Venus Optics shows off the Laowa CF 8-16mm f/3.5-5 C-Dreamer for APS-C Cameras

[EOS 4 Life]

My opinion, and it is my opinion only; buying a cheap lens is a sign of lack of impatience.

You need to make money before you can afford the good one.
If photography is how you make money then all the patience in the world will not help you.
That being said, a nifty fifty and a kit lens can get you pretty far.

 

[AlanF]

My opinion, and it is my opinion only; buying a cheap lens is a sign of lack of impatience.

lack of impatience = having patience

 

[Besisika]

You need to make money before you can afford the good one.
If photography is how you make money then all the patience in the world will not help you.
That being said, a nifty fifty and a kit lens can get you pretty far.

Both with auto-focus.

 

[Besisika]

lack of impatience = having patience

I meant, lack of patience.

 

[Del Paso]

You buy one of those, you wait three years, and you will think twice if you are going to buy another one ever again.
Buying a cheap lens, versus buying a cheap car is not the same. A car is meant to be replaced few years later, a lens is supposed to grow up with you.
My opinion, and it is my opinion only; buying a cheap lens is a sign of lack of impatience.
Sometimes, I feel like some makers are using our impatience to grow. Look around in your basement, mine is full of cheap camera gear that I impatiently bought.
By the way, Laowa is not cheap.
On a side note, you are right. Godox is one of those that I respect.
Back to auto-focus; it is not something that you can always simply replace with your fingers, as many "wise" photographers are suggesting. In fast moving event, the lens is useless; cheap or expensive.
Now, concerning deep DoF; I don't know but when i used these lenses to shoot people at different distances; the camera says that they are all in focus, but when I look, there is always one person more in focus than others.
I own the Laowa 15mm F2 and it has been hidden somewhere since I bought the Canon RF 16mm for that reason. Even stopped down to F4 the lead singer is always sharper than the bassist behind him, while the camera says that both are in focus. You think you shoot 8K so that you can crop; think again, unless you crop on the one you chose as the main point of focus.
I am not trying to "make fun" of Laowa; they were just happened to be the one that gave me grief.
This is a crop lens, It is manual focus, and it is F3.5: will you shoot the same thing for the rest of your days? Who indeed is the target, someone who will never grow? One of the few things that I do not buy based only on my today's need is a lens: it is not a car, it is not a camera body; it is a lens. A photographer should realize the difference.

I certainly do agree. But things can quickly change, I'm convinced Chinese lens makers will sooner or later be able to compete on a very high level.
By the way, all my lenses are from Leica, Canon or Zeiss. No exception...

 

[AlanF]

I certainly do agree. But things can quickly change, I'm convinced Chinese lens makers will sooner or later be able to compete on a very high level.
By the way, all my lenses are from Leica, Canon or Zeiss. No exception...

Any of your Zeiss from Cosina?

 

[Del Paso]

Any of your Zeiss from Cosina?

Any? 100%
And they are optically wonderful, especially the VM 2,8/25, sharper than a katana!
But, mechanically, far far behind Leica Ms (not Cosina's fault!).
Leicas have helicoids made of:
- Brass & brass
-Brass & stainless steel
I can confirm this, having taken a few lenses apart (for fun, not for repairs!). I take everything apart...sometimes I regret having done so .
Voigtländer - Cosina - Zeiss: Aluminium & aluminium and lots of grease in-between (Nikon's former lens-disease) to compensate for wide tolerances. So, after a few years...

 

[EOS 4 Life]

I certainly do agree. But things can quickly change, I'm convinced Chinese lens makers will sooner or later be able to compete on a very high level.
By the way, all my lenses are from Leica, Canon or Zeiss. No exception...

Some high-end lenses are already made in China even though they are not Chinese-branded.
That is the next logical step.

 

[Del Paso]

Some high-end lenses are already made in China even though they are not Chinese-branded.
That is the next logical step.

That's right. ROC and PRC.