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 Venus Laowa 4mm F2.8 L 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. Venus 12mm f2.8 MF is the longer of the two lenses at 77mm. The Venus Laowa 4mm F2.8 L with a length of 26mm, is 51mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Venus 12mm f2.8 MF also has a larger diameter of 77mm compared to the Venus Laowa 4mm F2.8 L's 61mm 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 Laowa 4mm F2.8 L weighs 135g, 71% (340g) lighter than the Venus 12mm f2.8 MF's weight of 475g.
Below you can find the dimension and weight table of the Wideangle Prime Lenses in Leica L Mount for size comparison purposes.
Ultra-Wideangle Lenses in Leica L Mount for Size Comparison
Lens Mounts
Both the Venus 12mm f2.8 MF and the Venus Laowa 4mm F2.8 L 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.
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 Venus Laowa 4mm F2.8 L is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 4mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 6mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera.
