Laowa Brings Its Wild 8-15mm Fisheye Zoom to Medium Format Cameras

Aug 26, 2025

Jeremy Gray

A wide-angle camera lens with black ridged rings, labeled "Laowa 15mm f/2.0 FE Zero-D," featuring a blue accent line and red and white markings for focus and aperture settings, isolated on a white background.

Venus Optics is bringing its exceptionally unusual Laowa 8-15mm f/2.8 FF Zoom Fisheye lens to Fujifilm and Hasselblad medium format mirrorless cameras.

The Laowa 8-15mm f/2.8 FF Zoom launched in June for full-frame mirrorless cameras, including Sony E, Canon RF, Nikon Z, and L-Mount. Venus Optics announced today that it will expand its mount offerings to include Fujifilm GFX and Hasselblad XCD next month.

However, Venus Optics notes that the image circle of the new medium format versions “may not fully cover the sensor — even when set to 15mm.” This could be a problem for photographers seeking to capture diagonal fisheye photos, but should not hamper those looking to capture circular fisheyes at the very widest focal lengths. In the video above, Venus Optics almost exclusively shows circular fisheye photos.

Side-by-side photos show a man holding a large frame under an overpass. The left image at 8mm fisheye shows a strong circular distortion, while the right image at 15mm fisheye appears less distorted.

A fisheye lens photo of a red-brick building with a sign reading "Western Hotel. Upstairs at the Western. Leicester's Pub Theatre." Parked cars and a street with buildings are visible on both sides.

As PetaPixel demonstrated in its review of the lens on RF mount, the lens can capture circular fisheye photos at 8mm (and then some) and diagonal ones at 15mm.

The lens proved sharp in PetaPixel‘s testing, although it is, as expected, a very niche product.

“I had fun with the Laowa fisheye zoom lens even though it is not my cup of tea,” Chris Niccolls wrote in his review. “It does, however, give a fun and unique outlook on the world, and many photographers will find the results charming.”

As Niccolls also noted, the Laowa 8-15mm f/2.8 Zoom Fisheye lens is one of the very few lenses like it on the market. He was referring to full-frame options at the time, but the sentiment is even truer when it comes to medium format. Neither Fujifilm nor Hasselblad offers any fisheye lenses in their lineup at all, so even if the Laowa 8-15mm f/2.8 comes with limitations on the larger image sensors, there is no first-party competition to speak of.

Two camera fisheye lenses are shown on a colorful, blurred background. Large text reads "8-15" and smaller text below reads "8-15mm f/2.8 FF Zoom Fisheye.

There is, however, a fixed fisheye option for GFX owners to consider. Although it is currently sold out, the TTArtisan 11mm f/2.8 Fisheye is available for GFX cameras. It is also designed to cover full-frame image sensors, resulting in a rather significant vignette on GFX, as shown in TTArtisan’s launch video from four years ago.

In any case, the Laowa 8-15mm f/2.8 Zoom Fisheye for GFX and XCD mount is a novel, unusual lens that is well-suited to embrace its oddities.

Sample Images

A fisheye lens shot of a skateboarder performing a trick on a ledge under an urban overpass, with tall buildings and a skatepark visible in the background. The angle emphasizes the skateboard and movement. — Image credit: Phil Tragen

A young woman with long hair and bangs stands indoors, looking upward. She is in front of a large window with sheer white curtains billowing around her, and city buildings are visible in the background. — Image credit: Carty

A woman poses indoors making a heart shape with her hands toward the camera, which is distorted with a fisheye lens. She wears a letterman jacket, skirt, and boots, with industrial elements in the background. — Image credit: Jason Queue

A person crouches on outdoor concrete steps surrounded by modern metal buildings and tall skyscrapers under a cloudy sky, photographed from a low angle. — Image credit: Filmed By Fresh

A skateboarder in a blue shirt and black pants performs a trick on a rail at a skatepark, captured from a low angle with a dynamic, wide-angle lens effect. Trees and graffiti are visible in the background. — Image credit: Matt Price

A scenic evening view of Amsterdam’s canals, with light trails from boats, illuminated arched bridges, historic buildings, and a sign reading "Abel Weetnietbrug" in the foreground. — Image credit: Albert Dros

Pricing and Availability

The Laowa 8-15mm f/2.8 Fisheye Zoom is already available for full-frame cameras for $699 and will arrive on GFX and XCD mounts next month at the same price.

Image credits: Venus Optics