Laowa AF 200mm f/2
For Canon EF & RF, for Nikon Z & for Sony (2025 ~ today)
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Versions & Compatibility Specs Performance
User's Guide Recommendations More
Laowa AF 200mm f/2 (105mm filters, also a 43mm rear filter holder in Nikon Z and Sony mount versions, 56.0 oz./1,588g in Canon EF mount as shown; 62¼ oz./1,765g in Nikon Z & Sony mounts, 4.9'/1.5m close focus, 0.15× macro ratio, $1,799 for Canon EF or RF, $1,999 for Nikon Z or $1,999 for Sony E. Each of the three versions comes in a dark blue as shown here or a more traditional gray.). bigger. I'd get mine at B&H, at Adorama or at Amazon, or get it used at eBay (How to Win at eBay), or possibly get it used at KEH.
This all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken.
February 2026 Better Pictures Laowa Canon Nikon Sony Fuji OM SYSTEM LEICA Zeiss HASSELBLAD All Reviews
Fuji XF 200mm f/2 R LM OIS WR (only covers APS-C)
Why Fixed Lenses Take Better Pictures
How to Shoot Film: The Canon EF version works fine on many Canon 35mm EOS camera made since 1987. See Compatibility.
Sample Images top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Versions & Compatibility Specs Performance
User's Guide Recommendations More
More samples throughout this review at Bokeh, Falloff, Macro, Spherochromatism and Sunstars.
These are just snapshots; my real work is in my Gallery.
These are all shot hand-held as NORMAL (▟ stairstep icon) JPGs; no tripods, FINE (
Canary Palm, 9:16 AM, Thursday, 12 February 2026. Canon EOS R6 III, Laowa 200mm f/2 on EF to RF adapter wide-open at f/2 at 1/1,250 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 12.4), Radiant Photo software to add light to the shadows while retaining highlights. bigger or full-resolution or camera-original 32 MP © 11 MB JPG file.
At f/2 only the closest fronds are in focus.
Stones, 9:17 AM, Thursday, 12 February 2026. Canon EOS R6 III, Laowa 200mm f/2 on EF to RF adapter wide-open at f/2 at 1/6,400 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 14.6), Radiant Photo software to add light. bigger or full-resolution.
At f/2 only most of the stone on the left is in focus,the stone on the right is closer and less in focus.
Shade as Seen from Outside a House Looking Through the Window Glass with Its Accompanying Reflections, 9:24 AM, Tuesday, 17 February 2026. Canon EOS R6 III, Laowa 200mm f/2 on EF to RF adapter wide-open at f/2 at 1/1,600 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 12.6), as shot. bigger or camera-original 32 MP © 20 MB (!!!) JPG file.
Especially wide-open where we need it, this lens in extremely sharp all the way out to the far corners. Of course it has to be in perfect focus for this, and the shots above were of three-dimensional objects and thus half of the image isn't in focus — but this one is all in focus. Here's a 5.8× magnification crop from the far lower right corner:
1,200 × 900 pixel (5.8× magnification) crop from the far lower right corner of the above. bigger or camera-original 32 MP © 20 MB JPG file.
Not only can I see every thread; I can see every detail of every fine fraction of a thread worn off the old shades! Boring photo I know, but it shows how sharp this lens is.
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 3" (8cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 12 × 18" (30 × 45 cm).
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 23 × 35" (59 × 89 cm).
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 47 × 70" (119 × 178 cm).
Introduction top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Versions & Compatibility Specs Performance
User's Guide Recommendations More
I buy only from these approved sources. I can't vouch for ads below. |
This inexpensive new lens breaks new ground in performance and price.
It's ultra sharp corner-to-corner wide-open at f/2, it's relatively free from spherochromatism, has superb bokeh, negligible lateral color, has no visible distortion and focuses precisely with an almost silent stepper motor. Even better, its made of all metal!
This new lens has far superior optics to the world's first 200mm f/2 lens, the manual-focus Nikon ED IF 200mm f/2 AI-s, which still sells used for a high price today because of its legendary bokeh.
This Laowa lens' optics seem to be as good as the newest camera-brand 200mm f/2 lenses, even if I recall Laowa humbly admitting when they first loaned me a prototype that it had only "85%" of the performance of the exotic camera-brands, while today with an "improved" production version it seems just as good as the pro models.
