not Disappointed. From all of the testing I've Done all the edges are straight and legit no Distortion on this bad boy. at f/4 there is slight vignetting but disappears at f/5.6, IF you're like me and using this for Real Estate this is the lens for you on Photos, f/4 for Video is a little low for Aperture in Video but if you're using a Full Frame System you should be able to push your ISO a bit more in low light situations but maybe not the best lens for Small Homes.

Really wanted to love it but...

By Sean
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2021-08-24

I bought this lens for hiking and landscape shots and had high hopes it would be my new favorite. The positives are it is well built, all metal construction, smooth focusing, very small and lightweight, no color fringing, no noticeable distortion, manual focus with markings and can be very sharp in all areas of the frame if focused properly (more on this later). But there are a few negatives - it has significant vignetting which is fixable in post. And as another reviewer noted, the markings on the lens are not very accurate (but at least it has them to use as reference points). Lastly, and the reason I did not ultimately keep it, is that it doesn't seem to have as much depth of field as other lenses I own. To explain, it is pretty sharp in the middle wide open and gets even better stopped down. I found f/11 to be the sweet spot in terms of sharpness and depth of field. At f/16 diffraction softens the whole image too much. On my copy, setting the focus at 1m mark put everything in focus from about 3-4ft to infinity (in the middle of frame). The edges and corners are sharp at close distances, but not at moderate to long distance unless focusing farther out more towards the start of the infinity mark. But when you focus for the edges, everything from near to infinity in the center of frame goes soft. So the only way for me to get the best performance out of the lens was to shoot for the foreground/infinity at center and then take a second shot focused for distance at edges and combine the two. Too much of a pain for me. It was not a problem with any particular edges/corners since all were sharp at closer distances and at far distances when focused properly. The problem was getting everything in frame sharp in one shot. For comparison, when focusing at the same point and using the same aperture, my 16mm, 20mm and 24mm all achieved good results from near to far, edge to edge. The 16 and 20mm actually had more of the frame in focus closer to the camera as well as the edges at longer distances. In fairness, the Laowa edge performance is really good and better than some of the lenses I compared, but only when focused for those edges, sacrificing everything else in frame. I'm not sure if it's the nature of such a wide angle or if it has something to do with lens design, but it did not work for my purposes. If the intent is for indoor use, it is fine since nothing in the edges or corners is farther than 20-30ft.

Not Without Its Issues

By Steven
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2021-06-10

Got a nice used copy from B&H (thank you!) and proceeded to do some hyperfocal testing on my Canon RP. I intend to use this lens as a point-and-shoot with aperture set at f/11 and auto ISO. Here's the bad news - the engraved distance scale is completely useless. The infinity mark is sort of OK, but the rest is not. After much field testing I settled on a sweet spot on the distance scale just between the 1-meter and 2-meter marks. This gives me infinity focus and near focus to about 18-inches or so. Just what I want for my style of shooting. Absurdly, the infinity mark at f/11 hyperfocal on the lens barrel is 3/8-inch off where it should be. Appears as if the focus throw is quite steep, so small rotations result in large focus points. So I will leave the focus ring at the 1-2m marks and fire away and adjust from there as needed. The good part is that this lens is quite sharp at f/8 and f/11, with very little linear distortion, and so small it can fit in a small pocket and carry everywhere. Build quality is first-rate. And it takes 52mm filters! Get one only if you can deal with the distance scale issues. Mine's a keeper.

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Is this lens compatible with Leica CL (APS-C format)?
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Yes it is compatible!
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Which size of Tilta Seamless Focus Gear will fit ...

Which size of Tilta Seamless Focus Gear will fit the focus ring?
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Is the hood removable?

Is the hood removable?
Asked by: David
The hood is removable, but unfortunately putting a filter on then restricts the hood from attaching properly, leaving it at the wrong angle
Answered by: john
Date published: 2023-09-02

Has anyone use Laowa 14mm F/4 for InfraRed ...

Has anyone use Laowa 14mm F/4 for InfraRed photography? Does it has a hotspot that makes it unusable?
Asked by: Salvador
Yes, I have extensively used this lens in infrared with my full-spectrum converted Sony A7R II and a Hoya 720nm filter. Very good results up to f/8, almost no visible hot spot. I had the fixed lens hood professionally cut away to get free access to the filter thread.
Answered by: Francesco
Date published: 2023-02-24

Canon R5 will not fire with this lens. What ...

Canon R5 will not fire with this lens. What camera settings are necessary to be able to use this lens?
Asked by: Tim
The camera must be in manual exposure mode and 'release shutter without lens' should be set so this lens can be used.
Answered by: Kirk
Date published: 2022-07-31

is the aperture ring clickable, can the aperture ...

is the aperture ring clickable, can the aperture be adjusted by clicking the markings on the aperture ring?
Asked by: Umit
With the Venus Optics Laowa 14mm f/4 FF RL Lens there is a slight click at each stop on the lens.
Answered by: Yaakov
Date published: 2022-08-08

Will this lens accept a NISI V6 100mm filter ...

Will this lens accept a NISI V6 100mm filter holder?
Asked by: David
It won't work because the hood is not removable so the hood will not allow the filter holder to fit on the adapter ring.
Answered by: Daniel
Date published: 2022-08-06

given that the lens hood is built in, would a ...

given that the lens hood is built in, would a 55mm filter with a 52-55 step ring fit?
Asked by: David
It wouldn't fit due to the lens hood unfortunately.
Answered by: Stephen
Date published: 2022-08-06
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