Introduction
In the SLR era some people came up with the term “pancake lens” for very thin 40 to 50mm lenses. Because of the short back focus distance of mirrorless cameras it is very hard to make actually useful lenses for them that are as thin as a pancake though, hence Laowa came up with the term “cookie lens”. This does not only sound more realistic but also pretty cute and the latest addition to this cookie line-up is this Laowa 15mm 5.0. Usually new features are reserved for expensive top-of-the-line products, but this lens already marks a very important point in Laowa’s history. Let’s have a closer look!
The lens was tested on a 42 Mp Sony A7 RII (Sample images with Sony A7 III, Leical M10, and Nikon Zf)
You can see this review as a YouTube video here
Sample Images
Most of the sample images in this review can be found in full resolution here.
Z version on Nikon Zf samples by Martin can be found in high resolution here.
Contents
Specifications / Version History
This Laowa 15mm 5.0 “Cookie” comes for several mounts, I had a look at the E-mount and the M-mount version, while Martin had a look at its Z version. They have the following specifications:
-
- Diameter: 60 mm (E) / 53 mm (M) / 67 mm (Z)
- Field of view: 110° (diagonally)
- Length: 36 mm (E) / 26 mm (M) / 38 mm (Z)
- Weight: 135g (E) / 105g (M) / 154 g (Z) (without hood and caps)
- Filter Diameter: 39 mm
- Number of Aperture Blades: 5 (straight)
- Elements/Groups: 13/9
- Close Focusing Distance: 0.12 m
- Maximum Magnification: 1:5.6
- Mount: Sony-E | Canon-RF | Nikon-Z | L-mount | Leica-M
buy from manufacturer’s shop | B&H | ebay.com | amazon.com for $399 (affiliate links)
Disclosure
This Laowa 15mm 5.0 Cookie was kindly provided free of charge by Laowa for reviewing purpose prior to release.
Handling / Build Quality
E-mount and Z-mount
The focus ring turns exactly 90° from the minimum focus distance (12 cm) to infinity. The focus ring has a rather low resistance and personally I would have hoped for a slightly higher one.
The lens focuses slightly behind infinity which is normal for modern lenses because of mount tolerances.
The lens seems to be made from a mix of metal and polycarbonates, all the writings are engraved and filled with paint.
The lens does not only transmit Exif data to the camera, the aperture diaphragm is also controlled by the camera here. As you can see from the picture above there is also a USB Micro socket for potential firmware updates.
When you turn the focus ring this will automatically bring up the focus assist, but the in-camera distance scale always shows 4.0 m as distance, as there is no elaborate distance encoder.
Also the Z-mount version features electronic contacts to communicate with your camera, and as you can see this lens is also available in silver.
Furthermore the lens features a rubber gasket at the bayonet, this does make the lens a lot harder to mount and unmount though.
A tiny rectangular bayonet type lens hood is also included. I don’t think it will do a lot to reduce lens flares (these hoods rarely do with ultra wide angle lenses) but it does sure look cute. It can also be attached with the logo facing the bottom if you are not a fan of hoods with a flashy logo.
The size difference compared to the much faster Laowa 15mm 2.0 is significant. More importantly, the size difference compared to the only slightly faster 7Artisans 15mm 4.0 and NiSi 15mm 4.0 is just as big.
M-mount
The M-mount version is rangefinder coupled from 0.7 m to infinity but also focuses down to 0.12 m. Resistance is a bit higher compared to the E-mount version I had and it rotates ~100° from 0.12 m to infinity. The helicoid is very steep at closer distances, which makes focusing precisely a bit harder. The focus ring also features a small focus tab at the bottom.
As was already the case for other Laowa M-mount lenses (e.g. 9mm 5.6 or 15mm 2.0 M) there is again a click stop at 0.7 m for you to notice that you are leaving the rangefinder coupled range.
The aperture ring is all manual here and features full-stop click-stops. It rotates ~45° from f/5.0 to f/22.
At the rear bayonet we again see holes to 6-bit code the lens.
When on camera the actual lens is similar in size to the Voigtländer VM 15mm 4.5 II (that one comes with a non-removable hood, which I had professionally cut off).
Vignetting
light falloff
| f/5.0 | 3.2 EV |
| f/5.6 | 2.9 EV |
| f/8.0 | 2.7 EV |
| f/11 - f/22 | 2.6 EV |
The Laowa 15mm 5.0 is a tiny ultra wide angle lens and what all tiny ultra wide angle lenses have in common is not so tiny vignetting. But actually, I was expecting worse here. Don’t get me wrong, 2.6 to 3.2 EV are a lot, but this is not worse than what we have seen from the Voigtländer ultra wide angle lenses. Even the Sony FE 14mm 1.8 GM, which is way bigger, only shows half a stop less vignetting at shared apertures.