It lacks optical stabilization, which the cameras brands and even Sigma have. It works great if you have a stabilized camera, and even if not, stabilization doesn't do anything if you're shooting action.
This is a surprisingly great lens at a give-away price. The only downside is that Laowa is a new domestic Chinese company with no U. S. A. based service facilities of which I know. By comparison Canon has been around almost a hundred years and Nikon has been around for over 100 years with facilities all over the U. S. A. I have no idea how one would get a Laowa lens serviced under warranty, and no idea how you would get it serviced if Laowa went away in the future. As with all third-party lenses like Sigma and others, even if this lens works great on your camera today, there are no guarantees that it will work with whatever camera you may buy in the future. More at Versions and Compatibility.
I'd get my Laowa AF 200mm f/2 at B&H, at Adorama or at Amazon, or get it used at eBay (How to Win at eBay), or possibly get it used at KEH.
New intro top
World's first discount 200mm f/2 lens.
Comes in blue as shown here or dark gray. Sorry, no red or orange or green or paint-to-sample.
Good intro top
Ultra sharp corner-to-corner at every aperture.
Relatively free from Spherochromatism,
Superb Bokeh.
No visible Distortion.
Stops down to f/22, not just f/16.
Relatively compact and light weight.
Focuses precisely with an almost silent stepper motor.
Made of all metal!
Programmable function buttons, which for me usually work as focus preset and recall.
AF/MF switch.
Focus limiter switch.
Aperture ring on Nikon Z and Sony versions.
Bad intro top
Unproven support ability.
As with every third-party lens, always the potential for for incompatibility.
Missing intro top
No Stabilizer switch for in-camera stabilization.
Mounting index dot not raised so it can't be found by feel in the dark.
No focus or depth-of-field scales.
No infra-red focus indices.
Versions & Compatibility top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Versions & Compatibility Specs Performance
User's Guide Recommendations More
I'd get my Laowa AF 200mm f/2 at B&H, at Adorama or at Amazon, or get it used at eBay (How to Win at eBay), or possibly get it used at KEH.
Overview
It comes in three mounts: a mount for Canon EF (which works flawlessly on mirrorless EOS cameras with an EF to RF adapter as I've shot it here), a mount for Nikon Z and a mount for Sony E.
If you shoot Canon, Nikon or Sony, get that mount.
Each of these three versions comes in a dark blue as shown here or in a more traditional gray — making a total of six variations.
The Canon EF version is quite adaptable to other brands, is smaller, lighter and costs less, but lacks the aperture ring and second rear 43mm filter holder of the Nikon Z and Sony E versions.
Be forewarned that with every third-party lens that even if it works great on your camera today, there is never any guarantee that it will work with whatever camera you buy in the future. Be sure only to buy from an approved source so you can simply return it for a full cash refund if it doesn't work on your camera today (often the only way to know for sure it to try it yourself), but know that the biggest reason that these lenses cost less than the original camera brands is that you have to stomach the potential risk that it might not work on your next new camera, long after the return period has expired.
This lens has a USB-C port for firmware updates which might fix problems in the future if and only if Laowa offers updated software. When I tried to update firmware on a prototype they loaned me, it turned out that the process was so complex — requiring I install some questionable software on my Apple MacIntosh computer just to be able to update the lens — that I didn't update it.
Teleconverters
See my Teleconverter section for details.
Canon EF Version top
As shipped, the Canon EF version mounts to all Canon DSLRs and to all Canon 35mm EOS Autofocus film cameras.
Mine works perfectly on my EOS R6 III on my EF to RF Adapter.
The Canon EF version is universal because not only does it work perfectly on Canon mirrorless with an EF to RF Adapter (which is how I shot it for this review on my EOS R6 III), adapters are available to let you use the Canon EF version on just about any other brand of mirrorless camera.
For instance, here are EF to Nikon Z adapters (example review), EF to Sony adapters, EF to Fuji adapters (sample review), EF to Micro 4/3 (OM, Olympus, Panasonic, DJI, Adapters and EF to Leica L-mount adapters.
It is a fool's errand to adapt the Canon EF version to Nikon Z or Sony E; if you shoot Nikon or Sony, get that version. With the exceptions of Canon's excellent EF to RF Adapters, using adapters usually lead to some incompatibilities, so you're pushing it if you intend to adapt the Canon version to Nikon or to Sony rather than just using the correct version. I haven't tried these adapters with this lens.
