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The UW Prime hole in the MFT line up?
#1
What's with this? MFT has been around a while and the only 2 UW primes I'm aware of (not including fisheyes), are the Laowa 7.5 and 9. I'm really surprised the OEM's, or even the bigger 2nd parties haven't broached an 8 or 9mm prime yet. 

Is there no market? Or do they feel with the mft lens design there's nothing gained, size, weight, optics, going with primes this wide? 

It would be great to add a small 8 or 9mm prime to my kit. I'd be happy with a f/2.8, even a 3.5 if it was small and light enough.
#2
(U)WA primes is a rather specialized market, and by the MFT OEMs it is currently covered by good to very good zooms (Panasonic 7-14 F/4, Oly Pro 7-14 F/2.8, Oly 9-18). Do note that UWA primes constitute only a very small market, with very little potential for a reward on the investment of the development of such a lens, especially in the already relatively small NFT-market.

For a small UWA prime that means you have to rely on 3rd party manufacturers, like Laowa Venus Optics.

BTW, I would really like to add a 5 to 6 mm UWA prime Smile. I would be happy with a F/3.5 or even F/4 in that case, although I’d prefer an F/2.8 or faster.

Kind regards, Wim
Gear: Canon EOS R with 3 primes and 2 zooms, 4 EF-R adapters, Canon EOS 5 (analog), 9 Canon EF primes, a lone Canon EF zoom, 2 extenders, 2 converters, tubes; Olympus OM-D 1 Mk II & Pen F with 12 primes, 6 zooms, and 3 Metabones EF-MFT adapters ....
#3
There's also the Panasonic 8-18 zoom. It'd be the UWA I would've bought if I had switched to MFT, over both 7-14s, due to the filter thread and the good performance Klaus noted in his review.
#4
(08-14-2019, 10:09 AM)wim Wrote: (U)WA primes is a rather specialized market, and by the MFT OEMs it is currently covered by good to very good zooms (Panasonic 7-14 F/4, Oly Pro 7-14 F/2.8, Oly 9-18). Do note that UWA primes constitute only a very small market, with very little potential for a reward on the investment of the development of such a lens, especially in the already relatively small NFT-market.

For a small UWA prime that means you have to rely on 3rd party manufacturers, like Laowa Venus Optics.

BTW, I would really like to add a 5 to 6 mm UWA prime Smile. I would be happy with a F/3.5 or even F/4 in that case, although I’d prefer an F/2.8 or faster.

Kind regards, Wim

Not sure what I was thinking writing late at night... should have said an f/4! I have the Pany 7-14 f/4. It's kind of a beast so I don't always carry it with me.  I'm shooting with a Pen-f. My std zoom starts at 12mm, so that covered.

Which is why for lightweight carry around kit I was considering at adding a UW prime in the 8ish range. Or, a pancake(ish) UW zoom would be great too! 

My carry around zooms are your normal 3.5-5.6 type lenses and cover 12-100mm. They're small and very light. I have a fast prime for when I need speed. It would just be great to add a small 8ish UW.
#5
Well there's this one...
https://opticallimits.com/m43/946-kowa85f28
... although the price is through the roof really.
#6
(08-14-2019, 03:10 PM)Rover Wrote: Well there's this one...
https://opticallimits.com/m43/946-kowa85f28
... although the price is through the roof really.
That is not particularly small, however Smile.

I also wonder whether it is still available at all. I haven’t heard a lot about Kowa since that review Smile.

Kind regards, Wim

(08-14-2019, 01:40 PM)mike Wrote:
(08-14-2019, 10:09 AM)wim Wrote: (U)WA primes is a rather specialized market, and by the MFT OEMs it is currently covered by good to very good zooms (Panasonic 7-14 F/4, Oly Pro 7-14 F/2.8, Oly 9-18). Do note that UWA primes constitute only a very small market, with very little potential for a reward on the investment of the development of such a lens, especially in the already relatively small NFT-market.

For a small UWA prime that means you have to rely on 3rd party manufacturers, like Laowa Venus Optics.

BTW, I would really like to add a 5 to 6 mm UWA prime Smile. I would be happy with a F/3.5 or even F/4 in that case, although I’d prefer an F/2.8 or faster.

Kind regards, Wim

Not sure what I was thinking writing late at night... should have said an f/4! I have the Pany 7-14 f/4. It's kind of a beast so I don't always carry it with me.  I'm shooting with a Pen-f. My std zoom starts at 12mm, so that covered.

Which is why for lightweight carry around kit I was considering at adding a UW prime in the 8ish range. Or, a pancake(ish) UW zoom would be great too! 

My carry around zooms are your normal 3.5-5.6 type lenses and cover 12-100mm. They're small and very light. I have a fast prime for when I need speed. It would just be great to add a small 8ish UW.

Well, the only options you’d have in that case from OEMs are the lenscap options from Olympus, especially the 9 mm one: cheap and cheerful but usable.

The only other options as far as I am aware are the two Laowa options, the 9 mm F/2.8 ZERO-D (215 grams), and the 7.5 F/2.0 (170 grams), and the SLR Magic 8 mm F/4 UWA (which is also used for drones, 110 grams).

Zoom wise there is a small and light option: the Oly 9-18 mm F/4-F5.6, which weighs only 155 grams.

Pricing over here:
Oly 9-18 zoom: 549 euros
Laowa 9 mm F/2.8: 619 euros
Laowa 7.5 F/2.0: 619 euros
SLR Magic 8 mm F/4: 274 euros

The Oly is good but not stellar, the Laowa 9 mm is a fairly recent addition, no idea how it performs (likely quite good as Laowa has a very good reputation), the Laowa 7.5 mm is an excellent lens, but you may have to try several copies as some specimens suffer in the corners more than others, and the SLR Magic I would not bother with personally. My experience with SLR Magic lenses is that they are ok in the center, but not so great at corners and edges.

If I had to make a choice personally, it would be the Laowa 7.5 mm, if that is of any help.

Another alternative may be to get a FF option with a Speedbooster, Metabones or Viltrox, but that would get a lot more expensive, and very heavy as well, and if you do not shoot FF in addition, probably not worthwhile pursuing anyway. I was thinking the Laowa 12 mm F/2.8 Zero-D or the Samyang 10 mm F/3.5 XP in that case, with either a Metabones 0.71x or 0.64x speedbooster (both will fit the Pen-F, speaking from experience). Personally I think the Samyang is a very good looking option, and I will give that a try over the weekend.

As mentioned, not cheap, however, and very heavy.

Kind regards, Wim
Gear: Canon EOS R with 3 primes and 2 zooms, 4 EF-R adapters, Canon EOS 5 (analog), 9 Canon EF primes, a lone Canon EF zoom, 2 extenders, 2 converters, tubes; Olympus OM-D 1 Mk II & Pen F with 12 primes, 6 zooms, and 3 Metabones EF-MFT adapters ....
  


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