This year marks the 10th anniversary of Laowa, a lens manufacturer that has been pushing boundaries since its beginning, and to celebrate, it is releasing a one-of-a-kind lens. Its AF 10mm f/2.8 will not only be the company's first autofocus lens, it will also be the widest non-fisheye wideangle for full-frame mirrorless cameras.
Laowa lenses are unique in many ways, and they offer specialty options that often appear in our guides to the best macro and the best cine lenses. Laowa has several different lens lineups to cover all photography and video needs, all of which have been manual focus - until now!
I wrote about the rumors of the new Laowa AF lens last month, and we now have further details and an official sneak peek. Laowa has given us a glimpse at the new lens in a 10th-anniversary promo video which shows how Laowa lenses have made their mark on the imaging world. The Laowa AF 10mm f/2.8 Zero-D FF lens will be officially unveiled on Feb 20 and will not only be its first AF lens but the world's widest full-frame rectilinear lens.
As written previously the lens will be available for Sony FE, Nikon Z, Canon RF, and L mount, but may only provide AF options for Z and FE mounts. There has been no comment on this by Laowa, but if the case it would be a shame for Canon users as this lens looks to feature fast AF and eye-tracking capabilities.
The Zero-D part of the name refers to the lens' ability to produce zero distortion even when shooting wide open. This will excite architecture, landscape, and astrophotographers alike, as distortion is often the number one battle when shooting as wide as 10mm.
The lens design will feature the 10th-anniversary logo in addition to a newly redesigned lens body that looks incredibly sleek and modern, and much like other Laowa lenses, it will come in the classic black and blue colorway.
We are expected to hear more with the official announcement scheduled for next week, on Feb 20, 2024.
Laowa will also be making an appearance at The Photography and Video Show next month at The NEC in Birmingham, UK ,which may provide the first chance to get hands-on with the new lens. Tickets for the show are available now and can purchased on the show website.
You may also be interested in our guides for the best lenses for landscape, the best tilt-shift lenses, and the best lenses for astrophotography.
