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 12mm f1.4 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 12mm f1.4 with a length of 67mm, is 44mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Laowa 17mm f4 Shift also has a larger diameter of 93mm compared to the Sigma 12mm f1.4's 69mm 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 12mm f1.4 weighs 250g, 67% (520g) lighter than the Laowa 17mm f4 Shift's weight of 770g.
Below you can find the dimension and weight table of the Perspective Control Prime Lenses in Canon RF Mount for size comparison purposes.
Ultra-Wideangle Lenses in Canon RF Mount for Size Comparison
Filter Threads
The Laowa 17mm f4 Shift has a filter size of 86mm whereas the Sigma 12mm f1.4 has a 62mm 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 62mm filters that we recommend for the Sigma 12mm f1.4:
Lens Mounts
Both the Laowa 17mm f4 Shift and the Sigma 12mm f1.4 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.
Laowa 17mm f4 Shift is also available in the Sony E , Nikon Z and Leica L mounts.
Sigma 12mm f1.4 is also available in Sony E and Fujifilm X 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 12mm f1.4 is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 12mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 18mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera.
