The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Venus 15mm f4.5 and the Venus Laowa 4mm F2.8 RF 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 15mm f4.5 is the longer of the two lenses at 48mm. The Venus Laowa 4mm F2.8 RF with a length of 26mm, is 22mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Venus 15mm f4.5 also has a larger diameter of 70mm compared to the Venus Laowa 4mm F2.8 RF'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 RF weighs 135g, 56% (173g) lighter than the Venus 15mm f4.5's weight of 308g.
Below you can find the dimension and weight table of the Wideangle Prime Lenses in Canon RF Mount for size comparison purposes.
Ultra-Wideangle Lenses in Canon RF Mount for Size Comparison
Lens Mounts
Both the Venus 15mm f4.5 and the Venus Laowa 4mm F2.8 RF has the same Canon RF lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Canon RF lenses are Canon R6 V, Canon R6 III and Canon C50.
Venus 15mm f4.5 is also available in the Sony E , Nikon Z and Leica L mounts.
Focal Range
Venus 15mm f4.5 is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 15mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides a 35mm (FF) equivalent of
22.5mm.
On the other hand, the Venus Laowa 4mm F2.8 RF 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.
