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When I received this lens, I wondered how different (focal length aside) this could be from their 15mm F4.5 Zero-D Shift I reviewed a little over a year ago. As wonderful as that lens was, I was overly cautious while using it, thanks in whole to its massive bulbous front element. Thankfully, the Laowa 20mm f4 Zero-D Shift lens is missing that. This lens isn’t just a slightly faster version; it’s also capable of taking on screw-on filters. And on the whole, I think I enjoyed my experience with this lens significantly more than with the 15mm version. Monofocal Lens Cs Mount
After I reviewed it, I remember sending the Laowa 15mm F4.5 Zero-D Shift Lens back with much sadness. It really gave me beautiful photos of the architecture around Dubai. These are images that I had struggled to get with regular lenses or without much cropping from wider angles. The shift capabilities of that lens really opened up a whole new set of possibilities. As I opened up the Laowa 20mm f4, I pondered whether I’d really be able to experience anything different from what I had a year ago. Right out of the box, I let out a sigh of relief when I saw that the Laowa 20mm f4 could take screw-on filters. This immediately ticked off one of the boxes that could make this lens a permanent feature in my ever-growing arsenal. The few weeks I spent with this lens only further cemented this feeling of mine.
This lens is an excellent option for any Nikon users who are still left without any Z-mount tilt lenses from the brand. It’s lightweight enough to carry around all day but also feels solidly built. The lens hood is an added bonus. As with all Laowa lenses I’ve tested so far, my only complaint is the lack of electronic contacts. Still, this lens’s image results and tilt capabilities more than make up for this shortcoming. Even the tallest structures (and I photographed the world’s tallest with this) can be exceptionally well captured with the Laowa 20mm f4 lens.
Totally in love with this lens. I don’t think I can ever photograph cityscapes without this lens anymore. The perspectives it gives you are a game changer for Z-mount camera owners. I’m giving the Laowa 20mm f4 Zero-D Shift lens a full 5 stars and our Editors Choice Award.
This lens is also available in Sony E, Canon RF, Nikon F, Leical L, Canon EF, Pentax K, and Fujifilm GFX mounts. Head over to Adorama to get one for yourself.
I used the Laowa 20mm f4 Zero-D Shift lens on my Nikon Zf. We waited many months to get Laowa to send over a native Z-mount copy for our review. Occasionally, I used a Leofoto Mr. Q tripod for some stabilization.
The distortion control here is something to behold. Laowa has really done a great job with it. Verticals remain vertical without any barrel distortion at all.
The Laowa 20mm f4 is definitely heavier in your hands compared to their 15mm f4.5 Zero-D version. I can’t see any data on the Laowa website to indicate the length of this lens, but it seems longer than the 15mm version.
The lens hood is rotatable after it is mounted. This is super important as the hood can cause severe vignetting in some shifted scenarios. Rotating it helps fix this (as seen above)
Otherwise, the ergonomics are pretty similar to its wider-angle sibling. You can read all about that here.
Heavy lenses often feel worth their price, and the Laowa 20mm f4 Zero-D Shift lens falls into this category for sure. The shift lock and rotation lock knobs are a handy addition. However, it never felt like the shifted portion of the lens would slowly slip back into its normal position at any time. The lens feels like it’s made of high-quality material, and it inspires you to use it often.
As silly as this might sound, I do wish the manual focus ring had a lock of some sort. I would often accidentally brush against this while shifting the lens and find images to be softer than expected. I would then have to zoom in on the LCD to micro-adjust the focus before shooting again. Otherwise, the manual focus ring coupled with focus peaking is all you’ll need
Also, because the aperture ring only has hard stops at f4, f5.6, f8, f11 and f22, you could inadvertently flick this ring too, changing the aperture when you least expect it.
It takes a bit of getting used to for you to understand which is the shift ring and which is the rotation ring, without having to look at them. Aside from that, once you understand what this lens can do for you, it’s just a question of playing around with it. You’ll almost instantly enjoy the way verticals in buildings look at you. Cityscapes take on a whole new life after you’ve shot them with the Laowa 20mm f4 lens. Of course, shift lenses aren’t just for architecture. You can use them for stitched panorama images, such as the one above. I’m pleased to see the addition of a distance scale, which will help you with depth-of-field calculations.
Laowa’s 15mm f4.5 Zero-D lens exhibited comparatively less contrast when I reviewed it. No such problems on this one. Even in challenging conditions, the Laowa 20mm f4 battled through to give me exceptional quality images.
Even when not using its shift abilities, this actually makes for a good wide-angle landscape lens.
Close focusing at 25cm creates a nice, smooth depth-of-field fallof. But hey, who’s really using this lens for bokeh?
With the clear skies we’ve been having here lately in Dubai, the blues and pinks really stood out while using the Laowa 20mm f4, even on Nikon’s Standard picture profile. I rarely found myself tweaking the saturation or vibrance sliders during editing.
When stopped down, the sunstars created by the 14-blade aperture ring really stand out. I couldn’t notice any vignetting when using the lens hood.
You may observe some softness at infinity when using the Laowa 20mm f4 wide open, but fine-tuning the focus and adding a little sharpening later on would help. Slide through this to see what the image looks like at 100%. It’s nothing to worry about, but just don’t expect razor-sharp stuff at f4.
The Phoblographer has been huge on transparency with our audience since day one. Nothing from this review is sponsored. Further, lots of folks will post reviews and show lots of editing in the photos. The problem then becomes that anyone and everyone can do the same thing. They’re not showing what the product can do. So we have a section in our Extra Image Samples area to show edited and unedited photos. From this, you can make a decision for yourself.
This lens is primarily meant for architecture photographers. But at this price point, I’d argue it isn’t solely meant for professionals alone. If you shoot a lot of cityscapes as a hobby, at this price point the Laowa 20mm f4 is a great lens to get. You’ll immediately appreciate the way the structures in your frame line up so easily, saving you so much time in editing. And the fact that there’s barely any distortion noticeable makes it so much more convenient to shoot. If you don’t want the absolute vastness that the Laowa 15mm Zero-D lens can produce, then this 20mm f4 is ideal for you. It’s perfect to walk around with for extended periods of time, tackling high-rise skyscrapers. This is also an ideal lens for real estate photographers, especially those who shoot a lot of interiors. Laowa scores an absolute winner with this one.
H150° Waterproof Lens Taken from the Laowa 20mm f4 Zero-D Shift lens Product Page: