The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Laowa 17mm f4 Shift and the Panasonic S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 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 17mm f4 Shift is the longer of the two lenses at 111mm. The Panasonic S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 with a length of 87mm, is 24mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Laowa 17mm f4 Shift also has a larger diameter of 93mm compared to the Panasonic S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6'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. Panasonic S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 weighs 350g, 54% (420g) lighter than the Laowa 17mm f4 Shift's weight of 770g.
Filter Threads
The Laowa 17mm f4 Shift has a filter size of 86mm whereas the Panasonic S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 has a 67mm diameter. Larger filters are generally more expensive than the smaller ones given all the other features are equal.
Below are links to the 86mm filters that we recommend you to consider for the Laowa 17mm f4 Shift:
And these are the 67mm filters that we recommend for the Panasonic S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6:
Lens Mounts
Both the Laowa 17mm f4 Shift and the Panasonic S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 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.
Laowa 17mm f4 Shift is also available in the Sony E , Nikon Z and Canon RF mounts.
Focal Range
Laowa 17mm f4 Shift is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 17mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides a 35mm (FF) equivalent of
25.5mm.
On the other hand, the Panasonic S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 has a focal range of 20-60mm and 3.0X zoom ratio .
