The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Venus 8-15mm f2.8 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 8-15mm f2.8 with a length of 76mm, is 23mm shorter. On the other hand, the Venus 8-15mm f2.8 has a larger diameter of 95mm compared to the Laowa 12-24mm f5.6 Shift's 80mm 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 12-24mm f5.6 Shift weighs 575g, 11% (75g) lighter than the Venus 8-15mm f2.8's weight of 650g.
Below you can find the dimension and weight table of the Wideangle Fisheye Zoom Lenses in Nikon Z Mount for size comparison purposes.
Ultra-Wideangle Lenses in Nikon Z Mount for Size Comparison
Lens Mounts
Both the Venus 8-15mm f2.8 and the Laowa 12-24mm f5.6 Shift 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.
Venus 8-15mm f2.8 is also available in the Sony E , Canon RF and Leica L mounts.
Laowa 12-24mm f5.6 Shift is also available in Sony E , Canon RF, Fujifilm X, Leica L and Leica M mounts.
Focal Range
Venus 8-15mm f2.8 has a focal range of 8-15mm and
1.9X zoom ratio . When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides a 35mm (FF) equivalent of
12 - 22.5mm.
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.