It is recommended to have a look at this article first to get an idea how this brightness graph works.
color cast
Some small ultra wide angle lenses show a slight green color cast in the corners of the modern Sony BSI sensors. With normal subjects this is rarely noticeable, but when taking pictures of a snowy landscape or an overcast sky it might be.
I didn’t have any issues with this Laowa 15mm 5.0 though, none of the sample images have been corrected for color cast.
For M-mount users I also have good news here. The similarly small Voigtländer VM 15mm 4.5 II has some issues with the asymmetrical “italian flag” color cast on the M10 (and even more so on older digital M cameras) but this is luckily not the case for this Laowa lens. I cannot guarantee that there will be no color cast on the older M8/M9/M240 models though.
Sharpness
infinity (42mp Sony A7rII, 24mp Leica M10)
I have used a lot of compact lenses and I can’t say that they have usually been over-achievers in this category and also with this Laowa lens I would have hoped for a bit better midframe performance.
All the 15mm E-mount lenses I reviewed so far (e.g. Laowa 15mm 2.0, 7Artisans 15mm 4.0, NiSi 15mm 4.0, Voigtländer 15mm 4.5 E) performed better in this category, but then they are also significantly bigger and heavier.
The performance is not bad in absolute terms, but if you are looking for the highest possible image quality on a high resolution camera this is probably not the lens you are looking for.
close (0.12m, 1:5.6)
Laowa’s ultra wide angle lenses are known for their generous minimum focus distances and this is also the case here. Thanks to the floating elements design the performance is also surprisingly good at these distances. If you stop down to f/8.0 to f/11 even the across frame performance is really good – something only few lenses this wide manage to achieve.
Flare resistance
As always evaluating flare is a complex matter since you can get any lens to look bad if you push it hard enough and a slight change of scenario can affect results a lot.
As is the case for many lenses with the sun outside the frame close to a corner there is a specific position that leads to a huge flare. This is a staged scenario and not something you should be afraid of encountering regularly in the field.
With the sun close to the center of the frame I also encountered double ring flares at all apertures. I found the M-mount version to be more prone to this happening.
Coma
E-mount
Coma is actually well controlled. I had a look at my reviews of the 7Artisans 15mm 4.0, NiSi 15mm 4.0 as well as the Voigtländer 15mm 4.5 E and to my eyes they all show a similar performance in this category.
M-mount
The M-mount version on the Leica M10 actually shows slightly less Coma at f/5.0, but there is of course also a difference in resolution between the Sony A7rII and the Leica M10 that might make the E-mount version look worse here.
The Voigtländer VM 15mm 4.5 II performs similar as does the Laowa 15mm 2.0 M at shared apertures.
Distortion
This Laowa 15mm 5.0 Cookie is not part of Laowa’s “Zero-D” line and we can clearly see why: there is a noticeable amount of wavy distortion.
If I intended to use this lens for architecture shooting I would definitely create a distortion correction profile for it.
Bokeh
If someone was asking for a lens to create a shallow depth of field my first recommendation would not be a 15mm 5.0, but because of its 0.12 m minimum focus distance you can actually create some bokeh when taking pictures of small objects.
Sunstars
No sunstars at f/5.0 and well defined 10-stroke sunstars between f/5.6 and f/22 as we have also seen from other recent Laowa ultra wide angle lenses.
If you want to learn more about sunstars have a look at this article.
Chromatic Aberrations
lateral
There is a notable amount of lateral CA, the one-click correction in Lightroom is still doing a good job though.
longitudinal
As this is a very wide and rather slow lens longitudinal CA (loCA) are nothing to worry about.
Focus Breathing
The Laowa 15mm F5 suffers from a moderate to high amount of focus breathing.
Conclusion
good
|
average
|
not good
|
To make its Voigtländer 15mm 4.5 lens usable on digital sensors, Cosina had to significantly increase its size, which ended in the latest version being much bigger than its predecessors.
Now Laowa managed to create a 15mm 5.0 lens which is just as small as the older version of Voigtländer 15mm 4.5, yet also works properly on digital cameras without color cast issues. And it is cheaper, too!
What are the compromises that were needed for this? All the versions we tried showed a midzone dip, so for best performance on high resolution cameras stopping down is advisable. The flare resistance is also a bit worse compared to the best ultra wide angle lenses we have reviewed.
