Venus Optics has introduced a brand new “crimson ring” model of its Laowa 15mm lens. Known as the 15mm f/4.5R Zero-D Shift lens, it greater than doubles the variety of aperture blades of the “blue ring” model however doesn’t elevate the worth.
The 15mm f/4.5 Shift lens was initially launched in October of 2020 and earned the title of world’s widest shift lens with its 65mm picture circle and 360-degree rotation capabilities.
Venus Optics will now supply two variations of the lens, a blue ring and a crimson ring possibility. The blue ring will stay with the unique five-bladed aperture whereas the crimson ring will function a brand new 14-bladed possibility.
Venus Optics additionally will make each variations of the lens accessible in Fujifilm G mount, which signifies that due to the variety of mount choices the corporate makes accessible, most cameras available on the market will have the ability to use the lens natively with none adapters.
14-Blades for Dramatic Sunstars
Venus Optics says that the Laowa 15mm f/4.5R Zero-D Shift was made with a 14-bladed aperture to permit it to provide 14-pointed sunstars. The corporate says that in comparison with the earlier five-bladed model, the sunburst impact with 14 factors is softer and subtler. Venus Optics says it’s making each variations of the lens accessible to offer structure photographers extra choices for his or her work the place there are sometimes many robust mild sources and reflections in home windows to contemplate.
The addition of 9 extra blades additionally has an impact on how the lens renders out of focus areas. The brand new crimson ring model creates a rounder bokeh that’s smoother and, in keeping with Venus Optics, extra interesting for photographs of cityscapes at evening.
Nonetheless the World’s Widest Shift Lens
Venus Optics nonetheless touts both model of the Laowa 15mm f/4.5R Zero-D Shift because the world’s widest shift lens, with a 100-degree angle of view and 65mm picture circle. The lens has a most doable shift quantity of plus or minus 11 levels on full-frame cameras and plus or minus 8mm on medium format cameras. The corporate says that the ultra-wide angle with well-controlled distortion offers larger flexibility to seize buildings, structure, and interiors. The lens has a detailed focusing distance of 20mmm.
Each variations of the lens are constructed of 17 components in 11 teams which incorporates two aspherical components and three extra-low dispersion components to suppress chromatic aberration in addition to the identical lens coatings that the corporate says moreover controls chromatic aberration in addition to flaring and ghosting.
Beneath are a couple of pattern photos captured on the brand new 15mm f/4.5R Zero-D Shift lens.
Pricing and Availability
The Laowa 15mm f/4.5R Zero-D Shift is out there for $1,199, which is identical worth because the five-aperture model. As talked about, Venus Optics is now making a Fujifilm G-mount model of each the crimson and blue ring lenses accessible as properly.
