Laowa, a brand typically associated with innovative hobby lenses like its macro probe offerings, is going up market. Its latest launch is a fast, premium telephoto prime: the 200mm f/2 AF FF. Designed to take on Sigma's mighty 200mm F2 DG OS Sports, Laowa's latest lens manages to be slightly lighter than the Sigma, at 1,588g, while still incorporating autofocus. But don't go thinking this means the Laowa is compact - it's far from it. With a maximum diameter of 118mm / 4.7", the 200mm f/2 AF FF is a hefty beast, and it takes equally large 105mm filters. The massive girth is a necessary by-product of having such a large aperture at a focal length this long: you simply can't have a lens this fast at 200mm without some large-diameter lens elements. The 11-element optical stack is arranged in 9 groups and includes two ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements, one AD (Anomalous Dispersion) element and one UHR (Ultra High Refractive index) element, all in the name of increased sharpness and clarity, with reduced chromatic aberration.
Extra features include four customizable function buttons, set at 90-degree intervals around the front of the lens barrel, while further back is an autofocus range limiter to lock out the short end of the autofocus travel. A physical aperture ring is also present, plus there's a de-click switch to enable stepless aperture adjustment when shooting video.
Buy the Nikon Z or Sony E versions of the lens and you'll also get a 43mm drop in filter slot at the rear of the barrel. This is teamed with a thumbwheel for adjusting rotation-specific filters like circular polarizers - handy. You will have to do without optical stabilization though, but this needn't be a deal-breaker, thanks to the lens's large aperture enabling fast shutter speeds, and the high likelihood that the lens will be used with an IBIS-enabled camera anway.
The 200mm f/2 AF FF will be available in Sony E, Nikon Z and Canon EF mounts. The latter may seem a strange choice, given that RF has now essentially replaced EF, but with Canon still having a monopoly on full-frame RF-mount lenses, releasing an EF-fit lens that can be used with an EF-EOS R mount converter gets around the restriction.
At $1,799 / £1,799 for the Canon EF edition and $1,999 / £1,999 for the Nikon Z or Sony E versions, the Laowa 200mm f/2 AF FF is far from cheap, but it is very well priced compared to its rivals.
The discontinued Canon EF 200mm f/2L IS USM used to cost $5,999, and the Nikon AF-S 200mm f/2G ED VR II sold for $4,559. Even the comparatively accessible Sigma 200mm f/2 DG OS Sports for mirrorless cameras will set you back $3,299 / £2,999.
So viewed in this context, the Laowa 200mm f/2 AF FF is quite a bargain if you're after a fast tele prime for sports or wildlife shots.
