This one might come as a surprise to some of you but guess who’s released two new macro lenses? I’ll give you a minute. I bet you’ll never get it… Oh. Yes, that’s correct, it’s Laowa! Well, technically they have and they haven’t. They’ve taken two of their popular full-frame and APS-C stills macro lenses and packaged them up into cinema housings. So, they’re sort of new, but also not.
Anyway, today, Venus Optics has officially announced the Laowa 65mm T2.9 2x Macro APO Cine for Super 35mm and the Laowa 100mm T2.8 2x Macro APO Cine for full-frame cameras. Both lenses come in an array of mount options and are optically identical to their stills counterparts, but with all the filming benefits of a cinema lens housing.
Laowa 65mm T2.9 2x Macro APO Cine – $599
The Laowa 65mm T2.8 2x Macro APO Cine features the same internals as the Laowa 65mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO lens for photography released at the beginning of 2020. The new cinema lens housing, however, makes it far more useful for filmmakers, featuring standard 0.8 MOD gears for both aperture and focus rings with a 249° focus throw. It accepts standard 77mm filters and offers 2x macro magnification.
| Focal length | 65mm |
|---|---|
| Max aperture | T2.9 |
| Min aperture | T22 |
| Angle of view | 24.4° |
| Format | Super 35mm (APS-C) |
| Mount | Fuji-X / Canon EF-M / Sony E / Nikon Z |
| Focus type | Manual Focus |
| Focus Throw | 249° |
| Lens type | Rectilinear 2x Macro |
| Optics | 14 elements in 10 groups |
| Aperture blades | 9 |
| Filter thread | 77mm |
| Min focus distance | 17cm |
| Dimensions | 84.8 x 103mm |
| Weight | 550g |
Laowa 100mm T2.9 2x Macro APO Cine – $999
The Laowa 100mm T2.9 2x Macro APO Cine is also based on a photography lens. This time, it’s the Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO, also released in 2020 and once again, optically, the two lenses are identical. As a cinema lens, it also features the standard 0.8 MOD gears for focus and aperture. It also accepts 77mm threaded filters and provides 2x macro magnification but has a slightly shorter focus throw at 220°.
| Focal length | 100mm |
|---|---|
| Max aperture | T2.9 |
| Min aperture | T22 |
| Angle of view | 26.1° |
| Format | Full-Frame |
| Mount | Arri PL / Sony E / Canon EF / Canon R / L Mount |
| Focus type | Manual Focus |
| Focus Throw | 220° |
| Lens type | Rectilinear 2x Macro |
| Optics | 12 elements in 10 groups |
| Aperture blades | 9 |
| Filter thread | 77mm |
| Min focus distance | 24.7cm |
| Dimensions | 85.6 x 139mm |
| Weight | 957g |
The Laowa 65mm T2.9 2x Macro APO Cine for Super 35mm is available to pre-order now for $599 from the Laowa website in Sony E, Nikon Z, Fuji X and Canon EF-M mounts. The Laowa 100mm T2.9 2x MAcro API Cine for full-frame cameras is also available to pre-order now for $999 and is available in Arri PL, Sony E, Canon EF, Canon R and L mount flavours. No word yet on exactly when they’ll start shipping.
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