The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Venus 12mm f2.8 MF and the Laowa 12-24mm f5.6 Shift 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 12-24mm f5.6 Shift is the longer of the two lenses at 99mm. The Venus 12mm f2.8 MF with a length of 77mm, is 22mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Laowa 12-24mm f5.6 Shift also has a larger diameter of 80mm compared to the Venus 12mm f2.8 MF's 77mm 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. Venus 12mm f2.8 MF weighs 475g, which means it is 100g (17%) lighter than the Laowa 12-24mm f5.6 Shift which has a weight of 575g.
Filter Threads
The Venus 12mm f2.8 MF has a filter size of 72mm whereas the Laowa 12-24mm f5.6 Shift 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 72mm filters that we recommend you to consider for the Venus 12mm f2.8 MF:
And these are the 77mm filters that we recommend for the Laowa 12-24mm f5.6 Shift:
Lens Mounts
Both the Venus 12mm f2.8 MF and the Laowa 12-24mm f5.6 Shift has the same Leica L lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Leica L lenses are Leica SL3-P, Panasonic S1 II and Panasonic S1 IIE.
Venus 12mm f2.8 MF is also available in the Sony E , Nikon Z and Canon RF mounts.
Laowa 12-24mm f5.6 Shift is also available in Sony E , Nikon Z, Canon RF, Fujifilm X and Leica M mounts.
Focal Range
Venus 12mm f2.8 MF is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 12mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides a 35mm (FF) equivalent of
18mm.
On the other hand, the Laowa 12-24mm f5.6 Shift has a focal range of 12-24mm and 2.0X zoom ratio which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 18-36mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera.
