Venus Optics, the camera lens manufacturer specialize in making unique camera lenses, unveiled three new ultra-wide cine lenses for cameras with different sensor sizes. They are the Laowa 7.5mm T2.1 Cine for Micro Four Thirds cameras, Laowa 9mm T2.9 Zero-D Cine for Super35 cameras, and the Laowa 15mm T2.1 Zero-D Cine Lens for large format (full-frame) cameras. All three lenses feature the same optical system as their popular photography version and offer premium optical performance. They have also been built with robust cinema lenses housing with design up to the industry standard.

All three Laowa cine lenses feature an ultra-wide angle of view and fast aperture. The Laowa 7.5mm T2.1 features a 110° FoV on MFT while the 9mm T2.9 features a 113° on Super35 sensors. The 15mm T2.1 instead features a 110° FoV on cameras with full-frame sensors. The fast maximum t-stop is well suited for filming under low light conditions. It also allows street photographers and filmmakers to have more flexibility in depth of field control.

Both the 9mm and 15mm 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 a tremendous amount of time in distortion correction in post-processing.

All three wide-angle prime lenses are extremely compact and lightweight. Both 7.5mm and 9mm weigh close to 0.5 lbs (226g). The 15mm is a little bit heavier due to the larger coverage but Venus Optics still manages to compress it to around 1.2 lbs (540g). 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, in-car shots, indoor scene, etc.

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. Both the Laowa 7.5mm and 9mm can focus as close as 4.7” (12cm) from the sensor to subject while the 15mm can focus up to 5.9” (15cm).

The major difference between the new cinema version and the still version is the improved housing. The new cinema lens housing has 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. The entire lens body is made by premium grade aluminum and build for usage in the extreme environment.

An authentic hard case made by Pelican will be included with the lens to allow filmmakers to travel around for shooting with ease.

The Laowa 7.5mm T2.1 Cine is available in Micro Four Thirds mount and it is a perfect companion to cameras like Blackmagic Pocket 4K, Panasonic GH5 and Z-Cam E2

The 9mm T2.9 Zero-D Cine is available in Fuji X, Sony E mount, and Micro Four Thirds mount. The Micro Four Thirds mount can cover the same cameras as 7.5mm and serve as a not-as-wide alternative to MFT users. The Fuji X mount is extremely popular among XT-4 or XH-1 shooters. The Sony E mount works really well with Sony cameras with Super35 sensors including FS5, FS7, A6500 series, etc.

The 15mm T2.1 Zero-D Cine is designed for the large format sensor with Sony FE mount available. It is best suited with Sony full-frame cameras like Sony A7 series and FX9.

All three cine lenses are currently available to purchase via Venus Optics’ official website and authorized resellers. The US price for 7.5mm T2.1 and 9mm T2.9 is $599 and 15mm T2.1 is $1,199.