a blog by Matthew Duclos
Laowa has added a long-awaited piece to their expanding ultra-wide cine arsenal: a factory-built PL-mount version of the 10mm T2.9 Zero-D VV Cine. With support confirmed for professional motion picture cameras, this release rounds out what is arguably one of the most complete ultra-wide full-frame prime sets in recent memory. But while the optics remain unchanged, the mount matters.
Continue reading “Laowa’s 10mm Zero-D Cine Prime Gets a PL Mount”
When you hear the name Laowa, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Normally, and I’ll say this with the utmost respect, weird lenses. Laowa always goes against the norms, choosing innovation over following trends. They consistently deliver tools that at first seem niche or strange, but quickly prove themselves as must-haves once you see the results. I’ve always appreciated that approach. It’s a bit like that middle-school idea that not trying to be popular ends up making you stand out anyway.
Now comes the Laowa 8-15mm T2.9 Fisheye Zoom, their latest ultra-wide cine lens, and a potential game-changer for AR and VR creators. This lens fills a noticeable gap left by a certain lens with a red ring, which was widely used in immersive production workflows. The question is whether this new Laowa offering is simply trying to replicate what came before, or if it’s pushing things forward on its own terms.
Continue reading “Mind-Bending Perspective: Laowa’s New 8-15mm T2.9 Zoom Fisheye”
Laowa has unveiled its Nanomorph 1.5x LF Anamorphic series, designed to cater to filmmakers seeking full-frame anamorphic lenses at a competitive price point. Promising professional-grade optical performance, the Nanomorph LF lineup introduces compact, lightweight lenses with a consistent 1.5x squeeze ratio and customizable flare options. Here’s a detailed look at what these lenses bring to the table.
Continue reading “Laowa Introduces 1.5x Full Frame Anamorphic Primes”
2024 is coming to a close, the holidays are around the corner and Laowa is the lens manufacturer that just keeps giving. Just in time for gift giving season the Laowa Nanomorph 60mm Macro Anamorphic is a perfect stocking-stuffer for the special Lens Geek in your life.
The Nanormorph 60mm fits in so well with the rest of the line up and truly makes me wonder why it took so long for a macro addition like this to be added. Let’s dive in and get a close up look.
Laowa has unveiled their latest anamorphic offering, the Proteus Flex Series, which introduces a new level of flexibility with interchangeable flare modules. As I sat down to write about this new series, I took a trip through The Cine Lens Archive to see what I had written about the original Proteus lenses. To my surprise, I never published anything on that launch—so I’m making sure not to miss the opportunity this time. The Proteus Flex series offers a unique combination of modular design and high-end performance, and it’s certainly a step forward for cinematographers seeking versatile anamorphic tools.
Continue reading “Laowa Proteus Flex Series: Next-Level Anamorphic Flexibility”
Venus Optics, well known for their unique, innovative lens creations, releases their latest version of their popular probe lens – the Laowa Pro2be lens, building upon the successes of its predecessors; the 24mm Probe and 24mm PeriProbe lenses. Let’s delve into what we know about the Pro2be lens so far.
Continue reading “Laowa Improves the 24mm Probe Again With New “Pro2be””
Laowa, the company behind other inspired unique lenses such as the 24mm Probe lens and the 12mm Zero-Distortion prime lens, have announced three new additions to their cine line: a 7.5mm, 9mm, and 15mm.
Continue reading “Laowa Expands Cine Line with 7.5, 9, and 15mm”
Possibly one of the most eagerly waited lenses announced at NAB last year – the Laowa 12mm Zero-D T2.9 Cine is finally ready to begin shipping nearly a year after its introduction. This lens is easily one of the widest, most well corrected lenses for Large Format cinematography.
Continue reading “Laowa 12mm Zero-D Now Shipping!”
Laowa, a Chinese lens manufacturer known less for their marketing and more for their unique, thoughtful optical creations, has decided to break into the parallel world of motion picture lenses with their first ever purpose-built cinema zoom lens.
Continue reading “Laowa to Introduce Dedicated Cinema Lenses”