Laowa Argus 35mm f/0.95 FF (Canon RF)

Testers found the centre surprisingly sharp for f/0.95 and better again from f/1.2, with a gentle, smooth focus fall-off and backgrounds that look calm at close and middle distances. Wide open there is glow at close range, astigmatism and soft corners, and the corners need around f/4 to catch up; at infinity it is usable for stopped-down landscapes. The rendering is the main draw and was often preferred to faster-focusing 35mm f/1.2 alternatives, with only slight outlining on off-centre highlights.

The weaknesses are lateral colour fringing in the corners, purple fringing into bright light at f/0.95, about 3 EV of vignetting wide open, coma that clears by f/2.8, and flare that is better than other f/0.95 lenses but behind slower modern 35s. Distortion is mild and wavy. Build and handling are rated highly, though the lens feels heavy on a small body, the long focus throw is slow for street work, the aperture stops are cramped between f/4 and f/16, and the missing electronic contacts draw repeated criticism.

Owners who report back mostly love the rendering: they describe a three-dimensional look for portraits, good centre sharpness at f/0.95 up close, and corners that handle busy backgrounds better than some smaller fast primes. The well-damped manual focus is easier to nail than they expected, and one video shooter on a Canon EOS R6 praised the bokeh, the focus throw and how well it works with a follow-focus.

The complaints are practical: strong lateral CA that the camera cannot correct without contacts, some focus breathing and a big contrast loss wide open, and an aperture ring that can be hard to reach on a rigged camera. One owner also reported a colour cast compared with native lenses, though they had been using a variable ND filter, which the reviewer suggested as the likely cause.