Still, considering its tiny size and fair price I think this is a very appealing lens to everyone who only rarely needs an ultra wide angle lens and doesn’t need a faster aperture at this focal length. You will always find a place in your bag for this lens and have it with you whenever you may need it. This makes it a great complement to your standard zoom starting at 28, 24 or even 20mm.
buy from manufacturer’s shop | B&H | ebay.com | amazon.com for $399 (affiliate links)
Alternatives
E-mount
All the current 15mm options for E-mount are covered in our Guide to Ultra Wide Angle Lenses for the A7 Series, therefore I will only pick out a few very obvious alternatives to talk about here.
Voigtlander 15mm 4.5 E Super-Wide-Heliar III:
This lens features very similar specifications. Also a small lens, but noticeably bigger than this 15mm 5.0 Laowa. It features electronic contacts to communicate with your camera as well. Does have an annoying non removable lens hood. Distortion is lower.
Also comes in Z-mount. Also with electronic contacts, but unlike the E-mount version with removable lens hood.
buy from amazon.com | amazon.de | B&H | ebay.com | ebay.de (affiliate links) for $699
Laowa 14mm 4.0 FF RL Zero-D:
This used to be the smallest option in this focal length range for E-mount. We had two samples and their optical performance was a bit worse, being part of the Zero-D line this lens has less distortion though. It also has an annoying non-removable lens hood and no electronic contacts.
buy from manufacturer’s online shop | B&H | eBay.com (affiliate links) for $449
The NiSi 15mm 4.0 and the 7Artisans 15mm 4.0 are both significantly bigger, so I don’t consider them actual alternatives.
M-mount
Voigtlander VM 15mm 4.5 Super-Wide-Heliar II:
In terms of dimensions this is the closest competitor in the M-mount world. It does have a lot of color cast issues on all the digital M-mount cameras released before the M11 though. Also has an annoying non-removable lens hood.
buy from ebay.com | ebay.de for about $400 (affiliate links)
Voigtlander VM 15mm 4.5 Super-Wide-Heliar III:
This lens is much bigger than its aforementioned predecessor, but it also managed to get rid of most of its color cast issues – especially on the older Leica-M digital cameras. Still has that annoying non-removable lens hood.
buy from amazon.com | amazon.de | B&H | ebay.com | ebay.de (affiliate links) for $699
Laowa 14mm 4.0 FF RL Zero-D:
In terms of size this sits inbetween the two aforementioned Voigtländer lenses. Its performance didn’t really impress us, it is bigger than this 15mm lens, has a non-removable hood and sells for roughtly the same money. I would rather use this new 15mm 5.0 lens.
buy from manufacturer’s online shop | B&H | eBay.com (affiliate links) for $499
Further Sample Images
Most of the sample images in this review can be found in full resolution here.
Nikon Zf samples by Martin can be found in high resolution here.
Further Reading
- Sony FE lenses: Our comprehensive and independent guide
- Guide to Ultra Wide Angle lenses for the Sony A7/A9/A1 Series
- Review: Laowa 9mm 5.6
- Review: Hologon 16mm 8.0
- Discuss this review on our Discord server
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The Team
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Niiiiice!
Was waiting for this review!
a nice competitor to Voigtlander 15mm.
Two questions, where did you have the hood shaved off from your Voigtlander 15mm?
Would be possible to use this Laowa m mount on Sony full frame ? I know it may not make sense, but some people may want to use one lens for multiple systems. thanks.
Apologies,just saw the test, the M mount version doesn’t work as nicely as the E mount version on Sony. a throughout test!
Thx so much for these really helpful review. Highly interesting and as far as I interpret it correctly, this lens is much smaller but does not achieve the optical qualities of the much larger Lowa or Viltrox 16mm lens on the Nikon Z bodies. Really helpful!
The Tokina RMC 17mm 3.5 recently reviewed is after all not that bad if compared to the Laowa 15mm 5.0 reviewed here. The Tokina + adapter of course heavier and bigger and less wide but just with the different design periods in mind and prices I get that impression. Wonder what the opinion of the reviewers is on that comparison.
Stopped down vignetting the Tokina is better.
In almost every other regard it is magnitudes worse.
I love that they made this lens.
I’m currently using a TTArtisans 28/5.6 as part of a 28/35/50 kit. That said, I often feel like I want a more distinct FOV change swapping between my wide to normal– like I had back in my 16-35/4 days on autofocus kit. So this lens makes great sense for a 15/35/50 kit.
