LAOWA Officially Announces the AF FF 200mm F2.0 C-Dreamer

[Richard CR]

Laowa today has officially announced the Laowa AF 200mm FF 200m F2.0 C-Dreamer lens, the first Chinese manufacturer to make one of the big and fast halo lenses. Laowa touts several key advantages over its OEM and Sigma competition, including the size, weight, and price of the telephoto prime, with the Laowa lens being smaller, […]

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[mb66energy]

Looks like a great option - only drawback for me is the missing IS.
EF is great because I have mostly EF glass and a single VND filter adapter can be used for video.
The low number of elements helps to have enough space to focus down to 1.5 m - maybe this is a feasible compromise in terms of not absolutely excellent IQ at f/2 but give this lens a better width of applications.
I will use my EF 2.8/200 to check if a prime at this focal length will serve my needs well ...

 

[Canon Rumors]

I'm looking forward to getting one of these. What a price and the MTF is great. I'll even get the crazy grey colour... the blue ring is loud.

 

[john1970]

I might seriously consider this lens along with the Canon RF to EF drop in filter adapter. For a total cost of $2400 (EF+RF drop in adapter + sales tax) this would be an interesting lens. With that said the hypothetical Canon RF 300-600 mm lens would be a priority purchase.

 

[BFG9000]

Overly expensive: soft wide open and it can't keep up with sports/action.

 

[roby17269]

Overly expensive: soft wide open and it can't keep up with sports/action.

I assume you're being sarcastic, aren't you?

 

[P-visie]

I assume you're being sarcastic, aren't you?

“Soft wide open and AF performance for sports/action” are the “conclusions” from the review on Petapixel.
See: https://petapixel.com/2025/10/14/laowa-200mm-f-2-c-dreamer-review-ambitious-and-affordable/

 

[roby17269]

“Soft wide open and AF performance for sports/action” are the “conclusions” from the review on Petapixel.
See: https://petapixel.com/2025/10/14/laowa-200mm-f-2-c-dreamer-review-ambitious-and-affordable/

I guess I was debating the "overly expensive" bit - compared to other 200 f/2 lenses (I had the EF one)

Pity though: I liked the EF 200 f/2 a lot and I could use a new one... the price is great, and it could have made me overlook the need for an adapter... but the softness fully open is a big no-no for me

 

[P-visie]

I guess I was debating the "overly expensive" bit - compared to other 200 f/2 lenses (I had the EF one)

Pity though: I liked the EF 200 f/2 a lot and I could use a new one... the price is great, and it could have made me overlook the need for an adapter... but the softness fully open is a big no-no for me

Yes, the measurements in the review from Digital Camera World confirm the results from PetaPixel: soft at f2, sharp at f4.

See: https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/cameras/lenses/laowa-200mm-f-2-af-ff-review

 

[Malm]

Interesting solution for Canon RF shooters: Build with EF mount but with a strong focus on RF users. That solution can become popular ...

 

[roby17269]

Yes, the measurements in the review from Digital Camera World confirm the results from PetaPixel: soft at f2, sharp at f4.

See: https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/cameras/lenses/laowa-200mm-f-2-af-ff-review

Their narrative is quite more positive though and they call it sharp at f/2
They tested it on a Nikon which may change things a bit

 

[Mirnavi]

Gordon Laing’s first test with R6m2, looks good to me but the price could be lower...

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[Brown]

While it sounds like a good performer, I fail to see what makes its lower element count impressive, considering the lack of IS.
The original Canon EF 200mm f/1.8 only used one more element than the Laowa.

 

[P-visie]

Their narrative is quite more positive though and they call it sharp at f/2
They tested it on a Nikon which may change things a bit

Yes, DCW are more positive, the pictures in the review are taken with Z6 II, a 24 mp camera, Petapixel tested the lens on an A1 II, which is 50MP. That may account for the difference. And DCW reviews in general are usually positive.

 

[roby17269]

Yes, DCW are more positive, the pictures in the review are taken with Z6 II, a 24 mp camera, Petapixel tested the lens on an A1 II, which is 50MP. That may account for the difference. And DCW reviews in general are usually positive.

Well the images were definitely sharper at f/2 in the DCW review. The difference was so stark that I'd be surprised if the resolution difference was the cause.
Maybe that lens has issues with Sony's AF? No idea.
I'll have to check Gordon L's later as YT is not allowed at work

 

[P-visie]

Well the images were definitely sharper at f/2 in the DCW review. The difference was so stark that I'd be surprised if the resolution difference was the cause.
Maybe that lens has issues with Sony's AF? No idea.
I'll have to check Gordon L's later as YT is not allowed at work

Gordon Laing is a preview, he has some images of Brighton Pier (@about 4:20 in the video), he says “crisp details, but not as sharp as the Sigma 200mm f2”.

 

[David_B]

Laowa today has officially announced the Laowa AF 200mm FF 200m F2.0 C-Dreamer lens, the first Chinese manufacturer to make one of the big and fast halo lenses. Laowa touts several key advantages over its OEM and Sigma competition, including the size, weight, and price of the telephoto prime, with the Laowa lens being smaller, […]

See full article...

And because it is EF, it does auto-focus? I didn't see that mentioned in the story.

 

[john1970]

I guess I was debating the "overly expensive" bit - compared to other 200 f/2 lenses (I had the EF one)

Pity though: I liked the EF 200 f/2 a lot and I could use a new one... the price is great, and it could have made me overlook the need for an adapter... but the softness fully open is a big no-no for me

Same here. The lack of fast focusing and soft wide open are deal breakers for me regardless of the price. Once I factor in the EF-RF drop in adapter and sales tax the total cost is $2400, which is still a significant amount of money.

 

[Walrus]

It's sharp only from f2.8 so it's a no for me, there are 70-200's especially for EF with equal sharpness at same aperture but the bonus of being able to zoom backwards, and also cheaper to buy; see Chris Frost's side to side with Sigma, posted 10mins ago (yesterday he also posted full dedicated review):

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[David - Sydney]

Is the softness issue primarily because of the direct comparison with the Sigma (and Canon) which is more expensive, larger and heavier?
Is it really an apples-to-apples comparison especially when the Sigma is not available for EF/RF anyway?
What other options exist for RF users besides the 70-200/2,8 zooms?