These are the best Laowa wide-angle lenses, chosen for how they deliver rectilinear discipline, distinctive character options (from Zero-D to ultra-compact “FF RL”), and robust, travel-ready builds that keep lines straight and flare in check for landscapes, architecture, interiors, cityscapes, and night work. Wide shooting is about geometry and control: optics that stay honest at the edges, coatings that hold contrast with the sun or neon in-frame, and mechanics—long, smooth focus, solid hoods, compact barrels—that play nicely with filters, gimbals, and stitching workflows. Start with the full-frame Zero-D legends: Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D remains the dramatic ultra-wide that still takes to filters (with a holder) and keeps straight lines straight for skylines and night cityscapes; the Laowa 15mm f/2 Zero-D adds speed for blue hour and astro with impressively calm corners; and the tiny Laowa 11mm f/4.5 FF RL plus the record-wide Laowa 9mm f/5.6 FF RL bring featherweight, rectilinear coverage that slips into any travel kit while delivering astonishing field of view with clean geometry—ideal for handheld interiors and gimbal walk-throughs. If you want range in one lens, the Laowa 12–24mm f/5.6 Zoom covers classic wide-to-ultra-wide with consistent color and tidy distortion, great for cities and travel when you don’t want to swap; architectural shooters who need movements should look to the Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift (and the 20mm f/4 Zero-D Shift) for generous, smooth rise/fall that keeps verticals parallel and enables parallax-free stitches. APS-C and Micro Four Thirds get native gems: the Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D (APS-C) is the cult favorite—fast, tiny, rectilinear, and filter-friendly—perfect for drones, gimbals, and night streets; the Laowa 10mm f/2 Zero-D (MFT) and 7.5mm f/2 (MFT) bring bright, compact coverage for stabilized walk-throughs and astro; the Argus 18mm f/0.95 (APS-C) is the creative low-light wide for environmental portraits and moody city frames with cinematic falloff. Image priorities across Laowa wides are disciplined: “Zero-D” designs that keep straight lines honest, low lateral CA so window frames and rooflines stay neutral, coatings that resist veiling flare and onion-ring speculars, and close-focus distances that invite foreground anchors; compact FF RL housings and svelte APS-C/MFT primes make balancing on lightweight gimbals easy, while square filter systems or slim front threads keep CPL/ND use practical. Workflow tips turn good glass great—level the camera before minor keystone tweaks in post, shoot around f/5.6–f/8 for peak acuity (stack focus for near-to-far scenes instead of choking past ~f/11), use a slim CPL sparingly to tame glass/stone glare (watch uneven skies at extreme widths), pack a 3–6 stop ND for silky water/cloud motion, and lock exposure/white balance for multi-frame stitches; for night work, start near f/2–f/2.8 on the fast Zero-D primes (or stack with the slower RL lenses), focus with magnified live view, and protect highlights around neon. The practical kit recipe is simple—on full frame, anchor with 15mm f/2 Zero-D for speed, add 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D or the tiny 11mm f/4.5 FF RL for broader sweep, and keep the 12–24mm f/5.6 when you want flexible framing; bring the 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift when perspective control is the brief. On APS-C, run the 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D as your rectilinear ultra-wide and add Argus 18mm f/0.95 for creative low light; on MFT, pair 7.5mm f/2 (or 10mm f/2 Zero-D) for bright, compact coverage. Whether you’re straightening glass-and-steel skylines, threading tight historic interiors, shooting handheld travel vignettes, or stitching blue-hour panos, the best Laowa wide-angle lenses deliver the geometry, speed options, and featherweight handling that make big scenes read elegant, immersive, and intentional straight out of camera.