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 Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN MFT 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 Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN MFT with a length of 92mm, is 19mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Laowa 17mm f4 Shift also has a larger diameter of 93mm compared to the Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN MFT's 72mm 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. Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN MFT weighs 405g, 47% (365g) 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 Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN MFT 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 Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN MFT:
Lens Mounts
The Laowa 17mm f4 Shift has the Leica L lens mount whereas the Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN MFT has the Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with these mounts are Leica SL3-P, Panasonic S1 II and Panasonic S1 IIE for the Leica L Mount and OM System OM-3 Astro, OM System OM-5 II and OM System OM-3 for the Micro Four Thirds Mount.
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 Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN MFT is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 16mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 32mm when used on a FourThirds format camera.
