Anhui China, Sept 28, 2020 – Venus Optics, the camera lenses manufacturer specialized in making unique camera lenses, added the Canon RF mount option to 3 of their new ultra-wide cinema lenses. They are the Laowa 9mm T2.9 Zero- D , Laowa 15mm T2.1 Zero-D Cine Lens and Laowa 12mm T2.9 Zero-D. All three lenses feature the same optical system as the rest of the mounts and with the same close-to-zero distortion (Zero-D) design. They are also built with robust cinema lenses housing. The new RF variants will be a very interesting wide-angle option for Red Komodo, Canon EOS R5 / R6, and the new Canon C70 cinema cameras.

Ultra-wide FoV & fast aperture

All three Laowa cine lenses feature an ultra-wide angle of view and fast aperture. The 9mm T2.9 features an approximate 113° FoV on Super35 sensors while the 15mm T2.1 and 12mm T2.9 feature a 110° and 122° FoV respectively on cameras with full-frame sensors. The fast maximum t-stop is well suited for filming under low light conditions. It also allows filmmakers to have more flexibility in depth of field control.

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Close-to-zero distortion

All 3 lenses 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 a tremendous amount of time in distortion correction in post-processing.

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Compact & lightweight

All three wide-angle prime lenses are extremely compact and lightweight. The 9mm weighs only 0.5 lbs (226g). The 15mm is around 1.2 lbs (540g) and the 12mm is around 1.49 lbs (675g). 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, FPVs, in-car shots, aerial videography, underwater videography, etc.

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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. The 9mm can focus as close as 4.7” (12cm) while the 12mm can focus up to 7.09” (18cm), from the sensor to subject. The 15mm instead can focus up to 5.9” (15cm).

Industry-standard cinema lens housing

The major difference between the new cinema version and the still version is the improved housing. The new cinema lens housing has been designed with details to facilitate filmmakers to shoot with ease. 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. The entire lens body is made by premium grade aluminum and build for usage in extreme environments.

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Hassle-free transportation

An authentic hard case made by Pelican will be included with the lens to allow filmmakers to travel around for shooting with ease.

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A variety of mount options

The 9mm T2.9 Zero-D Cine is also available in Fuji X, Sony E mount, and Micro Four Thirds mount.

The 15mm T2.1 Zero-D Cine is also available in Sony FE mount.

The 12mm T2.9 Zero-D Cine is also available in EF, PL, Sony FE mount.

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Laowa Wide Angle Cine Lenses line-up

Venus Optics currently offers four wide-angle cine lenses for cinema cameras with different sensor sizes.

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Pricing & Availability

All three cine lenses are currently available to purchase via Venus Optics official website (http://www.venuslens.net/) and authorized resellers. The US price for 9mm T2.9 is $599/pc (ex-VAT), $1,199/pc (ex-VAT) for 15mm T2.1 and $1,499/pc (ex-VAT) for 12mm T2.9. Pricing varies in different countries.

Product Shots & Sample Images

More marketing materials, product shots & sample images can be found from below Google Drive link.

https://bit.ly/3n27mmy

Specifications

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9mm T2.9 Zero-D 15mm T2.1 Zero-D 12mm T2.9 Zero-D
Focal Length 9 mm 15mm 12mm
Max. Aperture T2.9 T2.1 T2.9
T-Stop 2.9-22 2.1-22 2.9-22
Angle of View (Approx.) 113o (Super35) 110o 122 o
Format Compatibility Super 35 Full Frame Full Frame
Image Circle 28mm 43.3mm 46.7mm
Lens Structure 15 Elements in 10 Groups 12 Elements in 9 Groups 16 elements in 10 Groups
Iris Blade 7 5 7
Min. Focusing Distance 12 cm 15 cm 18 cm
Filter Thread 55 mm 77 mm 95 mm
Front Diameter 58 mm 80 mm 100 mm
Focus Mode Manual Focus Manual Focus Manual Focus
Dimension (W x H) 62.4 x 54 mm 84.8 x 91.2 mm 105 x 100mm
Weight 247 g 540 g 675g
Mount Canon RF, M43, Fuji X, Sony E Canon RF, Sony FE Canon RF, Canon EF, PL, Sony FE
Price (Ex. VAT) US $599 US $1,199 US $1,499

Product Pages

Sample Footage (Some footages were NOT taken with the RF mount)

9mm T2.9 Zero-D Cine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQB9jBaMj98 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCkDFC2UFkk

15mm T2.1 FE Zero-D Cine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJL3WeTPiDM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enFxwbEB6tg

12mm T2.9 FE Zero-D Cine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLf9OIsBgN4

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8 comments

  1. Even on a S35 sensor that is going to be wide. I some times shoot on the long end of my 10-22mm. But I really try to avoid the short end due to leaning/bending lines. Once you shoot on it a bit let us know your thoughts and post some footage. BTW what do you shoot mostly? Landscape? Interiors?
  2. The first photo is from a M50? But the mount is RF?
    It says the lens is optically the same on all mounts, so they probably showed that image because expect similar image performance/FOV since super 35 is similar in size to APSC, and there is no C70 to be had to pull a frame from yet?

    -Brian
  3. It says the lens is optically the same on all mounts, so they probably showed that image because expect similar image performance/FOV since super 35 is similar in size to APSC, and there is no C70 to be had to pull a frame from yet?

    -Brian

    I did not saw EF-m or EF on the mount list.
  4. I did not saw EF-m or EF on the mount list.

    Appear to be available in EF and PL mounts. There is a PL to EF-M adapter so you can mount PL Cine lenses on an EOS M.
  5. Sounds good but a little confused about what the new 9mm T2.9 cine lens will work on. Obviously, it will work on the new C70 but article seems to indicate that it might work on R5 and R6 but how is this possible, knowing that, at least in the past, this lens has only been suitable for crop sensor cams, like the M mount camera bodies? Even though the 9mm Laowa M mount is manual focus only, one of the nice things about this very compact lens on the M-50 is that no EF-M adapter is necessary, a real asset when wanting to maintain that small form factor and travel light. I have to assume that T series 9mm on an R5/R6 body will produce great vignetting. Regardless, very happy to see the RF mount supported by the 3rd party MFG'S. More choices is always a good thing.

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