I’ve spent a lot of time pondering the best prime lens to use in recent years, as I’ve wanted to keep my gear to a minimum. Not so much to save on bulk or weight when taking it on a trip somewhere, but more to simplify my photography. I like just having one or two prime lenses. It forces me to work a little harder and look a little harder for compositions. That, to me, is what photography is all about. We should put a little effort into our craft and enjoy the process as we do it.
I stated in a video a couple of years ago that if I had to choose between a 28mm, 35mm, or 50mm prime, I would choose the 28mm—and then admitted the 35mm is probably the more sensible general choice. I was doing a lot of street photography, and I really love 28mm for street.
I’m traveling a little more than I have in recent years, and I’ve been looking to put the perfect gear together for general travel photography—of which street, landscapes, portraits, and food come under that umbrella. The 35mm is proving to be more useful than the 28mm for general use.
My two lenses I take with me now—and these are for my Nikon Z cameras—are a 35mm and an 85mm. They cover pretty much everything I need them to. Both are made by Viltrox and are f/1.8. The 35mm is always on my camera and the focal length I use 85–90% of the time.
But I was wondering recently, for the 35mm: if this is my main lens, is there anything better I should be looking at?
Some 35mm Options
After some poking around the internet, I came across an insanely fast 35mm prime from Laowa—it’s an f/0.95! It’s the fastest 35mm full frame prime in the world. Do I need something that fast? Well, mostly, no. But when I’m in dark spaces like an old heritage building or bistro, or shooting at night, those extra stops of light may prove to be very helpful.
I could get Nikon’s f/1.2 35mm, but it’s big and heavy at 1,060 g. And very expensive at $2,800. It’s definitely not a travel lens. I like the size of the Laowa 35mm. It’s around 755 g, although twice as heavy than my Viltrox, which weighs in at around 370 g. The Viltrox is autofocus; the Laowa is manual. That doesn’t bother me—a manual lens is fine, and they tend to be built more robustly than modern autofocus lenses. There’s less to go wrong. I realize there are a few more autofocus options out there in the f/1.2 to f/1.4 range, but I'm leaning toward a manual focus solution for the reasons mentioned. I’ve easily broken a few new non-S series Nikon lenses designed for the Z system. They are plastic and not so durable, and the focus-by-wire system is much more fragile than an old-school helicoidal construction.
There is another manual focus option out there that would work nicely with my Nikon and that does provide the camera with EXIF data: The Voigtlander APO-Lanthar 35mm f/2 ASPH II at $899. The lens is equipped with electronic contacts and enables communication between the lens and the housing. It’s a beautiful lens, but the slowest of the bunch at only f/2.
A Few Thoughts
The deal-breaker for many with Laowa’s 35mm f/0.95 is that it doesn’t communicate at all with the camera. So that means you don’t get any EXIF data. You won’t know what your camera settings were, and there’s no information you can take into your editing app to automatically adjust chromatic aberration, distortion, and vignetting. But I don’t care too much about those things. I can adjust them manually should I choose. I actually rather like the vignetting you get when you shoot at the wide apertures with this Laowa. I like the character. A technically perfect photo isn’t necessarily a good photo.
The Laowa isn’t a modern, sterile lens with incredible sharpness. The image softens around the edges when shooting at the wider apertures. This lens has its imperfections, which give it character. The background blur is lovely, in part thanks to the 15 aperture blades, I’m sure.
For those looking to shoot video, there’s a handy de-click switch on the aperture.
The Laowa 35mm f/0.95 has a distance scale on the barrel. The Viltrox and Nikon don’t. As zone focusing is something I do a lot, that’s a bonus point for the Laowa. It’s worth noting the focus throw on the Laowa is an impressive 300 degrees, which makes fine-tuning your focus easy.
Manual Focus Tip
I set my Fn1 button on my Nikon Z6III as a zoom in/out button, allowing me to check the focus. This is incredibly convenient. Most modern cameras allow you to customize a variety of buttons with this function, and even with autofocus lenses, it can be handy.
A Few Specs
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Model: Laowa Argus 35mm FF f/0.95
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Weight: 755 g
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Aperture Blades: 15
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Lens Structure: 14 elements / 9 groups
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Minimum Focus Distance: 50 cm
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Filter Thread: 72 mm
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Mounts: Sony E, Nikon Z, Canon R
Conclusion
I’ve been using the Laowa FF 35mm f/0.95 for a month now. So far, I really love it.
It’s a solid lens, and it’s very well made. When choosing a 35mm prime, my decisions to take into account are the weight, the functionality (distance markings, focus throw), durability, and whether you need autofocus or not.
Regarding weight, I carry heavy cameras and lenses around all the time, so I barely notice a 755 g lens. The only time weight would be an issue for me is multi-day, long-distance backpacking. This lens wouldn’t go on one of those trips.
Having looked at the choices and weighed the options, I’ve concluded that there are times when the Viltrox f/1.8 is more useful, having a very capable autofocus. But the functionality of manual focus and extra stops of light at my disposal, should I require them with the Laowa, make it the lens I will most likely grab when I know I’m going to shoot in very low light or if I’m using zone focusing. Despite its size, I rather like it for street photography.
It’s definitely a specialty lens, and I can see myself using my autofocus Viltrox 75% of the time. But that 25% of the time when I need it, I’ll be glad to have the Laowa f/0.95.
The Laowa Argus FF 35mm f/0.95 costs $649 (for Z mount) and is available here.
