Loyal Site Supporter Registered: July, 2008 Location: Luxembourg Posts: 8,639
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 10, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $599.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Very sharp wide open, no fringing, nice bokeh | | Cons: | heavy, F and T rings (see text) | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 7
Value: 9
Camera Used: K-1
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This is a fantastic bokeh lens. I use it mostly for macros with an extension tube (Kenko Pz-AF UniPlus Tube 25).
The focus ring is a little bit too hard, as often on tele lenses, but it is acceptable.
The the F ring goes from left to right to close and the T ring goes from the right to the left and is too near the focus ring so it often change position when focusing, that's the only problem.
There are no problems with the flatness and the colours as you can see :
More to see and to come here | |
Pentaxian Registered: April, 2015 Location: USA Posts: 2,874
10 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 22, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $599.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Crazy sharp, no CA colored fringing, lovely bokeh | | Cons: | Not the 3D pop or excellent color I get with premium lenses | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: k1
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The Laowa 105mm STF lens has the nickname "The Bokeh Dreamer". Well, I thought that I'd put this so called Bokeh Dreamer to the test and compare it in an extensive "head-to-head" shootout against my all time favorite "bokeh" lens - my adapted Nikkkor DC 105mm f/2 lens (I adapted it with a Leitax adapter, took me a full day, Leitax says that this lens can not be adapted to K mount, it was extremely difficult to do and in adapting it I had to eliminate it's auto focus capabilities and permanently set it's aperture to f/2).
This Laowa STF lens is one of the sharpest lenses I have ever shot. The Nikkor DC 105/2 is known to be very sharp, but in my shootout, the Laowa STF clearly beat the Nikkor when it came to sharpness. Winner = Laowa
I shot high contrast edges in bright sunlight. The Nikkor had nasty colored fringing. The Laowa STF had none. Winner = Laowa
At f/2, the Nikkor has the absolute creamiest bokeh of any lens I have ever used (including my adapted, expensive Zeiss Milvus and Leica R lenses). At f/2 with a T/3.2 setting, the Laowa STF lens actually produces an out of focus blur that is a bit "blurrier" than the Nikkor lens. However, even at T/3.2 F/2, the Laowa's bokeh, while very nice and extremely out of focus does not quite match the creamy goodness of the Nikkor DC at f/2. Winner = Nikkor
The bokeh balls produced by the Nikkor are not pretty. The bokeh balls produced by the Laowa STF lens are maybe the best I've ever seen. So, if you are into smooth bokeh balls (specular highlights) buy the Laowa STF lens. Winner = Laowa
It's hard to describe the colors, but if I had to, I'd say the Nikkor colors are more on the cooler side, while the Laowa STF's colors are on the warmer side. Winner = Tie
I will keep the Laowa STF lens. I will use it when I need the sharpest possible image at this focal length. Also, I will use it whenever it's bright out and I have a subject with high contrast edges (e.g. tree branches against a bright sky). It has really nice bokeh blur and the best bokeh balls I have seen.
However, for shooting lower contrast scenes where I'm going for the ULTIMATE bokeh, I will shoot my Nikkor DC 105mm f/2 lens on my Pentax K1 camera. While the Laowa STF lens is advertized as "The Bokeh Dreamer", I've proven to myself that while the Laowa lens has very good (or maybe even excellent bokeh) its' bokeh is simply not as good as the best bokeh lens I've ever shot - the 105mm DC Nikkor lens. This should not be surprising because the Nikkor DC 105/2 lens costs double what the Laowa 105/2 STF lens costs (and the Nikkor is darned near impossible to adapt to Pentax K mount).
Overall, the Laowa 105/2 STF lens is crazy SHARP and has no CA colored fringing on high contrast edges. But this Laowa's colors and 3D depth are not quite up to the wonderful colors and 3D depth I get from the best premium lenses. I would not go so far as to say this Laowa's rendition is sterile or clinical, but compared to my Zeiss and Leica lenses, I'd say that this Laowa's rendering is maybe a bit on the sterile/clinical side. But if you are into bokeh (especially bokeh balls) and don't want to spend over $1000 USD for a fast/premium/prime lens, then this lens should be considered because its' unique STF feature does indeed create excellent (though not world class) bokeh with exceptional bokeh balls.
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NOVEMBER 2019 UPDATE: Since writing this review, I've taken many more photos with this lens.. Frankly, I've become tired of the "hazy/flat/sterile" quality to the images produced by this lens. I recently sold this Laowa lens, and based on my experience with it, I've decided to never again buy an STF lens. | |
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