Laowa reimagines 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D for mirrorless era

Lighter and more compact than the original, the new Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Lite Zero-D FF is an ultra-wide-angle lens designed for full-frame mirrorless cameras.

Most 12mm lenses are fisheyes, but the new Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Lite Zero-D FF a reimagining of the company's original 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D, which was one of Laowa’s bestsellers and known as probably the widest non-fisheye lens available on the market at the time. The new Lite version has been newly engineered specifically for mirrorless systems, and features a 122-degree ultra wide angle of view coupled with a more compact and lightweight design. It also supports autofocus on Sony E and Nikon Z cameras.

It weighs just 377 grams / 0.83 lb  (Sony E-mount) compared to the 699 grams / 1.54 lb of the DSLR-oriented original, and is significantly smaller too, coming in at a compact 77 x 77.5 mm (3.03 x 3.05 inches). This makes it a good fit for gimbal work and even drone-mounting. 

Laowa says that compared to the original 12mm f/2.8 version, it shows significant improvement in sharpness, even at the corners. Autofocus is available on both the Sony E-mount and Nikon Z-mount versions, while those using the RF- and L-mount flavours will have to make do with fully manual operation.

The bang for your buck that a 12mm lens gives you. Pic: ©Bastian Kratzke

It is available in both 5- and 14-blade versions, with the 5-blade version creating a distinctive 10-point sunstar effect when you stop down the aperture. The 14-blade version is manual only but does provide smoother bokeh by way of compensation. And a close focusing distance of just 14 cm (5.5 inches) opens up come interesting possibilities for wide-angle macro photography. The built-in filter thread is 72 mm.

Pricing and availability

All versions are available now and the flat rate pricing across all the variants is $699.