I tested this lens out of the box as soon as it was delivered and I was impressed. My UHD 24p video from my Panasonic GH5 looks crisp, sharp, colors look fantastic. This lens is light, too! The aperture ring is not declicked, however, if you turn it carefully you can get exposure between marked F stops. I am glad I purchased this and I hope it holds up over time.

The reviews of this lens were good as I was researching the Laowa 17mm, but I was still prepared to be disappointed with a sub-$150 lens. The reviews were spot-on, however: this is a great lens! Image quality is comparable to the Olympus 17mm f/1.8 I recently sold. The chromatic aberration is MUCH more controlled on this lens compared to the Olympus. Obviously you give up auto focus with the Laowa, but the Olympus also costs over 3x the price of this lens. This lens is also heavier and longer than the Oly 17 (same filter size though, so that's a plus!). This lens feels like it has great build quality. The focus ring is stiff but smooth; the aperture ring is clicked and has the right amount of resistance. Overall this is a great lens and would be a good start for someone just getting into manual focus lenses with the MFT system.

This lens is what Micro Four-Thirds is all about, very small and light. I was surprised by the image quality. I was worried that this would only be good for drone photographers. But in high resolution mode I can see it clearly out resolves my Olympus 12-40. Also, chromatic aberration seems to be well controlled. There are some caveats that might be deal breakers for some: manual focus, no communication between the lens and camera and lots of vignetting at smaller apertures. I can think of some other small nits. The lens hood is plastic. The aperture have soft clicks in full stop increments only. The numbering is painted on the all metal construction rather than engraved. Why then do I give it five stars? Because it does what is supposed to do very well. If your use case is still photography, you want a versatile fixed focal length lens, want to travel light, and don't require autofocus then this lens is an absolute bargain.

This is a very good lens! I have the Voigtlander 17.5mm F0.95 and the Oly 17mm F1.8 and Oly 12-40 F2.8 Pro and sharpness-wise it is up there with the best Pro variants, definitely exceeding the Oly 17mm 1.8 and better corner sharpness than the Voigtlander. Chromatic aberrations are well controlled, so much better than the Voigtlander. There is a bit of vignetting and barrel distortion wide open (worse than Oly 17mm) but nothing that can't be perfectly fixed in Photoshop if it bothers you. For me it's the sharpness that wins it 5 stars, because everything else is either negligible or easily fixed. Of cours, the Voigtlander has that fricking f0.95 aperture and the Oly 17mm f1. 8 is slightly smaller and lighter, but twice more expensive. Of course, you have to be ok only focusing manually with the Laowa, don't buy it if you are uncomfortable with manual focusing

It's not shown in any of the photos but you can remove the hood and anything to it with step up rings.

There's a little bit of vignetting when it's wide open and in the sun, but it's barely noticeable.

This seems to be the better one between this and the 17mm TTArtisan.

Great little lens (seriously, it's palm size), tack sharp, solid build, smooth focus ring, the clicks on this iris are minimal.
It's lightweight, small and great for travel. The lens hood is detachable. The focus breathing is minimal. Only very minor barrel distortion.
Minimum focus is great, almost like a macro lens. Has good colour rendition and contrast.
All in all, an amazing lens for its price. High quality glass with a low f stop and price tag.