I knew it.
I always knew by instinct, that the Laowa Argus 28mm f 1.2 lens would be very special for portraits showing a wider field. Like a much wider "Noctilux-M 50/1" lens so to speak.
And it delivers (at the extreme bright aperture ƒ1.2) With a delightful mix between sharp / defined details and yet with mild glowy rendering (without being too glowy. Together resulting in a strange, lovely almost mystical aura around people.
Instead of clinically sharp images, you get clearly defined areas of sharpness, but very lovely separated from the blurry background with a transition that feels smooth, kind of classic. (especially in Black & White). The rendering style has really this classic photographic look... which i so love.
The Laowa Argus 28mm f 1.2 lens is unique in the world - there no lens that bright.
Another interesting aspect with the lens is, that the corners get very quickly sharp, already when you stop down just a little bit. It is an optical powerhorse. Not perfect, but unusual well corrected in many ways. You would think that a lens this extreme bright, must be blurry in the corners when you stop it down. but it isn't blurry ! Laowa truly pulled off something unique with this lens.
I use this lens - with a kind of "Leica M" spirit.
Reportage kind of style, with bright lenses, in environments that have lower light levels (indoor, candle light, café, evenings / night) imaging people in their "as it is" environment. The Laowa really fits the bill as being the perfect WIDE companion to less wide lenses like Leica Summicron-M 50/2, Leica Summilux-M 35/1.4 ASPH, and Leica Noctilux-M 50/1 lenses.
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