Earlier this month, Laowa announced that they’d teamed up with Keslow Camera to produce a range of interchangeable-flare anamorphic lenses. What they did was modify their flagship Proteus line to release the Proteus Flex.
The whole concept is that it’s a standard Proteus lens but with a swappable anamorphic “module”. This module produces the flare colour, offering blue, amber or silver. DIYP went to check the system out in person at IBC 2023.
Flare for all occasions!
The new lenses each come as a kit containing the main lens barrel and three anamorphic modules. You can swap these as you wish to create different looks on different shoots. It also makes life easier for rental houses that often have customers with different needs.
Laowa says the new Proteus Flex lenses should perform just as well as the regular Proteus lenses. The interchangeable flare options should be easily swappable in about 10 minutes for a proficient lens tech, giving you quick access to all three visual looks.
Two new focal lengths – 28mm and 100mm
The Proteus set was initially launched with 35mm, 45mm, 60mm and 85mm focal lengths. The announcement of Proteus Flex also brought with it two new Proteus focal lengths of 28mm and 100mm, rounding out the set quite nicely.
The two new lenses, like the four existing Laowa Proteus lenses are designed for Super 35mm (or APS-C). They will, however, work with full-frame sensors using a 1.4x extender sold by Laowa.
Price and Availability
The Laowa Proteus Flex lenses will be available to rent exclusively from Keslow Camera in October. No rental prices appear to have been released yet. Don’t worry, though. If you want to forego the rental and just buy your own, they’ll be available from retailers at the end of the year.
The bad news is that they’ll cost double the price of their regular Proteus counterparts. So, expect to cough up around $60,000 for the full set of six!
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