Laowa 15mm f/2 FE Zero-D lens announcement

Venus Optics announces 15mm f2 E-mount lens

Laowa have announced a new wide angle lens for the Sony E-mount mirrorless system.

It follows on from the 12mm Zero-D Keith reviewed last year.

See the Laowa section in the categories menu to the right to see all of Keith’s Laowa reviews and articles.

The lens will ship by September [Lens info].

Press info from Venus Optics

Venus Optics announces the Laowa 15mm f/2 FE Zero-D, the world’s widest f/2 native lens for Sony full frame E-mount cameras

Featuring a 110° Angle of View, Ultra-fast f/2 aperture, 72mm filter thread, Super light & compact & close-to-zero distortion

Anhui China, Aug 11, 2017 – Venus Optics, the camera lenses manufacturer who had previously launched a number of unique Laowa camera lenses, is proud to announce the world’s widest rectilinear f/2 native lens for Sony Full Frame E-mount cameras, Laowa 15mm f/2 FE Zero-D.

Super Light & Compact

The Laowa 15mm f/2 FE Zero-D is currently the widest f/2 rectilinear lens in the market which comes with a native E mount (i.e. Does not require additional adapters). It is an ultra-wide & ultra-fast prime lens which covers both 35mm full-frame & APS-C sensors. Despite the extreme specifications, Venus Optics has successfully minimised the weight of the lens to around 500g (~1.1 pounds) and 8cm long. This compact and light lens comprises of 12 elements in 9 groups with 2 pcs of aspherical elements and 3 pcs of Extra-low dispersion elements. The patented optical design successfully minimises the distortion and chromatic aberrations to its lowest but at the same time, delivers a superb optical performance from corners to corners.

72mm Filter Thread

Ultra-wide & fast lenses in the market tend to be huge and have a dome-shaped front element. It is a headache for landscape photographers who need to use filters very often. Venus Optics understand their needs and manage to design a flat front surface and include a 72mm filter thread into the lens. 72mm screw-on filters can be used and no more investment on bulky filter holder is required.

Ultra Wide & Fast

The extreme 110° angle of view and ultra-fast f/2 aperture allow photographers to create impressive astro-photography shots with ease. It also gives photographers a fast and wide-angle option for landscape photography and low-light shooting.

Close focusing distance

Photographers can take advantage of the super close focusing distance (i.e. 15cm) and the f/2 aperture to create some bokeh shots and wide angle close-up shots.

Close-to-Zero Distortion

The Laowa 15mm f/2 FE Zero-D is the second member of the Close-to-Zero distortion line-up from Venus Optics, followed the launch of 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D last year. The lens is specially designed to remove the optical distortion commonly exist in wide angle lenses at infinity focus. Any straight lines will be retained.

Added feature for videographers

The new Laowa 15mm f/2 FE Zero-D is specially designed with an aperture switch which allows users to quickly switch between click-less and clicked aperture. This added feature will be extremely useful for videographers.

Availability

The Laowa 15mm f/2 FE Zero-D is currently available to pre-order in the official website of Venus Optics (http://www.venuslens.net/) and their authorized resellers.. Recommended Retail Price in US (without tax) is USD 849/pc. Pricing may vary in different countries. Shipping will start from late Aug/early Sept.

MTF figures…

Sample images are available [Flkr]

More lens use related articles

All articles and reviews are listed on our main Articles and Reviews page, or use the search box at the top of any page. Experimental items, hacks and how-to articles are all listed in the Photo-hacks category.
Some articles that may be of interest:  

• Using a tilt/shift lens - what it is they actually do
• Focus with tilted lenses - lots more information about what's going on when you tilt a lens. See also: Focusing the view camera - External link to [very] detailed coverage of camera movements
• Keith's tilt table spreadsheet (zipped file)
• Using old lenses on your DSLR - fun with adapters
• Keith's lens reviews and lens related articles

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