Laowa 20mm f/4 Zero-d Shift

£1139/$1299 www.venuslens.net

The Laowa 20mm f/4 Zero-d Shift follows on from the Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-d Shift, with a less-extreme angle of view, but the same perspective correction capability and affordable price tag. It’s available in Nikon F and Z mounts, among others. The Laowa 20mm f/4 Zero-d Shift is a full-frame shift lens with a wide angle of view and a large image circle that allows an 11mm shift in any direction. This means you can capture the full height of a tall building without having to tilt the camera upwards, for example. The ‘Zero-d’ in the name indicates ‘zero distortion’, an optical configuration that produces little or no visible lens distortion. It consists of 16 elements in 11 groups, with two aspherical elements and three ED elements for edge-to-edge sharpness across its image circle. The Laowa 20mm f/4 Zero-d Shift is a ‘dumb’ lens with no electronic communication with the camera body, so it’s manual focus only, and while you can use it in P, A or M modes, you will need to set the aperture on the lens itself.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Laowa’s ever-expanding range of offbeat lenses continues to impress, and this latest shift lens comes with an attractive price tag.