Now also Christopher Frost made the very same comparison, but will he also get to the same conclusions?
all very similar build quality. All made of metal
all focus rings are precise enough for accurate focusing at f/0.95, although the Laowa turns round further, which can be helpful
all manual focus, no IBIS, no EXIF transmitted to camera
the Laowa Argus is bigger and heavier than the other two lenses
at f/0.95 all three lenses are surprisingly sharp in the middle, but none of them has impressive contrast
at f/0.95 the 7Artisans shows quite strong color cast and some magenta color fringing
at f/0.95 the Mitakon as some purple fringing
at f/0.95 the Laowa Argus shows a bit less color fringing than the other two
in the corners the Mitakon is by far the softest followed by the 7Artisans while the Venus Optics Laowa lens remains surprisingly sharp
at f/1.4 all lenses remain sharp as before in the corners, while in the middle they gain a lot of contrast and look a little sharper than before with the Laowa Argus being still noticeably ahead of the other two
at f/2 all three lenses look virtually perfect in the center. In the corners the situation is the same as in the wide apertures
at f/4 all three lenses enjoy a nice improvement in corner sharpness with the Laowa being ahead of the others
af f/11 diffraction kicks in
vignetting and distortion: all three lenses have a remarkably similar performance. They show just a little barrel distortion af f/0.95
the Mitakon seems to show the least vignetting at f/0.95 and the Laowa Argus the most
at f/2 the vignetting is gone on the 7Artisans and Mitakon, but it remains a bit on the Laowa
close up focus at f/0.95: Mitakon is the softest, the 7Artisans is sharp but with terrible contrast, the Laowa is pretty sharp with a bit of color fringing
at f/1.4 the Mitakon begins to look sharper and the 7Artisans gains contrast, and the Laowa looks the sharpest
af f/2 all gain sharpness, although the 7Artisans still suffers from lower contrast
against bright light sources, they all show tons of intrusive flare with the Mitakon looking a bit worse than the others
Bokeh: on the 7Artisans is fine but can be a bit nervous and also show a little colorful outlining. Background bokeh on Mitakon and Laowa is exceptionally soft and smooth. The Mitakon suffers a bit of longitudinal chromatic aberration.
Conclusions:
7Artisans typical low budget model that can give some gorgeous narrow depth of field image
the Mitakon is more expensive than the 7Artisans. He liked it a lot when it came out, but it’s the oldest of the three and now shows its age
if you want to spend more for the lens than for the 7Artisans, go for the Laowa, as it is sharper and better in every way over the Mitakon, except for vignetting
Just yesterday we reported that 7Artisans is about to release the 7Artisans 25mm f/0.95 lens for Fujifilm X.
After my article, a FR-reader reached out to me (thanks) and directed my attention a website called schlueter-enterprises, who has already shared sample images, product images as well as an initial review about this lens. I will share the link to everything down below. Now here just some main points and images.
APS-C Normal-length Lens: Normal-length prime is designed for use with Fuji X-mount mirrorless digital cameras, providing a 75mm equivalent focal length. It is well-suited to everyday shooting with subjects including portraiture, street, nightscape, landscape, and reportage.
Optical Design: Its optical system consists of 7 elements in 5 groups, which including 2 HOYA ultra-Low dispersion elements to improve contrast and color rendering in a variety of lighting conditions.
Ideal Aperture: A fast f/0.95 maximum aperture suits working in low-light conditions and also offers great control over the depth of field. A 13-blade diaphragm contributes a pleasing out-of-focus quality when working with selective focus techniques.
All-metal Construction: The all-metal lens barrel features an engraved depth of field and focuses scales. Additionally, a metal lens mount also offers increased durability between the lens and camera.
Multi-layer Coating: The multi-layer coating has been applied to individual elements and reduces flare and ghosting in order to produce greater contrast and color accuracy when working in strong lighting conditions.
Now Richard Wong compared them all on his youtube channel. As usual, I’ll provide a summary for you guys in case you don’t have time right now to watch at the 22 minutes long video.
