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Venus Optics Announces 8 New Laowa Lenses for 2018 Photokina Event

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Venus Optics, the camera lenses manufacturer who had previously launched a number of unique Laowa camera lenses, to unveil 8 new and unique lenses in Photokina.

The Photokina 2018 event begins on September 26. It will be the home to numerous new cameras, lenses, and other products related to the digital imaging industry for about one week.

Companies will have the chance to get a lot of exposure therefore they cannot afford to miss this trade fair.  Venus Optics is one of them and they are going to announce 8 new Laowa lenses, below are the list of new lenses:

  • Laowa OOOM 25-100mm T/2.9 Cine
  • Laowa 7.5mm T2.1 Cine
  • Laowa 9mm T2.9 Zero-D Cine
  • Laowa 12mm T2.9 Zero-D Cine
  • Laowa 17mm f/1.8 MFT
  • Laowa 12mm f/1.8 MFT
  • Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D (DJI DL)
  • Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D MFT
  • Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 FE
  • Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO
  • Laowa 17mm f/4 GFX Zero-D
  • Laowa 4mm f/2.8 Fisheye MFT

Laowa OOOM 25-100 t/2.9 Cine Lightweight Zoom

Laowa OOOM Cine lightweight zoom is the first professional cinema style zoom lens offered by Venus Optics. The lens features a wide 25-100mm zoom range, making it a one-size-fits-all lens for different types of productions.

Unlike some cine lens in the market which were re-engineered from a photo zoom lens, Laowa OOOM Cine series is designed for digital cinematography in the first place. It is truly parfocal, meaning the focus will never shift when you zoom in or zoom back out. It is designed to have nearly zero focus breathing throughout the whole zoom range. The aperture remains fixed at t/2.9 at all focal lengths.

It is built with the true cinema level mechanics. It comes with a stepless, t-stop independent aperture ring with an industry standard 0.8 mod /32 pitch gears. The 270° rotation flow provides room or precise focus pulls and the iris is clickless, enabling smooth iris pulls. The lens weighs only 2.16 pounds, which is fairly light for a cinema zoom that holds focus and aperture throughout the focal length range.

Laowa 17mm f/1.8 MFT

Laowa 17mm f/1.8 is a new compact, standard prime for Micro Four Thirds cameras and it gives a 35mm-equivalent field of view. The lens houses 9 elements in 7 groups and have a 5-blade aperture for the best sunstar rendering. The lens is also super compact and lightweight. It weighs only 160g and is 50mm long. A 46cm filter thread and a 15cm minimal focus distance make it a perfect lens for videography.

Laowa 12mm f/1.8 MFT

Laowa 12mm f/1.8 is a new compact, wide-angle prime for Micro Four Thirds cameras and it gives a 24mm-equivalent field of view. The ultra-fast f/1.8 aperture allows photographers to take astro photos with ease. The lens houses 13 elements in 10 groups and a 5-blade aperture. The lens can focus as close as 14cm (5.5”) and takes 46mm screw-in filters which gives extra convenience to videographers. It weighs only 165g (0.4 lbs) and its 50mm long.

Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D (DJI DL)

Following the successful launch of the super compact and lightweight 7.5mm f/2 MFT lens for DJI Inspire drones (X5 gimbals) during 2017, Venus Optics is proud to introduce another ultra-wide option, Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D DL, to use on DJI Inspire 2 (X7 gimbals).

Featuring an effective 118° angle of view, the Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D DJI DL is currently the widest available option for DJI Inspire 2 drones with Zenmuse X7 gimbals. The bigger image circle can cover the size of Super35 sensors and the native DL mount allows an easy lens switching. The lens weighs only 215g and it is super tiny and compact. It comes with a 49mm filter thread and features a close-to-zero optical distortion.

Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D MFT

Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D (Micro Four Thirds mount) is the 4th variant added to the existing Fuji X, Sony E and EOS-M mounts. The 9mm lens provides a 18mm equivalent angle of view on the Micro Four Thirds sensor. It also has a better vignetting control over the other variants. The close-to-zero distortion will also remain unchanged.

