Laowa Zero-D 12mm f/2.8 distortion-free lens coming soon

• 8 years ago
• Categories: Laowa, Venus Optics
• Tags: Laowa Zero-D 12mm f/2.8 distortion-free lens

The small Chinese company Anhui Changgeng Optical Technology Company Limited, better known as Venus Optics has already announced several niche, highly specialized lenses:

• Laowa 60mm f/2.8 Macro 2:1, a lens for extreme close-ups
• Laowa 15mm f/4 Shift Macro 1:1, a wide angle macro lens with shift capabilities
• Laowa STF 105mm f/2 (T/3.2), a portrait lens with an apodisation element delivering the most pleasing bokeh.

Their lenses are sold in a variety of mounts, including Canon EF, Nikon F, Pentax K, Sony A and Sony E. They are currently working on a rectilinear, almost distortion-free ultra-wide angle lens for 24x36 cameras: the Laowa Zero-D 12mm f/2.8 (Zero-D symbolizing the absence of distortion). The main specifications of the prototype are the following:

• Image circle: 24x36
• Field of view: 121.96°
• Optical formula: 16 elements, including 2 aspherical elements and 3 elements made of glass with anomalous dispersion, in 10 groups
• Number of aperture blades: 7
• Aperture range: f/2.8 - f/22
• Manual focus
• Minimum focusing distance: 0.18m
• Maximum magnification: 0.2x
• Maximum diameter: 74.8mm
• Length: 82.2mm
• Weight: circa 570g.

Sample photos taken with a Laowa Zero-D 12mm f/2.8 mounted on a Sony Alpha 7R camera can be found on Flickr:

Thanks Mistral 75!