Summary
Design and Built Quality
all manual focus only with no electronic contacts
all full metal construction
they all feel very solid
Mitakon and 7Artisans size and weight is similar. The Laowa is quite a bit bigger and heavier
The Laowa feels a bit front heavy on X-T3
Mitakon and 7Artisans, when you change focus distance, the high of these lenses will extend a bit. The size of the Laowa always remains the same
Only Laowa comes with lens hood, a metal lens hood. But the lens cap is of plastic
7Artisans and Mitakon have a focus throw of 90 degrees, while the Laowa has a much longer focus throw of 270 degrees
Laowa focus ring feels smooth but also a bit tight. Changing from closes distance to infinity, it will be hard to do it quickly on the Laowa. Not a problem with the other lenses
7Artisans has a quite loose focus ring, so it can be tricky to focus very precisely when shooting at f/.095
all these lenses have an de-clicked aperture ring, which he hates. Non of his videographer friends ever changes aperture while shooting a video. He’d prefer a clicked aperture ring
he prefers the design of the Laowa
Field of view
Laowa has the widest field of view (33 instead of 35)
Sharpness
Center at f/0.95: Laowa is clearly the sharpest, followed by Mitakon and the last is 7Artisans
at f/1.4 all lenses improve contrast
corner sharpness at f/0.95: all quite soft, but Laowa is the sharpest and borderline usable
corner sharpness at f/1.4 is reasonably sharp, while you must stop the Mitakon and 7Artisans down at f/2 to get similar results of the Laowa at f/1.4
Chromatic Aberration
at f/0.95: Laowa is the best with only a little bit of aberration, and much better than the other two lenses. Mitakon still keeps chromatic aberration at a decent level. 7Artisans has noticeably more chromatic aberration than the other two lenses
LoCA at f/0.95: serious color fringing on the 7Artisans. Laowa is best. Mitakon only marginally worst than the Laowa
Vignetting
at f/0.95, the Laowa is worst, followed by Mitakon and 7Artisans is best
it’s surprising, as the Laowa is the biggest lens
Bokeh
at f/0.95: Laowa has smoothest and most creamy bokeh, Mitakon a bit of halo, on 7Artisans pretty noticeable halo which makes it look more nervous
bokeh balls: Laowa pretty round a bit swirly in the corners. Mitakon relatively round in the center, but in corners a weird triangle shape. 7Artisans bokeh a bit similar to Mitakon but not quite as extreme and corners have oval shape bokeh with pointy end
Distortion
overall similar and noticeable barrel distortion
Focus distance
similar minimum focus distance of 35/37 cm
at close distance, Laowa has softest sharpness, Mitakon in the middle, and 7Artisans is the sharpest at close distance
Flare
All have quite some lens flare and contrast drops
lens flare looks quite different
7Artisans is best with least amount of lens flare, but the Laowa has the best and very cinematic looking lens flare with lots of character thanks to a red lens flare
Sun Stars
from f/8 to f/11: Laowa most beautiful. Also 7Artisans has nice sun stars. Mitakon not quite as clean sun stars
You can stop down the Laowa only until f/11, while 7Artisans and Mitakon go until f/16
Mitakon and 7Artisans have quite a bit of ghosting when shooting at f/16, so while the sun star is a bit sharper compared to Laowa at f/16, the ghosting can become a bit distracting
Laowa and 7Artisans are a good choice
Coma + Focus Breathing
Laowa Coma is at acceptable level. 7Artisans has slightly more coma. Mitakon is the worst
Laowa and Mitakon similar focus breathing, 7Artisans more focus breathing
Final Thoughts
Each of the lenses has Pros and Cons
7Artisans best value for money, Mitakon overall balanced design and reasonably well in most areas
Laowa is his favorite. It’s the sharpness of all and has lowest amount of chromatic aberration, making it most usable at f/0.95
Laowa renders best bokeh and lens flare
Laowa has way too long focus throw
He would pick the Laowa, even if it is larger and heavier
