Venus Optics announces the Laowa Argus 45mm f/0.95 FF for the RF mount

[Canon Rumors Guy]

Press Release: Venus Optics, the manufacturer that specializes in making unique camera lenses, is proud to introduce a new Full-Frame member for the Argus series – Laowa Argus 45mm f/0.95 FF. This exceptional standard lens offers a field of view that is more appealing & natural to human eyes. With the super shallow depth of field at f/0.95, it easily creates a dreamy and romantic rendering. The lens consisting of 1 Aspherical Lens,1 ED glass, and 3 UHR glass offers remarkable sharpness while wide-open. It gets your subject to stand out from the background of creamy bokeh. Truly turns an ordinary image into an extraordinary one. Photographers can also benefit from the flexibility for shooting in low-light situations.
Laowa Argus 45mm f/0.95 FF Key Features:

Maximum aperture f/0.95
Close to Human Eyes Perspective
Outstanding Optical Performance at f/0.95
Aperture Ring Click Switch Mechanism
Internal Focusing
Low Focus Breathing...

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[Del Paso]

Dibs!

 

[Sharlin]

I wonder how well this would work with a crop body.

 

[Canon Rumors Guy]

I wonder how well this would work with a crop body.

They make a 33mm f/0.95 for crop cameras, as well as a 35mm f/0.95 for FF.

 

[fox40phil]

Sounds great! and not that heavy like the Sigma 40mm 1.4!

 

[Jethro]

If you can live with the fully manual aspects, Venus make really good quality and well priced lenses, with specs that others don't offer. This one isn't for me, but again looks really interesting.

 

[john1970]

Looks interesting. Keeping my fingers crossed that Canon releases some fast RF wide angle glass in 2022.

 

[Canon Rumors Guy]

I would like this or the 35mm, I'd never spend the $4000+ for a Canon L version with AF.... that will never happen anyway.

 

[[email protected]]

I would like this or the 35mm, I'd never spend the $4000+ for a Canon L version with AF.... that will never happen anyway.

Agree. Except, if Canon made a 35 f/1.2 or f/1, I'd probably contort myself into a rationalization for purchasing sometime in future. Benefit of kids going to college is overrated.

Since going mirrorless, the manual focus is much less of a liability. Focus peaking makes this pretty functional, although I have to say I haven't tried this with a lens with quite that big an aperture.

 

[lawny13]

It doesn’t say… but I assume this is a MF and not an AF lens.

 

[Chaitanya]

It doesn’t say… but I assume this is a MF and not an AF lens.

Yes its MF only.

 

[mariosk1gr]

If only could support AF then it would be a no brainer lens even with a 300$+ price for the af mechanism...! Damn it I feel everytime there is that little missing piece that holds back from perfection...

 

[Sharlin]

They make a 33mm f/0.95 for crop cameras, as well as a 35mm f/0.95 for FF.

Yeah. But this could be a nice short portrait FL on crop, plus cropping might give a cleaner look with regard to vignetting/cat's-eye and potential corner CA – although I guess to many people those artifacts are part of the charm of an f/0.95.

 

[Del Paso]

Yeah. But this could be a nice short portrait FL on crop, plus cropping might give a cleaner look with regard to vignetting/cat's-eye and potential corner CA – although I guess to many people those artifacts are part of the charm of an f/0.95.

What I particularly love about my Summilux M 1,4/75 is the rendering at f 1,4, thanks to the numerous aberrations, resulting in dreamy, almost "glowing" pictures.
And the fact that I gets tack-sharp from f 2,8.
It may sound silly, but I'd rather buy the EF 1,2/85 than the RF 1,2/85, even though I know, having tested it, that the RF is absolutely stunning.

 

[jvillain]

I wonder if we will see a 45 T1.

 

[Nemorino]

I don't think so:
"A low focus breathing eliminates the distraction of the changes in the angle of view when moving the focus from one object to another. Together with the accurate 300° focus thread makes it become the ideal lens for videography."

 

[entoman]

Laowa seem to be promoting this as a portrait lens (references to "dreamy and romantic rendering").

Focusing manually at F0.95 might prove difficult unless the portraits are of statues...

 

[pmjm]

This is obviously a very boutique lens that is certain to have its fans, but to me, f/0.95 with manual focus sounds like more work than I'm willing to put in.

 

[MORphoto.net]

Laowa seem to be promoting this as a portrait lens (references to "dreamy and romantic rendering").

Focusing manually at F0.95 might prove difficult unless the portraits are of statues...

... and the camera is on a tripod. Still possible with focus peaking and fast bursts, but the hit rate probably won't be super great. Great quality glass for a great price though.

 

[MORphoto.net]

This is obviously a very boutique lens that is certain to have its fans, but to me, f/0.95 with manual focus sounds like more work than I'm willing to put in.

Yeah, I'd gladly pay the extra bucks for the Canon 50 1.2 just for the autofocus.