I tried it, and I'm impressed that it works fine on my 1987 35mm EOS 620 and 1988 35mm EOS 750.
Like all third-party lenses, not everything works perfectly on everything.
I tried in on my 35mm EOS 1V, which is Canon's best 35mm camera, and oddly it didn't work at all, just blinking "8000" in the finder and turning on a display of random AF areas — as if my 1V was about to explode.
With DSLRs, I got horribly inaccurate autofocus on my original EOS 5D, making this lens essentially useless on it.
With my favorite EOS 5DS/R DSLR, autofocus was often off but otherwise worked great. I suspect all it needs is some manual AF fine tuning, but didn't care enough to play with it.
Nikon Z Version
The Nikon Z version works only on Nikon's Z-series of mirrorless cameras.
It won't mount on any other camera.
Sony E Version
The Sony E Version mounts on all Sony E-mount cameras, both full-frame and crop-sensor APS-C. This includes all the variations of A1, A7, A9, A6xxx, A5xxx, FX, ZV and NEX series cameras.
It will not mount on any Sony A-mount DSLR or any Minolta MAXXUM 35mm SLR of any kind. Those use the old A mount which was actually the Minolta MAXXUM mount from 1987.
Specifications top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Versions & Compatibility Specs Performance
User's Guide Recommendations More
I'd get my Laowa AF 200mm f/2 at B&H, at Adorama or at Amazon, or get it used at eBay (How to Win at eBay), or possibly get it used at KEH.
Name specifications top
Venus Laowa calls this the AF FF 200mm f/2.0 C-Dreamer:
AF: Autofocus.
FF: Full-frame 24 × 36mm.
C-Dreamer: Your guess is as good as mine.
Model Numbers:
Canon EF: VE20020AFC dark blue, VE20020AFCG gray.
Nikon Z: VE20020AFNZ dark blue, VE20020AFNZG gray.
Sony E: VE20020AFFE dark blue, VE20020AFFEG gray.
Optics specifications top
Internal Optical Construction. Ultra-High Refractive Index, Anomalous Dispersion and ED glass. bigger.
11 elements in 9 groups.
1 Ultra-High Refractive Index element.
1 Anomalous Partial Dispersion element.
2 ED elements: magic Extra-low Dispersion glass for reduced axial secondary chromatic aberration.
Diaphragm specifications top
|
|
At f/2. bigger. |
At about f/5.6. bigger. |
9 rounded blades.
Electronically actuated.
Stops down to f/22.
Filters specifications top
Metal 105mm filter thread.
1.0mm "coarse" thread pitch (most smaller filters are 0.75mm pitch; don't worry about it).
Focal Length specifications top
200 mm.
When used on an APS-C camera, it sees the same angle of view as a 300 mm lens sees when used on a full-frame or 35mm camera.
See also Crop Factor.
Angle of View specifications top
12º diagonal.
Autofocus specifications top
No external movement as focussed, so no air or dust is sucked in.
Focus Scale specifications top
No.
Not on lens, but may be displayed in-camera.
Infinity Focus Stop specifications top
No.
You have to focus somehow to get precise focus at infinity, just like at every other distance.
There is a focus recall feature that can be set to focus at infinity with the press of a button.
Depth of Field Scale specifications top
No.
Not on lens, but may be displayed in-camera.
Infrared Focus Index specifications top
No.
Close Focus (distance from subject to image plane) specifications top
4.9 feet (1.5 meters).
Maximum Reproduction Ratio specifications top
1:6.61 (0.15×), actual measured.
1:6.66 (0.15×), specified.
Minimum Subject Field specifications top
158.1 x 237.2mm, actual measured.
Reproduction Ratio Scale specifications top
No.
Not on lens, but may be displayed in-camera.
Image Stabilizer specifications top
NONE, but works great with in-camera stabilization. if you have it.
Caps specifications top
105mm front cap and mount-specific rear cap included.
Hood specifications top
Included Hood for Laowa AF 200mm f/2. bigger.
Plastic hood with lock nut, included.
Case specifications top
Included Case with Laowa AF 200mm f/2. bigger.
Tripod Collar specifications top
Laowa AF 200mm f/2, Canon EF Mount. bigger.
The tripod collar is nice.
It fits Arca heads.
It has a single ¼″ × 20" TPI thread and 90º clicks.
More at Tripod Collar.
Sizes specifications top
Canon EF
4.65" ø maximum diameter × 5.84" extension from flange.
