Back to Laowa Lenses

Venus Optics Laowa 'Argus' CF 33mm f/0.95 Review

89

The Venus Optics Laowa 'Argus' CF 33mm f/0.95 is a very well done optic with overall great image quality, attractive bokeh, and wonderful build quality. However, it does have a couple of drawbacks, such as flaring and high coma at the brightest apertures.

The Venus Optics Laowa 'Argus' CF 33mm f/0.95 is a very well done optic with overall great image quality, attractive bokeh, and wonderful build quality. However, it does have a couple of drawbacks, such as flaring and high coma at the brightest apertures.

Pros
  • Exceptional build quality
  • Sharpness in the middle and high image quality in the corners
  • Attractive bokeh
  • Fairly reasonable price for an f/0.95 lens
Cons
  • Flaring and high coma at the brightest apertures
  • Heavy
  • Manual lens at f/0.95 requires practice

The aperture ring turns smoothly and the manual focus ring is precise, making it easy to operate.

The Venus Optics Laowa 'Argus' CF 33mm f/0.95 is a fantastic lens with exceptional build quality. Despite being heavy, the all-metal body feels solid and high quality. The aperture ring turns smoothly and the manual focus ring is precise, making it easy to operate. The lens offers sharpness in the middle with average contrast at f/0.95 and maintains high image quality in the corners even at its brightest aperture. The lens does suffer from flaring and high coma at the brightest apertures, limiting its use for night time photography. However, the attractive bokeh and low chromatic aberration make it great for shooting indoors or for normal photography with out-of-focus backgrounds. Despite some minor issues, the price of $500 makes it a fairly reasonable choice for an f/0.95 lens.

Despite some minor issues, the price of $500 makes it a fairly reasonable choice for an f/0.95 lens.

Source

This article is based on the review by

Christopher Frost

Christopher Frost

Christopher Frost is a YouTube channel dedicated to providing in-depth reviews and analyses of photography equipment, particularly lenses. Christopher Frost, the creator and host of the channel, is known for his thorough and detailed evaluations of various lenses from different manufacturers, including Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, and others.  To learn more, please visit the channel here.

See reviews