The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the LAOWA 180mm f4.5 Macro and the Laowa 100mm F2.8 TS for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
The size of a lens is a crucial factor to consider when comparing two lenses. Laowa 100mm F2.8 TS is the longer of the two lenses at 162mm. The LAOWA 180mm f4.5 Macro with a length of 134mm, is 28mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Laowa 100mm F2.8 TS also has a larger diameter of 85mm compared to the LAOWA 180mm f4.5 Macro's 68mm diameter.
The weight of a lens is equally significant as its external dimensions, particularly if you intend to handhold your camera and lens combination for extended periods. LAOWA 180mm f4.5 Macro weighs 521g, which means it is 694g (57%) lighter than the Laowa 100mm F2.8 TS which has a weight of 1215g.
Filter Threads
The LAOWA 180mm f4.5 Macro has a filter size of 62mm whereas the Laowa 100mm F2.8 TS has a 77mm diameter. Larger filters are generally more expensive than the smaller ones given all the other features are equal.
Below are links to the 62mm filters that we recommend you to consider for the LAOWA 180mm f4.5 Macro:
And these are the 77mm filters that we recommend for the Laowa 100mm F2.8 TS:
Lens Mounts
Both the LAOWA 180mm f4.5 Macro and the Laowa 100mm F2.8 TS has the same Nikon Z lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Nikon Z lenses are Nikon ZR, Nikon Z5 II and RED Komodo-X 6K Z.
LAOWA 180mm f4.5 Macro is also available in the Sony E , Canon RF and Leica L mounts.
Laowa 100mm F2.8 TS is also available in Sony E , Canon RF, Leica L and Fujifilm G mounts.
Focal Range
LAOWA 180mm f4.5 Macro is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 180mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides a 35mm (FF) equivalent of
270mm.
On the other hand, the Laowa 100mm F2.8 TS is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 100mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 150mm when used on a 35mm FF format camera.