I’d go whole hog and separate them at even more, eg 15/16 + 35 + 65/75… It’s nice to have options though, I’m shooting 20/35/75 as my main trio and have been thinking about how I’d like 15/16 instead of 21 or instead of carrying my UWA zoom.
I’m having a similar consideration going on, a step up. I’m flopping between 28/50 and 35/90. The 90 is seeing a lot less use, so considering doing 15/35/50 and drop 28/90 entirely.
Knowing me, I’ll keep them all and swap kits constantly with 15/28/35/50/90 all in the mix lol.
Thank you Bastian for another great review. It seems like the image quality is not stellar, but probably sufficient for most uses. The M mount lens appears to be incredibly small, especially for a 15mm.
I’m curious to know your thoughts – my interpretation of your review is that in M mount, the lens seems to be approximately half the size of the Voigtlander 15mm VM f/4.5 (just a guess on my part, considering the volume of the two lenses) with maybe a 20% hit on image quality. Do you think the IQ is good enough to justify owning this lens, if small size is a top priority? I’m thinking about occasional use for backpacking, etc.
To clarify, I was referring to the size of the new Laowa 15mm f/5 in M mount vs the newest version of the Voigtlander VM 15mm f/4.5 III (58mm filters) and not version II which you referenced in the review. I own this Voigtlander lens and I was still considering the new Laowa as the best option for small size and acceptable performance.
Yeah if I had the choice between 15mm 4.5 MK III and this Laowa I am sure the Laowa would see a lot more use.
Thanks Bastian. I will purchase one when they become available. I have a Leica M travel kit with small 21/28/35/50/90 lenses and they all use 39mm filters, so I think this lens is likely the only Ultrawide option we will see in the near future to maintain that small size.
Sharing the 39mm thread would probably be reason enough for me to get it 😅
I finally received this lens a few days ago and I’m pleased with the IQ. The small size of the M mount version is truly amazing. I did quite a bit of testing – at infinity, the lens is sharp to the corners at both F8 & F11. Excellent sunstars from 5.6 and good handling of flare with the sun in the frame. At closer distances (1-3 meters), the lens doesn’t give up much to the Laowa 15mm F2 and is actually an equal to the Voigtlander 15 F/4.5 version III. I have not done comparison testing with these other lenses at Infinity, but will soon.
I also tested extensively in Infrared on the M11 with a 720 filter. The infinity focus point moves dramatically to approximately 1 meter with a 720 IR filter. There are no hotspots and the quality is good, with just a bit lower sharpness than I saw in normal color images. Flare in IR images is actually really well controlled with the sun in the frame. Usually that nukes the entire image. F8 is the optimum aperture for 720 IR imaging.
Here is an album with some test images, if anyone is interested. I will add a few IR images as I shoot them.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/joshhimes/albums/72177720322506899
Thanks for sharing!
Quick follow up – I did a few infinity side by side tests with this lens and the Laowa 15 F2. The difference in sharpness and clarity at infinity was noticeable at the pixel level and the 15 F2 is definitely the better lens at every shared aperture.
With that said, the 15 F5 will be a very handy ultrawide to carry along, due to its small size. But as you stated in the review, it’s not going to be the best choice for ultimate quality. Still, the price was fair and I have zero regrets for purchasing it. Having a small ultrawide with a 39mm filter thread is a big draw for me and the image quality is totally acceptable for handheld shots while hiking or traveling.
Bit of an odd question but bear with me, how far apart is this 15/5 from say the overall quality of a Viltrox 16/1.8? (putting FL & speed differences aside) Is it like CV 21/3.5 vs Loxia or Sony 20G or is it further apart?
That comparison sounds about right to me.
Hi, since I already own the Nisi 15mm, do you think there is a reason to switch over to this Laowa? Any opinion is appreciated!
If you want a smaller lens: yes.
If you don’t care about the size: no.
Thanks for a great review! I already own the Laowa 15/2 and the Sony 20/1,8, both great lenses, but this lens is just so small and apparently good enough, I had to order it for my travel kit. 🙂
The ultra wide angle lens you won’t leave at home 🙂
Hey,
I recently switched from apsc to full frame (a7c) with my lightweight kit and wonder how this lens would compare to the APSC 12mm Samyang f2 in terms of optical performance especially sharpness and vignetting.
They are hardly comparable. The 12mm 2.0 equals an 18mm 3.0 on fullframe. Hence this Laowa lens is wider, slower and much much smaller.
If you are looking for a direct replacement there is the Samyang 18mm 2.8 AF, which is also a compact lens.