SLR Magic 8mm f/4 vs Laowa 7.5mm f/2 (Guest Post by Ling)

Hi 43rumors,

My name is Ling, I have just got a prototype of the Laowa 7.5mm from Venus Optics, can’t wait to test it together with the SLR magic 8mm just arrived!!

(left) SLR Magic 8mm f/4   (Right) Laowa 7.5mm f/2.

Just did some quick test on my OM-D EM10. Here are the results.

Angle of view comparison.

First of all, a comparison of the angle of view between 7.5mm and 8mm. The difference is quite significant. Normally a 7.5mm rectilinear lens in a MFT camera should have a 110° Angle of view while 8mm have around 107°. But it appears that the difference is much more than 3°.  Mild distortion can be seen in both lenses.

Below are the resolution comparisons. I have try my best to keep the same composition below.

Resolution Test

Since the SLR magic is f/4 lens while LAOWA is a f/2. Firstly, let’s take a look at the center and corner resolution of both lenses at f/4.

Both at f/4

Laowa (left) and SLR Magic (Right) both at f/4, centre at 100%.

The result is quite similar. Laowa is slightly sharper than SLR Magic.

Laowa (left) and SLR Magic (Right) Both at f/4, lower left corner at 100%

The corner sharpness of Laowa is impressively good while the SLR magic falls quite behind.

Download the originals here
Laowa 7.5mm f/2 @ f/4
SLR Magic 8mm f/4 @ f/4

Both at f/8:

Laowa (left) and SLR Magic (Right) both at f/8, centre at 100%

The result is quite similar. SLR magic seems to have a slightly edge.

Laowa (left) and SLR Magic (Right) Both at f/8, lower left corner at 100%

The sharpness of both Laowa & SLR improves when stop down but Laowa still has a much sharper image than SLR. Both of the lenses suffer from CA but SLR one is a bit vulnerable than Laowa.

Download the originals here
Laowa 7.5mm f/2  @ f/8
SLR Magic 8mm f/4 @ f/8

Both at f/16

Laowa (left) and SLR Magic (Right) both at f/16, centre at 100%

Laowa (left) and SLR Magic (Right) Both at f/16, lower left corner at 100%

Both lenses suffer a sharpness drop at f/16 in both corners and centre.

Download the originals here
Laowa 7.5mm f/2 @ f/16
SLR Magic 8mm f/4 @ f/16

The aperture range of Laowa is from f/2 to f/22 while the SLR Magic is from f/4 to f/16. Here are some extra comparison at wide open and smallest aperture.
Wide open (Laowa @ f/2 , SLR Magic @ f/4)

Laowa at f/2 (left) and SLR Magic at f/4 (Right), centre at 100%.

Laowa at f/2 (left) and SLR Magic at f/4 (Right), lower left corner at 100%

For centre sharpness, both Laowa and SLR are very usable wide open.
For corner, it’s the weakness of the SLR Magic’s lens while Laowa performs very well.

Download the originals here
Laowa 7.5mm f/2 @ f/2
SLR Magic 8mm f/4 @ f/4

Gonna do some more test later, will keep you guys updated!

Ling