The 12-year-old Micro Four Thirds standard just got a nice third-party boost today. In a joint release, Olympus and Panasonic announced that three new companies were officially joining the group: Yongnuo, Venus Optics, and a B2B company called Mediaedge.
After "announcing" the lens some time ago, Venus Optics has officially released the Laowa 65mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO: a surprisingly affordable 2X macro lens made specifically for crop-sensor mirrorless cameras made by Fuji, Sony and Canon.
Fans of crazy bokeh take note: a leaked presentation photo and a report from Fuji Addict claims that Venus Optics—the makers of Laowa lenses—are actively working on a new line of f/0.95 lenses for full-frame and APS-C sensor cameras.
Venus Optics has been slowly releasing the four lenses it teased back in April of 2018. We saw the 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 for Sony E-Mount in October, the 100mm 2x Macro for full-frame DSLRs in June, and the 17mm f/4 Zero-D for Fuji GFX earlier this month. Today, they're officially releasing the last lens: the Laowa 4mm f/2.8 Circular Fisheye for Micro Four Thirds systems.
After briefly announcing the lens over a year ago, Venus Optics has finally launched the "world's widest rectilinear lens for Fujifilm GFX," announcing the pricing and availability of the Laowa 17mm f/4 Ultra-Wide GFX Zero-D.
Chinese lens maker Venus Optics is bringing two of its ultra-wide angle lenses to Canon and Nikon's full-frame mirrorless systems. The Laowa 15mm f/2 Zero-D, which is now available for both the Canon RF and Nikon Z mounts, and the Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 Zoom, which will only be released for the Nikon Z system.
Venus Optics has just unveiled the Laowa 9mm f/2.8 DL Zero-D. It's the widest lens ever made for DJI cameras and drones.
The Chinese lens manufacturer Venus Optics has revealed the full details of its new Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 FE lens for Sony mirrorless cameras. It's the world's widest rectilinear full-frame zoom lens.
Venus Optics today officially announced the Laowa 24mm f/14 2x Macro Probe, one of the weirdest-looking lenses you'll ever lay eyes on. At the same time, it also aims to be one of the most game-changing macro lenses on the market today.
Venus Optics has just announced four upcoming lenses that are currently in development: the Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 FE Zoom, 100mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO, 17mm f/4 GFX Zero-D, and 4mm f/2.8 Fisheye MFT. The 10-18mm will be the world's widest zoom lens for Sony full-frame E-mount cameras.
In January 2018, I had the opportunity to test a pre-production version of Laowa's first lens in 2018, the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5x. It is a niche high magnification macro lens touted to be the answer or alternative to the Canon MP-E 65mm for non-Canon users (especially Nikon macro photographers).
Venus Optics has just announced its new Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra-Macro lens, an "affordable extreme macro option for full frame cameras."
A few weeks ago Laowa sent me a copy of their first lens dedicated to Sony’s full frame E-mount system, the 15mm f/2. This lens is meant for landscape and astrophotographers who want to capture as much of the beautiful night sky as possible; which means wide and fast.
Venus Optics has just officially announced its new Laowa 7.5mm f/2 MFT, a lens that we first got a glimpse at leading up to Photokina 2016. It's the world's widest rectilinear f/2 lens for Micro Four Thirds cameras.
Remember that crazy macro 'relay' lens Venus Optics showed off at Photokina? The Laowa 24mm f/14 Relay lens looks more like a rifle barrel than a camera lens, and now we finally get to see what it can do.
Venus Optics are quickly becoming a leader in extreme lens design, but even by their standard, they've seriously outdone themselves with the Laowa 24mm f/14 Replay 2x Macro lens.
Venus Optics, creators of the Laowa 12mm f/2.8 with 'close to zero distortion,' are unveiling two new extreme lenses at Photokina. The Laowa 15mm f/2 FE Zero-D, the world's fastest 15mm rectilinear lens for full-frame cameras, and the Laowa 7.5mm f/2 MFT, the world’s widest f/2 Lens for Micro Four Thirds cameras.
Chinese lens maker Venus Optics is set to launch a new lens called the Laowa 12mm f/2.8. It will be the world's widest rectilinear f/2.8 lens.
The Chinese company Venus Optics has announced its new Laowa 105mm f/2 Smooth Trans Focus (STF) lens, which it nicknamed "The Bokeh Dreamer."
Here's a new video review by Thomas Shahan, the "Bob Ross of bug shots," of the new Venus Optics Laowa 15mm f/4 1:1 wide angle macro lens.
There are a number of interesting features in this manual-focus lens, including a buit-in shift mechanism and a crazy close 4.7mm working distance -- you can position your lens just millimeters away from your subject.
Last month, a Chinese company called Venus Optics unveiled a 60mm f/2.8 lens, the first 2:1 magnification lens with infinity focus. Thomas Shahan, the "Bob Ross of macro photography", was sent a copy from the company and reviewed it in the 4.5-minute video above.
A new Chinese lens manufacturer called Venus Optics has unveiled a new 60mm f/2.8 ultra macro lens that it claims is the world's first 2:1 magnification lens with infinity focus.