Venus Optics debuted the Laowa CF 12-24mm f/5.6 Zoom Shift lens for APS-C mirrorless cameras in July in China, becoming the world’s first shift zoom lens. Months later, the company launched the breakthrough lens globally, and it is now available for purchase.

The Laowa 12-24mm f/5.6 Zoom Shift lens is available for APS-C cameras in various lens mounts, including Canon RF, Canon EF-M, L-Mount, Fujifilm X, Nikon Z, and Sony E. It covers almost every camera system available except Micro Four Thirds.

The lens features 15 elements grouped in 11 groups and a nine-bladed aperture diaphragm. The 15 total elements include two aspherical elements and three extra-low dispersion pieces of glass. The lens also has Laowa’s Frog Eye Coating (FED) on the front glass, similar to a fluorine coating and protecting the front element while also making cleaning easier.

The lens may shift up to seven millimeters, allowing photographers to achieve precise perspective control and reduce aberrations. This is especially important for architectural photography, as the shift capabilities enable photographers to get straight vertical lines even on large buildings. Shift capabilities are usually reserved for prime lenses, which lack the versatility of a zoom. However, the +/- seven-millimeter shift is possible across the whole zoom range, which is a world-first.

Venus Optics guarantees constant exposure and image quality performance across the whole zoom range, which is critical for architectural and landscape applications.

The manual-focus lens can focus as near as 15 cm for a maximum magnification of 0.4x. Its front thread accepts 77mm filters and has a maximum diameter of 80 millimeters. The lens measures 99 millimeters long and weighs 575 grams.