Venus Optics announced the Laowa 15mm f/4 wide angle 1:1 macro lens - the world’s widest 1:1 macro lens (pre-order here). Here are the details:
Additional information:
The first 1:1 Macro lens with a 110° angle of view. It offers an impactful and unprecedented macro photography experience.
Anhui China, Jun 12, 2015 – Venus Optics, the Chinese camera lenses manufacturer who had launched the world’s first 2:1 Macro Lens in last Sept, has just released the world’s widest Macro lens for full frame cameras, Laowa 15mm f/4 Wide-Angled 1:1 Macro Lens.
The new Laowa 15mm f/4 1:1 Macro lens is the first lens in the market which possesses a ultra wide angle of view and 1:1 Macro ability. This allows photographers from around the world to start experiencing the rather undeveloped field of ‘Wide Angle Macro Photography’ without using an extension tube. Macro Lenses currently in the market tends to have a mid to long focal length and it limits users to take very close-up shots on the insect or flowers, without showing much of the background details like its habitat or environment.
The new Laowa 15mm f/4 1:1 Macro lens features an ultra wide angle of view of 110 degrees with 1:1 maximum magnification. Photographers can focus very close to the subject and let the foreground dominates in the photo but at the same time, have the background telling viewers about where and how the subject lives. You picture will immediately become very informative and intriguing.
The lens can also serve as an excellent ultra-wide angle lenses with infinity focus for cameras with full frame sensors. A shift mechanism is added at the rear end of the lens with a maximum adjustment of +/- 6mm, which is extremely useful for landscape/architecture photography for distortion correction.
The lens houses with 12 elements in 9 groups with 3 pieces of High Refractive elements and 1 piece of Extra-low dispersion elements to deliver crystal sharpness both in the center and the edge. Barrel Distortion was also carefully controlled. 14 pieces of aperture blades form a close-to-circular aperture, capable of creating creamy shallow depth of view. The enclosure of the lens is made of metal to strengthen its durability. Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony Alpha, Sony FE and Pentax K mounts are available.
Pricing and Availability
The Laowa 15mm f/4 wide-angle macro lens is currently available at authorized resellers and at the English official website. The recommended retail price is at USD 479. Free shipping will be provided during the promotion period. Pre-order starts from today and shipping will start from late July.
Specifications
| Focal Length | 15mm |
| Maximum Aperture | F/4 |
| Minimum Aperture | F/32 |
| Angle of View | 110 degrees (FF) 85 degrees (APS-C) |
| Format Compatibility | Full Frame |
| Shift (for APS-C sensors only) | +/- 6 mm |
| Lens Structure | 12 elements in 9 groups(High Refractive Elements x 3pcs, Extra-low Disperson Elements x 1pc) |
| Aperture Blades | 14 |
| Min. working distance | 0.47 cm (1:1) |
| Min. shooting distance | 12 cm |
| Max. Magnification Ratio | 1:1 |
| Focus | Manual Focus |
| Filter Thread | 77mm |
| Dimensions | 83.8 x 64.7 mm |
| Weight | 410g |
| Mounts | Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony A, Pentax K, Sony FE |
MTF & optical structure
Sample Photos
Additional sample photos taken with the new lens can be found here.
Anhui ChangGeng Optical Technology Company Limited (Venus Optics) is a new Chinese camera lens manufacturer based in Hefei, Anhui. We currently manufacture and distribute Macro lenses under the brand name of ‘Laowa’ & ‘ Venus’.
