Laowa 105mm f/2 STF Field Test: Hands on with Laowa’s rugged, impressive, apodized portrait prime

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posted Wednesday, May 17, 2017 at 5:01 PM EDT


Click here to read our Laowa 105mm f/2 STF Field Test

 
 

Chinese lens maker Laowa has been making many distinct and affordable manual lenses lately, one of which is their 105mm f/2 Smooth Trans Focus lens. This ruggedly-built lens lens offers distinct dual manual diaphragm controls, one for aperture and one for its apodization element, allowing for sharp subject isolation and smooth out of focus areas.

We recently had an opportunity to try the Laowa 105mm f/2 STF lens. In my field test, I discuss how the lens handles and what sort of optical performance you can expect from the $700 portrait prime. When you nail the manual focus, the Laowa 105mm delivers impressive sharpness and excellent overall image quality, even when shooting wide open.

 
f/2.0, T3.2, 1/320s, ISO 100. This image has been modified.

Read our Laowa 105mm f/2 STF Field Test for the full details, and be sure to check out the Gallery Page for lots of real-world sample images.

Laowa 105mm f/2 STF Field Test •