Venus Optics Announced the Laowa 9mm T2.9, 12mm T2.9 and 15mm T2.1 Cinema Lenses for Canon RF Mount Cameras

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Venus Optics has announced its Canon RF lens mount option for three of its ultra-wide cinema primes: the Laowa 9mm T2.9 Zero-D Cine lens, Laowa 12mm T2.9 Zero-D Cine lens and Laowa 15mm T2.1 Zero-D Cine:

Laowa 9mm T2.9 Zero-D Cine

This exciting prime lens provides ultra wide-angle coverage up to 113° angle of view (100° on MFT system). The tiny size & light weight match perfectly with mirrorless cameras and are suitable for use with gimbals. The new Cine version comes with standard 0.8 mod gears on both aperture and focus rings. A standard 55mm filter thread is designed to mount screw-in filters easily. 2 aspherical elements plus 3 extra-low dispersion elements successfully correct chromatic aberration, realize close-to-zero distortion & deliver excellent corner to corner sharpness.

Laowa 12mm t/2.9 Zero-D Cine

The new 12mm lens is currently the widest t/2.9 lens that can cover sensor up to both full frame & vista vision size (wider than full frame), making it one of the ideal wide angle option for both professional cinema cameras and mirrorless cameras.

Features:

  • Full Frame / Vista Vision coverage
  • Close to zero distortion (Zero-D)
  • 122 degrees AoV
  • Super Compact
  • EF / PL / E / RF mount available
  • Step-up to 114mm for matte box installation

Laowa 15mm T2.1 Zero-D Cine

This exciting prime lens provides ultra wide-angle coverage up to 110° on Full Frame camera system. It is currently the widest T2.1 lens in the market covering large format sensor. The tiny size & light weight makes it a perfect companion with gimbals and run-and-gun shooting. The new Cine version comes with standard 0.8 mod gears on both aperture and focus rings. A standard 77mm filter thread is designed to mount screw-in filters easily. The lens also features a superb optical distortion control with all straight lines retained.

Specifications:

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

Press Release:

Venus Optics unveiled 3 new Ultra Wide cinema lenses for Canon RF mount cameras

Perfect wide angle options for Red Komodo, Canon R5/R6 and Canon C70

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 condition. It also allows filmmakers to have more flexibility in depth of field control.

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 tremendous amount of time in distortion correction in post processing.

Compact & lightweight
All three wide angle prime lenses are extremely compact and lightweight. The 9mm weigh 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.

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 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 have 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. Entire lens body is made by premium grade aluminum and build for usage in extreme environment.

Hassel-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.

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.

Laowa Wide Angle Cine Lenses line-up
Venus Optics currently offer four wide angle cine lenses for cinema cameras with different sensor sizes.

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.