Laowa 7.5mm t/2.1 Cine / Laowa 9mm t/2.9 Zero-D Cine

The new Laowa 7.5mm and 9mm Cine lenses are the cine-mod version of the existing photo version of the lens. Both lenses were re-housed with a step-less aperture rings and focus rings with standard 0.8 mod gears which give videographers extra convenience to use with follow-focus systems. Both of the lenses are the widest available in the market in its class and only weigh 180g (0.4lbs) & 250g (0.55lbs) respectively. Closest focusing distance is both 12cm (0.4 feet). The wide perspective and lightweight makes them the perfect companion for gimbal shooting.

Laowa 12mm t/2.9 Zero-D Cine (PL)

The new Laowa 12mm t/2.9 Zero-D Cine in PL mount is the cine-mod version of the existing 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D lens. The lens was rehoused with a step-less, t-stop aperture rings and focus rings with standard 0.8 mod gears for iris and focus pulls. It successfully covers the 35mm Vista Vision sensor size and offers an ultra-wide 122° angle of view. Despite the ultra-wide field of view, it features a close-to-zero distortion rate. The focus flow is extended to 270° for cinematographers to take advantage of the 0.6 feet (18cm) closest focusing distance.

Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 FE Zoom

This lens is currently the widest zoom lens available for Sony full frame E-mount cameras. Designed primarily for travel photography, Venus optics have managed to compress the size to smallest in its class, less than 10 inch (<10cm) and only 1.1 pounds (<500g). The 102° (18mm) to 130° (10mm) angle of view provides flexibility for photographers to compose landscape or architecture photos with ease. The lens houses with 14 elements in 10 groups with 2 aspherical elements & 1 extra-low dispersion element to deliver exceptional performance. It can focus as close as 15cm for some mini-macro shooting. A rear filter slot is included to fit with 37mm filter. Click/clickless aperture can be toggled by the switch on the lens barrel. A 5-blade aperture design renders a pleasing and clean sunstar.

Multiple samples will be available for free rental during Photokina period.

Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO

Followed by the success of the Laowa 60mm f/2.8 2:1 Macro, the 100mm f/2.8 2:1 Macro is the 2nd member of Laowa 2:1 macro line-up. This new 100mm lens can cover full frame sensor size and focus from 2:1 magnification to infinity. The wide magnification range allows macro photographers to capture subject at any sizes. This 100mm portrait lens also features an apochromatic (APO) characteristic that no chromatic aberration can be found. The 12 elements in 10 groups optics design delivers a crystal sharpness image in both macro and tele distances. Automatic aperture control feature is available for Canon EF version and Aperture coupling is available for Nikon F mount version.

Laowa 17mm f/4 GFX Zero-D

This is currently the widest available native lens option for Fujifilm G-mount cameras. The new Laowa 17mm f/4 GFX has a field of view equivalent to 13mm in 35mm format (113°). Featuring a close-to-zero distortion and 86mm filter thread, this lens is ideally suited for landscape, architecture & interior photography. The 21 elements in 14 groups design with 2pcs of aspherical & 3pcs of Extra-low dispersion elements successfully help to control the distortion & chromatic aberrations to the minimal.

Laowa 4mm f/2.8 Fisheye MFT

Featuring a 210° angle of view, this lens delivers unique circular fisheye field of view on Micro four thirds cameras. The ultra-wide angle view allows photographers to create 360° panorama with ease. Despite the unique & ultra-wide perspective, the lens only weighs 0.3 pounds (135g).

Specifications can be found in separate email attachment.

Free Rental Programme

Venus Optics have prepared some copies of the Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 FE Zoom and Laowa 24mm f/14 Probe lens (Canon) for free rental during Photokina period. For reservations, please contact Venus Optics via contact@venuslens.net.

Availability

All 12 new lenses will make its Europe debut in Venus Optics’ booth (Hall 2.1, D-040) in Photokina, Cologne during 26th-29th Sept. Pricing and ship date are to be confirmed.