Lenses

Laowa 10mm f4 Review: Make Charming Photos Easily

Chris Gampat
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10/06/2022
5 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Laowa 10mm f4 review product images 41-125s400

Last Updated on 10/06/2022 by Mark Beckenbach

Laowa calls the 10mm f4 lens their “cookie.” That means it’s not quite a pancake, though it can be considered one if you look at what’s available on the market. The Laowa 10mm f4 lens is also quite fascinating to use. If you’re a fan of character, metal build quality, and some classic softness, we think you’ll love this lens. When you combine it with Fujifilm’s film simulations, it just gets even better.

The Laowa 10mm f4 is designed for APS-C sensors, and therefore it also means that only certain types of photographers will be reaching for it. And at only $299, it’s pretty difficult to beat what it offers.

The Big Picture

The Laowa 10mm f4 is a fantastic lens for the photographer who is looking for a pancake lens of some sort. But it’s also for the photographer that wants character. You’ll get yummy bokeh, beautiful lens flare, and soft photos when you don’t stop it down. It’s pretty dreamy. However, it’s not weather resistant, and I don’t think this is a lens every photographer needs.

We’re giving the Laowa 10mm f4 four out of five stars. Want one? Check out the latest listings for more.

Pros

  • Metal build quality
  • Affordable price point
  • Creamy bokeh
  • Soft wide open
  • Beautiful lens flare

Cons

  • No weather sealing

Gear Used

We tested the Laowa 10mm f4 (provided to us for loan) with the Fujifilm X Pro 3, which we purchased years ago.

Innovations

For all intents and purposes, the Laowa 10mm f4 isn’t exactly innovative. It’s the first of its kind that’s available to the Fujifilm X mount, but there’s nothing special about this lens except that it’s incredibly small and lightweight.

Ergonomics

The Laowa 10mm f4 is a pretty slim and compact lens. They call it a cookie, but it’s more like a pancake. In fact, on Laowa’s website, it’s called a pancake too. To each their own I guess. It boasts a 37mm filter thread for what it’s worth.

On the top are the controls you really care about. There are aperture and focus controls. This lens doesn’t have any electronics in it, so it makes the most sense on a Fuji lens because of how they’re used.

You’ll also use the distance scale smacked right into the middle like the cream of an Oreo cookie.

Build Quality

The Laowa 10mm f4 isn’t weather resistant. But it is made of metal, and it’s very small. That, and the aperture ring clicks. But otherwise, there isn’t a whole lot else to this lens. In the hand, and attached to the Fujifilm X Pro 3, this lens will make the camera feel like an X100V. Your fingers will clap onto it pretty easily. In real life use, I don’t think that will matter as this lens is too small for you to care about cradling it. 

Ease of Use

I don’t think this is the easiest lens to use if you’re newer to photography. You have to be patient and there is no autofocus. Further, it also doesn’t have focus contacts for communication. Instead, your camera will look at the scene and try to figure out if something is in focus or not.

Focusing

There’s surely something a bit odd about focusing with the Laowa 10mm f4. Wide open, it’s very soft. So even on the X Pro 3 when you have the focus peaking set to high, it can be tough for it to get something in focus. Instead, you’ll need to use the magnify function in the EVF mode. Otherwise, my favorite way of doing this is using the OVF and setting it to picture-in-picture mode. Then the center or focusing point gets magnified and focus peaking is applied. Unfortunately, there are no focusing contacts on this lens, so that makes is a bit more difficult to use as a result.

Image Quality

This is one of the most wonderful things about the Laowa 10mm f4: the image quality is truly awesome, but you have to work for it. Wide open, it’s very soft. But stopped down a bit, this lens starts to sharpen up. It also boasts beautiful lens flare, colors, etc. Of course, Fujifilm’s colors also help out here.

Bokeh

The bokeh from the Laowa 10mm f4 isn’t something you’re going to buy it for. However, I’ll be transparent and state that, for food photography, it can be pretty decent. It’s such a wide focal length that when you focus closely on a subject, you’ll still see a very grand scale to things. Still, it’s nothing special.

Color Rendition

Colors from the Laowa 10mm f4 lens can be pretty fantastic to look at. In the photo above, I shot with the Fujifilm Velvia Film simulation and no editing was done to the photo above. Look at those colors? I immediately felt like I was transported back 10 years ago to the OG Fuji cameras with a bit of softness. It’s going to make you nostalgic for sure if you’ve been shooting for as long as I have.

Lens Character

Well, look at this lens flare? I know a ton of folks who would sit there and say “oh no, we need to get rid of that.”

And I say, “Why?” So many lenses are clinical these days that having image quality like this at times is super enjoyable. Embrace the character.

Sharpness

Wide open, the Laowa 10mm f4 isn’t very sharp at all. But once you stop it down, it becomes a whole lot better.

Extra Image Samples

From day one, The Phoblographer has been huge on transparency with our audience. Nothing from this review is sponsored. Further, lots of folks will post reviews and show lots of editing in the photos. The problem then becomes that anyone and everyone can do the same thing. They’re not showing what the product can do. So we have a section in our Extra Image Samples area to show edited and unedited photos. From this, you can make a decision for yourself.

Unedited

Edited

Who Should Buy the Laowa 10mm f4?

The cool thing about the Laowa 10mm f4 is that it’s super affordable at only $299. And if you’re looking for a fun lens, then it’s worth the money. But it’s also pretty niche. It’s just for APS-C cameras and the softness wide-open makes it a bit difficult to work with. So who should get it? Honestly, any photographer who wants to add some creativity to their camera bag should go for it.

Tech Specs

These were taken from Laowa’s website.

Specifications

Format

APS-C

Focal Distance

10mm

Aperture Range

f/4

Angle of View

109.3°

Lens Structure
12 elements in 8 groups
(4 ED elements)
Aperture Blades

5

Min. Shooting Distance

10cm

Max. Magnification

0.15x

Focusing

Manual (MF)

Filter Thread

Ø 37mm

Dimensions

About Ø 59.8mm * 25mm

Weight
About 130g
Mounts

Black & Silver version for all mounts:
Canon RF / Nikon Z / Sony E / L mount / Fuji X

Bokeh color rendition fuji Laowa laowa 10mm f4 lens pancake sharpness
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.