Venus Optics unveils three new Ultra wide Cine lenses

Venus Optics unveils three new Ultra wide cine lenses

Venus Optics who manufacture some specialized and interesting macro lenses have announced that they have launched cine versions of 3 ultra wide lenses.

Laowa ultrawide cine lenses

The Laowa 7.5mm T2.1 Cine is available in Micro Four Thirds mount and will fit Blackmagic Pocket 4K, Panasonic GH5 and Z-Cam E2 cameras.

The 9mm T2.9 Zero-D Cine is available in Fuji X, Sony E mount and Micro 4/3 mount. The Micro Four Thirds mount can cover the same cameras as 7.5mm and serve as an not-as-wide alternative to MFT users. The Fuji X mount is extremely popular among XT-4 or XH-1 shooters. The Sony E mount works really well with Sony cameras with Super35 sensors including FS5, FS7, A6500 series, etc.

Currently the 15mm T2.1 Zero-D Cine is designed for large format sensor with Sony FE mount and is best suited with Sony full frame cameras like Sony A7 series and FX9.

New Nikon Z, Canon RF and Leica L mount will be introduced later this year as well as will work with RED Komodo, Canon R5, Nikon Z6/Z7, Sigma FP, Panasonic S1H etc.

According to Venus Optics all these three lenses have the same optical constructions as the photography versions of the lenses and the Cine versions have better construction standards. It will help as all the three lenses are fast T2.1 and hence will allow higher amount of light.

Both the aperture and focus rings have been built with industry standard 0.8 mod pitch gears for pairing up with follow-focus motors. The aperture ring is now click-less for smooth iris control. Every one of Laowa cine lenses comes with a filter thread for filmmakers to use screw-in filters and mini matte-boxes. Entire lens body is made by premium grade aluminum and build for usage in extreme environment. And interestingly Venus Optics will include a pelican case for the lens so that the lens is protected during travel.



Ultra-wide FoV & fast aperture

All three Laowa cine lenses feature an ultra-wide angle of view and fast aperture. The Laowa 7.5mm T2.1 feature a 110° FoV on MFT while the 9mm T2.9 features a 113° on Super35 sensors. The 15mm T2.1 instead features a 110° FoV on cameras with full frame sensors. The fast maximum t-stop is well suited for filming under low light condition. It also allows filmmakers to have more flexibility in depth of field control.

Close-to-zero distortion

Both the 9mm and 15mm feature the distinguishing Laowa close-to-zero distortion (Zero-D) design where the optical distortion at infinity distance has been compressed to the minimal. This is extremely important for motion picture recording when shooting indoor, architecture or footage with straight lines included. This also saves tremendous amount of time in distortion correction in post processing.

Compact & lightweight

All three wide angle prime lenses are extremely compact and lightweight. Both 7.5mm and 9mm weigh close to 0.5 lbs (226g). The 15mm is a little bit heavier due to the larger coverage but Venus Optics still manage to compress it to around 1.2 lbs (540g). On the contrary to the huge and heavy wide angle lenses in the market, the new Laowa cine lenses are extremely handy for run-and-gun productions, shooting with gimbals, in-car shots, indoor scene, etc.

Close Focusing Distance

All three Laowa cine lenses possess an extremely close focusing distance. This provides a great deal of flexibility for directors to compose shots at any distance. Filmmakers can also take advantage of this close focusing to create some wide angle shots with shallower depth of field. Both the Laowa 7.5mm and 9mm can focus as close as 4.7” (12cm) from sensor to subject while the 15mm can focus up to 5.9” (15cm).

Laowa Wide Angle Cine Lenses line-up

Together with the Laowa 12mm T2.9 Zero-D Cine released earlier for EF and PL cinema cameras, Venus Optics currently offer four wide angle cine lenses for cinema cameras with different sensor sizes.

Pricing & Availability

At the moment all three cine lenses are currently available to purchase via Venus Optics official website and authorized resellers. The US price for 7.5mm T2.1 and 9mm T2.9 is $599/pc (ex-VAT) and 15mm T2.1 is $1,199/pc (ex-VAT). Pricing varies in different countries.

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