118 mm ø maximum diameter × 148.3 mm extension from flange.
Nikon Z
4.65" ø maximum diameter × 6.96" extension from flange.
118 mm ø maximum diameter × 176.8 mm extension from flange.
Sony E
4.65" ø maximum diameter × 6.88" extension from flange.
118 mm ø maximum diameter × 174.8 mm extension from flange.
Weights specifications top
Canon EF mount: 56.0 oz. (1,588g).
Nikon Z & Sony mounts: 62¼ oz. (1,765g).
Quality specifications top
Made in China.
Announced specifications top
14 October 2025, 1400 UTC.
Included specifications top
Lens.
Caps.
Case.
Hood.
Card with a QR code for the manual.
Model Numbers specifications top
Canon EF: VE20020AFC dark blue, VE20020AFCG gray.
Nikon Z: VE20020AFNZ dark blue, VE20020AFNZG gray.
Sony E: VE20020AFFE dark blue, VE20020AFFEG gray.
Price, U. S. A. specifications top
February 2026
$1,799 for Canon EF (use with EF to RF adapter on Canon mirrorless).
Performance top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Versions & Compatibility Specs Performance
User's Guide Recommendations More
Overall Autofocus Manual Focus
Distance Recording Bokeh Distortion
Ergonomics Falloff Filters Flare & Ghosts
Hood Lateral Color Fringes Lens Corrections
Macro Mechanics Sharpness Spherochromatism
Stabilization Sunstars Teleconverters Tripod Collar
I'd get my Laowa AF 200mm f/2 at B&H, at Adorama or at Amazon, or get it used at eBay (How to Win at eBay), or possibly get it used at KEH.
Overall performance top
This is a heavy chunk of lens with superb optics and moderate autofocus speed.
Autofocus performance top
Autofocus speed is only moderate to allow for precise focus at f/2.
It's not almost instantaneous as it is in the $10,000 Canon RF 100-300mm f/2.8L IS USM.
It focuses with only the slightest hum.
It may not be instantaneous, but it does work fine for hand-held focus stacking and compositing in my EOS R6 III!
Manual Focus performance top
Manual focus is slow, and I don't see the distance scale pop up in my Canon as it does with other lenses.
The manual focus ring is hard, bare metal, and strongly damped so it doesn't spin freely.
The manual override feature after focus locks in ONE SHOT in my Canon doesn't seem to work; I have to use the AF/MF switch.
The Focus Limiter switch is where my thumb usually rests; I have to reach down to move the AF-MF switch.
Manual focusing is entirely electronic; the manual focus ring isn't connected to anything other than a digital encoder.
Focus Distance Recording performance top
The focused distance is recorded in the EXIF data.
I read this in the lower left of my screen in Photoshop's lens correction filter.
Bokeh performance top
Bokeh, the feel, character or quality of out-of-focus areas as opposed to how far out of focus they are, is excellent.
Here are photos from headshot distance. I'm focused on the DAVIS logo. Click any for the © camera-original file:
Made-in-U. S. A. Davis 6357 Vantage Vue Wireless Sensor Suite (use with WeatherLink console), 9:18 AM, Thursday, 12 February 2026. Canon EOS R6 III, Laowa 200mm f/2 on EF to RF adapter at 1/6,400, 1/1,600 and 1/320 at Auto ISO 100, +0.7 stops exposure compensation (LV 14.6, 14.6 and 14.4).
Click any for the camera-original © file.
As always, if you want to throw the background as far out of focus as possible, shoot at f/2 and get as close as possible.
Distortion performance top
There's no visible distortion.
While my Canon EOS R6 III lets me turn Distortion Correction ON or OFF, I doubt there's any correction data available and the results are the same with it ON or OFF.
For more critical scientific use, use a correction factor of -0.80 in Photoshop's lens correction filter.
Ergonomics performance top
|
|
Laowa AF 200mm f/2, Canon EF Mount. bigger. |
Laowa AF 200mm f/2, Canon EF Mount. bigger. |
It's a big, chunky lens that's easy to hand hold. I prefer to grab it around the hood to give me more leverage.
I find that the Focus Limiter switch is where my thumb rests and thus where I'd prefer the AF/MF switch lies.
There are four Fn buttons around the front of the lens and a fifth under the AF/MF switch.
Falloff performance top
Falloff is minor at f/2, and goes away at other apertures.
