Laowa's latest lenses will level-up your architectural photography

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New 17mm f/4 Zero-D comes in tilt-shift and shift variants, with full-frame and medium format compatibility

Laowa 17mm f/4 Zero-D Tilt-Shift
(Image credit: Laowa)

Laowa has launched two new specialist lenses designed for architectural and landscape photography: the Laowa 17mm f/4 Zero-D Tilt-Shift, and the 17mm f/4 Zero-D Shift.

Laowa 17mm f/4 Zero-D Tilt-Shift

(Image credit: Laowa)

Both lenses benefit from Laowa's signature Zero-D design that minimises optical distortion, while ±12mm shift capability for the tilt-shift version and an ±11mm shift adjustment for the shift-only lens enables you to dial out any keystone effect when shooting architecture.

Laowa 17mm f/4 Zero-D Tilt-Shift

(Image credit: Laowa)

Laowa 17mm f/4 Zero-D Tilt-Shift

(Image credit: Laowa)

The lenses are intended to be used with full-frame mirrorless cameras, but their image circles are large enough to enable compatibility with medium format bodies, albeit with a slightly reduced ±8mm shift capability.

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Laowa 17mm f/4 Zero-D Tilt-Shift

(Image credit: Laowa)

The 17mm f/4 Zero-D Tilt-Shift's added shift capability allows you control over the focus plane, making it especially useful for shooting creative compositions with a miniature effect. The tilt-shift version is even more versatile thanks to its 25cm close-focusing ability, letting you emphasize close-up subjects while still preserving a sense of background space.

Laowa 17mm f/4 Zero-D Tilt-Shift

(Image credit: Laowa)

Both lenses are comprised of 18 elements in 12 groups and include an aperture diaphragm with a generous 14 blades for smoother bokeh and a softer, subtler sunstar effect.

Laowa has also designed the 17mm f/4 to be simple to use. It has an integrated Arca-Swiss lens foot, allowing it to be mounted directly to an Arca-compatible tripod head - no separate QR plate required. Both versions of the lens also feature a 360-degree lens body rotation mechanism which has clicks every 15 degrees, allowing you to quickly and accurately switch between vertical, horizontal, and diagonal orientations.

Laowa 17mm f/4 Zero-D Tilt-Shift

(Image credit: Laowa)

The Laowa 17mm f/4 Zero-D Tilt-Shift and Shift will be available to buy from March 10th. Expect to pay $1,249 for the 17mm f/4 Zero-D Tilt-Shift, and $999 for the 17mm f/4 Zero-D Shift. Both lenses are manual focus only and will be available in the following mount options: Sony E, Nikon Z, Canon RF, L Mount, Fujifilm GFX, and Hasselblad XCD (the tilt-shift version is not compatible with the Panasonic Lumix S5 II, S5 IIx, S1 II, S1R II and S1 IIe).

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Ben Andrews
Ben Andrews

Ben is the Imaging Labs manager, responsible for all the testing on Digital Camera World and across the entire photography portfolio at Future. Whether he's in the lab testing the sharpness of new lenses, the resolution of the latest image sensors, the zoom range of monster bridge cameras or even the latest camera phones, Ben is our go-to guy for technical insight. He's also the team's man-at-arms when it comes to camera bags, filters, memory cards, and all manner of camera accessories – his lab is a bit like the Batcave of photography! With years of experience trialling and testing kit, he's a human encyclopedia of benchmarks when it comes to recommending the best buys. 

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