Overall, I am really liking it. It's a solid performer.
It has significant vignetting, even when stopped down. This isn't a major problem for me as I find it pleasing for most anything I would shoot with a 9mm lens. You can also correct for it in post. Hasn't been an issue in my shooting thus far.
There is some barrel distortion in the center, but it's actually more modest than I was expecting. To the point that you may or may not want to correct for it, depending on the subject.
There is obvious "stretching" around the edges of the frame. But again, expected for this focal length.
It can focus quite close. Not quite macro, but impressively close. For me, this is crucial for a 9mm lens since part of the creative usefulness for a 9mm lens is to still "fill the frame" with a subject but expand the background in interesting ways.
It's fairly sharp in the center and not too bad going out to the corners. Not my sharpest lens, but very, very acceptable.
There can be color shifts going from the center to the edges. Outdoors with a color sensor (i.e. my Z7) I haven't noticed them. Indoors they became a bit more obvious, but not horrible. Can be corrected in post with a little work if deemed necessary.
The lens works very well in IR. No hotspots, which was a huge surprise. It's going to find a prominent place with my Z6 IR as the combination of 9mm with IR is something I'm really enjoying playing with.
It's manual focus only, which isn't a huge deal. DOF is massive with a 9mm lens unless you are shooting something really close. Even then, this isn't a lens you will be using as a point-and-shoot for any close subjects. Composition with a 9mm lens is tricky enough that you will likely be taking your time when using it for any shots, whether handheld or on a tripod.
I think it is optically better in pretty much every way compared to my other Venus Optics Laowa lenses (12mm and 15mm). All of them are solidly built and this one is no exception. But this one is optically the best of the bunch.
9mm is a *very* niche focal length. While this lens is rectilinear and not a fisheye, it still has significant distortion because of the small focal length. It's *not* a good lens for either landscape or architectural photography if one is looking for no distortion. On the other hand, it offers some really amazing creative possibilities that no other lens on the market can. Whether that works or doesn't work for you and your type of photography is a different question.
But if you were already thinking about buying this lens, you likely understand the advantages and limits of a 9mm lens. So then I say, it's a good buy. I expect it will either meet or exceed your expectations.
As an aside, there is a LR profile for the lens offered on the Venus Optics website. It severely overcorrects the vignetting of the lens, but does correct for the barrel distortion. Still usable if you then adjust vignetting to taste in LR after applying the profile.
The only other (minor) annoyance is that it doesn't transmit lens information to the body for EXIF purposes. Not a deal-breaker, but mildly annoying
.Let me know if you have other questions about the lens (either in a public reply in this thread or via a PM).
Going to include another pic from last weekend's series as my pic for the day:
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Solo Meeting