I've greatly exaggerated the falloff by shooting a gray field and placing these on a gray background; it will not look this bad in actual photos of real things:
Falloff on full-frame at infinity, Vignetting Peripheral Illumination correction at its default of ON:
© 2026 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved. |
Even though we can turn correction ON or OFF in my Canon, I don't know that there is any data available or correction going on. I see no significant difference with it turned OFF:
Falloff on full-frame at infinity, correction deliberately turned OFF:
© 2026 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved. |
Filters, use with performance top
There's no need for thin filters. I can stack several standard 105mm filters with no vignetting at any setting on full-frame.
Go ahead and use your standard rotating polarizer and grad filters.
Be careful; a lens this long will be sensitive to poorly made filters. Check any filter you hope to use with this lens for flatness. Take photos with and without the filter, or even better, just hold it over the front of one side of a pair of binoculars or a small telescope. The image should be perfectly clear with or without the filter. If the filter is even slightly unflat, the image seen through the telescope will look awful! So long as it looks good when held in front of your 'scope, it will be perfect for pictures. This test instantly makes even slightly bad filters look absolutely awful, so if it looks OK through your scope, you're good.
Flare & Ghosts performance top
The hood is too short to be of much use other than to keep your fingers out of the lens, and there is veiling flare if the sun gets in the lens. I try to use a free hand to block the sun.
Hood specifications top
It's short and plastic. It's good for keeping fingers off the lens and keeping the front glass protected from bumping on rocks, but it doesn't do much for preventing flare from the sun.
Lateral Color Fringes performance top
I can't see any significant color fringes, which is superb because there aren't any electronic corrections available with this third-party lens.
If pressed, there is just the tiniest amount of magenta-green, but you'll never see it.
Lens Corrections performance top
While my Canons let me turn all the various corrections ON or OFF, I see no difference and I doubt there is any data or correction going on.
The great news is that this lens is so good optically that electronic corrections aren't needed. Distortion, Falloff and Lateral Color Fringes are all very well controlled optically. Bravo!
Macro Performance performance top
It doesn't get that close, but it is super sharp. Bravo!
Wide-Open at f/2
It may not get that close, but it is very sharp wide open. This is excellent performance. Many other lenses get soft this close wide-open:
Casio G-Shock Solar Atomic Watch at close-focus distance, Thursday, 12 February 2026. Canon EOS R6 III, Laowa 200mm f/2 on EF to RF adapter at 1/4,000 at Auto ISO 100, +0.7 stops exposure compensation (LV 14.0). bigger or camera-original © file.
1,200 × 900 pixel (5.8× magnification) crop from above. bigger or camera-original © file.
The texture you're seeing is the watch face solar cell.
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 3" (8cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 12 × 18" (30 × 45 cm).
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 23 × 35" (59 × 89 cm).
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 47 × 70" (119 × 178 cm).
At f/8
It's even sharper at f/8, and of course there's much more in focus:
Casio G-Shock Solar Atomic Watch at close-focus distance, Thursday, 12 February 2026. Canon EOS R6 III, Laowa 200mm f/2 on EF to RF adapter at 1/4,000 at Auto ISO 100, +0.7 stops exposure compensation (LV 14.0). bigger or camera-original © file.
1,200 × 900 pixel (5.8× magnification) crop from above. bigger or camera-original © file.
The texture you're seeing is the watch face solar cell.
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 3" (8cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 12 × 18" (30 × 45 cm).
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 23 × 35" (59 × 89 cm).
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 47 × 70" (119 × 178 cm).
Mechanical Quality performance top
Laowa AF 200mm f/2, Canon EF Mount. bigger.
This lens is all metal. Thank goodness the Chinese are showing the Japanese how to do things right. Hear me Nikon, Canon and Sony: plastic filter threads are for losers.
Something you can't see here is that this sample arrived meticulously clean. Usually every item I photograph requires careful cleaning on my part and then spotting in Photoshop to remove a myriad of dust specks, while this lens was totally clean. This is a very good sign, I can tell who runs a clean factory based on how many white specks I need to healing-brush off each photo. This lens required almost none. Bravo!
Exterior Finish
Anodized aluminum.
Hood
Plastic, with metal thumbscrew.
Front Bumper
None.
Filter Threads
Anodized aluminum.
Hood Bayonet Mount
Anodized aluminum.
Barrel Exterior
Anodized aluminum.
Focus Ring
Hard anodized aluminum.
