Laowa 15mm f/4.5 0.5X Wide Angle Macro (Auto Aperture, Nikon Z)

Early reviews find it sharp in the centre with good contrast at close range, and much better behaved than the older 15mm f/4 macro at normal distances, with lower distortion and a cleaner field. The camera-controlled aperture and EXIF are welcomed as a big usability gain.

The trade-offs reviewers mention are the f/4.5 aperture, the modest 0.5x maximum compared with the 1:1 original, and the usual ultra-wide vignetting in the corners.

Early owners like how small it is and that it works like a native lens on Z bodies, with aperture set from the dial and lens data in the files. The working distance is easier to light than the original's few millimetres.

Some would have preferred to keep 1:1 magnification, and the five-blade aperture gives less rounded highlights than the old 14-blade design when stopped down.