Slide Switches
Plastic.
Tripod Collar
Metal.
More at Tripod Collar.
Identity
Engraved and filled with paint on plastic plate on the top of the barrel.
Internals
Seem like all metal!
Dust Gasket at Mount
Yes.
Mount
Chromed metal.
Markings
Everything is engraved and filled with paint.
Serial Number
Engraved and filled with paint on the bottom of the barrel:
Laowa AF 200mm f/2, Canon EF Mount. bigger.
Noises When Shaken
Nothing!
This is a very solid hunk of a lens.
Made in
Laowa AF 200mm f/2, Canon EF Mount. bigger.
Made in China.
Sharpness performance top
Lens sharpness has nothing to do with picture sharpness.
Every lens made in the past 100 years is more than sharp enough to make super-sharp pictures if you know what you're doing. The only limitation to picture sharpness is your skill as a photographer. It's the least talented who spend the most time worrying about lens sharpness and blame crummy pictures on their equipment rather than themselves. Skilled photographers make great images with whatever camera is in their hands; I've made some of my best images of all time with an irreparably broken camera! Most pixels are thrown away before you see them, but camera makers don't want you to know that.
If you're not getting ultra-sharp pictures with this, be sure not to shoot at f/11 or smaller where all lenses are softer due to diffraction, always shoot at ISO 100 or below because cameras become softer at ISO 200 and above, avoid shooting across long distances over land which can lead to atmospheric heat shimmer, be sure everything is in perfect focus, set your camera's sharpening as you want it (I set mine to the maximum) and be sure nothing is moving, either camera or subject. If you want to ensure a soft image with any lens, shoot at f/16 or smaller at ISO 1,600 or above at default sharpening in daylight of subjects at differing distances in the same image.
People worry waaaaay too much about lens sharpness. It's not 1968 anymore when lenses often weren't that sharp and there could be significant differences among them; ever since about 2010 all new lenses are all pretty much equally fantastic.
This lens is super sharp corner-to corner at every aperture, limited by your vision as an artist and of course by heat shimmer and by diffraction at the smallest apertures. Avoid f/11 and smaller unless you really need them for extreme depth of field because diffraction takes its toll. See also How to Calculate the Sharpest Aperture.
Claimed MTF at 10 cyc/mm and 30 cyc/mm. The solid lines are the sagittal (radial) and the dotted lines are the meridional (tangential) measurements. bigger.
While it's usually valid to compare rated MTFs between different lenses of similar vintage from the same maker, every maker measures or simply calculates MTF very differently, and therefore one cannot compare these curves between brands. For instance, Sony seems to ignore diffraction and simply calculate overly optimistic MTFs that hug 100%, which no real lens can do at f/8, while other brands are more realistic and include diffraction. Only Canon offers any insight on how they arrive at their curves.
See also my article on MTF and Canon's article on MTFs.
Spherochromatism performance top
Spherochromatism, also called secondary spherical chromatic aberration or "color bokeh," is an advanced form of spherical and chromatic aberration in a different dimension than lateral chromatic aberration and therefore cannot be corrected with software or automatic corrections. It happens mostly in fast normal and tele lenses when spherical aberration at the ends of the color spectrum (red and blue) are corrected differently than in the middle of the spectrum (green).
Spherochromatism can cause colored fringes on out-of-focus highlights, usually seen as green fringes (the middle of the spectrum) on background highlights and magenta fringes (the red and blue ends of the spectrum added together make magenta) on foreground highlights.
Spherochromatism is common in fast lenses of moderate focal length when shooting contrasty items at full aperture. It goes away as stopped down.
Spherochromatism is a completely different aberration from lateral color fringes.
This Laowa 200mm f/2 has very little spherochromatism, which is superb for a lens like this. It has minor yellow-green fringes behind and blue-violet fringes ahead of the plane of perfect focus. I didn't see this in practical images and only saw it in this deliberate test:
Mondaine Swiss Rail A132.30348.11SBB at close-focus distance, Thursday, 12 February 2026. Canon EOS R6 III, Laowa 200mm f/2 on EF to RF adapter at 1/8,000 at Auto ISO 100, +0.3 stops exposure compensation (LV 15.0). bigger or camera-original © file.
1,200 × 900 pixel (5.8× magnification) crop from above. bigger or camera-original © file.
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 3" (8cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 12 × 18" (30 × 45 cm).
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 23 × 35" (59 × 89 cm).
If this 1,200 × 900 pixel crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 47 × 70" (119 × 178 cm).
Image Stabilization (VR) performance top
This lens has no Optical Image Stabilization (OIS, IS or VR (Vibration Reduction)), and works great with in-camera stabilization, at least on my stabilized EOS R6 III.
"Percent Perfectly Sharp Shots" are the percentage of hand-held, free-standing with no support or bracing, frames with 100% perfect tripod-equivalent sharpness as viewed at 300%. Hand tremor is a random occurrence, so at marginal speeds some frames will be perfectly sharp while others will be in various stages of blur — all at the same shutter speed.
This rates what percentage of shots are perfectly sharp, not how sharp are all the frames:
| % Perfectly Sharp Shots on stabilized EOS R6 III | 1/2 |
1/4 |
1/8 |
1/15 |
1/30 |
1/60 |
1/125 |
1/250 |
1/500 |
1/1,000 |
| Stabilization ON | 0 |
10 |
40 |
80 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
| Stabilization OFF | 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
20 |
80 |
80 |
100 |
I see 4½ stops of real-world improvement, which is excellent!
Are you seeing how fantastic is modern stabilization? I'm looking at these images at 300%, far, far more closely than we ever could do with film. With film we had a 1/focal length rule-of-thumb which suggested the slowest safe hand-held speed would be 1/200.
As you can see, while 1/200 may have been "good enough" back on film, with 32 MP digital even 1/500 often gives imperfect shots even with my rock-steady hands — while with the in-camera stabilization of my R6 III I get perfect sharpness at 1/30 and even get perfect sharpness about half the time at 1/8. "10%" at a quarter second means that at a quarter second handheld I get one perfectly sharp shot for every ten frames.
Sunstars performance top
With a 9-bladed rounded diaphragm, I get 18-point sunstars on brilliant points of light mostly at the smallest apertures.
Ignore the vertical smear at large apertures. This is a sensor artifact called interline transfer smear and is a camera, not a lens, defect.
Likewise ignore the crazy green rainbow dots at small apertures; these are sensor artifacts caused by interference among the divisions between pixels on the sensor. These are made visible because we're using enough exposure to show the dark underside of a huge palm tree, and then putting the blinding disk of the mid-day sun in it. Doing this will show everything due to the insane lighting range.
Click any to enlarge:
Click any to enlarge.
Teleconverters performance top
I haven't tried it with the Nikon Z or Sony teleconverters.
With the Canon EF 1.4× II Extender
The Canon EF version with my Canon EF 1.4× II extender on my EF to RF adapter on my EOS R6 III seems to photograph just fine and the images are super sharp out to the corners wide-open (excellent!), however the data communication is incorrect and the camera is led to believe that the combination is still a 200mm f/2 lens. With a genuine EF lens and an EF extender, the camera is fed updated data to record the correct extended focal lengths and effective slower apertures for better metering and EXIF data.
This means that the EXIF data is tainted, and that in-camera image stabilization doesn't work properly since it's correcting for the motion of a 200mm lens, and with an effective focal length of 300mm the results offer very little stabilization.
With the Canon EF 2× II Extender
The Canon EF 2× II extender mounts just fine, however data is corrupted and the EOS R6 III always indicates that the lens is in manual focus mode, regardless of the setting — but it won't focus manually ☹️.
It's as if there is no lens attached and it won't shoot unless you set the camera to "shoot without lens." Even if you play that trick, there's still no way to focus the lens with the EF 2× II extender, so forget about it and stick with the EF 1.4× II to make this a pretty good 300mm f/2.8, but without in-body stabilization unless you can set your camera's IS system to 280mm manually.
Tripod Collar performance top
Laowa AF 200mm f/2, Canon EF Mount. bigger.
90º clicks.
Arca foot.
One ¼″ × 20 TPI thread.
The collar doesn't come off the lens, but the foot does come off from the collar.
With the foot removed the collar's stub has no thread. If you take off the foot there's no place other than the camera to attach a tripod.
User's Guide top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Versions & Compatibility Specs Performance
User's Guide Recommendations More
I'd get my Laowa AF 200mm f/2 at B&H, at Adorama or at Amazon, or get it used at eBay (How to Win at eBay), or possibly get it used at KEH.
See also Laowa's 200mm f/2 User's Guide PDF.
Laowa AF 200mm f/2, Canon EF Mount. bigger.
Full / 5m-∞ Switch user's guide top
This is a focus limiter.
Leave it in FULL.
The 5m-∞ position prevents the lens from autofocusing closer than 5 meters (16 feet). Use this setting only if you're having a problem with the lens attempting to focus on irrelevant close items, or if for some reason the lens is "hunting" from near to far while looking for distant subjects.
Focus Preset user's guide top
If you hold one of the lens's rubberized Fn buttons for a few seconds, it will memorize the current focus distance. It doesn't beep or react otherwise; you just have to trust it.
The next time you tap an Fn button it should motor back to exactly the same focus distance.
This is handy for focusing right away to home plate, infinity, your bird feeder, or whatever without having to refocus on an actual subject.
You'll have to play around, and my camera's Lens Fn button settings don't seem to affect how this works.
Good luck.
Recommendations top
Sample Images Intro New Good Bad Missing
Versions & Compatibility Specs Performance
User's Guide Recommendations More
I'd get my Laowa AF 200mm f/2 at B&H, at Adorama or at Amazon, or get it used at eBay (How to Win at eBay), or possibly get it used at KEH.
Want a fast tele for a discount price with great optics? Here you go. Be wary that you may not have the same warranty support we expect from camera brands, and compatibility may suffer in the future if firmware updates don't happen, but hey, for half the price of the Nikon or Canon lenses, how loudly can you complain?
Be sure to get it only from my recommended sources at at B&H, at Adorama or at Amazon so that you can just send it back if you don't love it. You never have to guess about how well it will work for you, order it and see for yourself. That's why I've used B&H and Adorama since I was a kid: I can try it in my own environment with my own other gear and if I don't love it, back it goes.
Filters
Nikon and Sony versions come with a rear 43mm UV filter already installed in a holder. If you use a different filter, try to use one with glass that's close to 1.5mm thick to keep the optics aligned for the best focus accuracy. Use a filter with a ring less than 4.3mm thick so it fits well. This is mostly for shooting film where we need color correction and other filters under just about every lighting condition. I have no idea how to get a polarizer for this.
I use a clear (UV) protective filter over the front instead of a cap (exactly like an iPhone) so I'm always ready to shoot instantly. I only use a cap when I throw this in a bag with other gear without padding — which is never. The UV filter never gets in the way, and never gets lost, either.
I'd use a 105mm Hoya EVO Antistatic UV or Sigma 105mm protector to protect this lens. Another excellent and less expensive option is the B+W 010 MRC UV, and the least expensive is the uncoated 105mm Tiffen Coarse Thread (1.0mm pitch) UV. All these filters use the coarse 1.0mm thread pitch; Tiffen makes so many filters that only they bother to mention the pitch.
All these filters are just as sharp and take the same pictures, the difference is how much abuse they'll take and stay clean and stay in one piece. Since filters last a lifetime or more, there's no reason not to buy the best as it will last you for the next 50 years. Filters aren't throwaways like digital cameras which we replace every few years, like it or not. I'm still using filters I bought back in the 1970s!
I'd get my Laowa AF 200mm f/2 at B&H, at Adorama or at Amazon, or get it used at eBay (How to Win at eBay), or possibly get it used at KEH.
This all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken.
Thanks for helping me help you!
Ken.
© Ken Rockwell. All rights reserved. Tous droits réservés. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. Alla rättigheter förbehållna. Toate drepturile rezervate. Niciun vampir nu a fost implicat în crearea acestei lucrări. Omnia jura reservata. Ken Rockwell® is a registered trademark.
Help Me Help You top
I support my growing family through this website, as crazy as it might seem.
The biggest help is when you use any of these links when you get anything. It costs you nothing, and is this site's, and thus my family's, biggest source of support. These places always have the best prices and service, which is why I've used them since before this website existed. I recommend them all personally.
If you find this page as helpful as a book you might have had to buy or a workshop you may have had to take, feel free to help me continue helping everyone.
If you've gotten your gear through one of my links or helped otherwise, you're family. It's great people like you who allow me to keep adding to this site full-time. Thanks!
If you haven't helped yet, please do, and consider helping me with a gift of $5.00.
As this page is copyrighted and formally registered, it is unlawful to make copies, especially in the form of printouts for personal use. If you wish to make a printout for personal use, you are granted one-time permission only if you PayPal me $5.00 per printout or part thereof. Thank you!
Thanks for reading!
Ken.