Sony Photography News and Rumors

Venus Optics announce the new Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift Lens – World’s Widest Shift Lens for Full Frame Cameras (Preorder From Laowa)
Anhui China, Oct 30, 2020 – Venus Optics, the manufacturer specialized in making unique camera lenses, pioneered Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift, the widest shift lens for full-frame cameras and medium format cameras. Giving credits to a ±11mm shift amount (±8mm on the medium format), this ultra-wide shift lens breaks through the industry level and bringing the wide-angle lens standard to the next level.

Image quality is guaranteed with high image sharpness and nearly no optical distortion (Zero- D). The 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift enriches the diversity of Laowa’s extensive wide-angle lens collection by giving photographers more control on the perspective in their images.

World’s widest shift lens for Full Frame Cameras
15mm f/4.5 Shift is the widest shift lens for a full frame camera. The angle of view is 110°, and it covers a huge ⌀ 65mm image circle. The wider perspective offers great deal of flexibility for photographers to capture architecture and interior shots when space is limited.

±11mm Shift Amount
The maximum possible shift amount of the lens is ±11mm for full frame camera and ±8mm for medium format camera (e.g. Fujifilm GFX / Hasselblad X1D). The shift capability allows photographers to capture straight architecture with ease. 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift straightens the lines that appear to converge in the distance. Crooked images can be corrected by changing the perspective of the lens. Perspective distortion is being eliminated to create the reality-like image.

The ±11mm shift amount also allows photographers to expand the angle of view by stitching multiple images. It gives an extraordinary image perspective and rooms for special compositions.

Ⓒ Richard Wong

Large Image Circle
With a huge ⌀65mm image circle, the lens not only works with the full-frame format but also covers the medium format sensors. This makes it currently the World’s Widest lens covering Fujifilm GFX sensor with no vignetting.

+8MM SHIFT
No vignetting up to +/- 8mm shift

Zero Distortion
15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift is composed of 17 elements in 11 groups with 2pcs of aspherical elements. It suppresses the distortion to nearly Zero level from corner to corner. Perfect for architecture photography as any straight lines will be retained.

Impressive Image Quality
15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift is coupled with a new lens coating. A significant improvement on the chromatic aberration, flaring and ghosting control.

Sharpness comparison of the Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift against competitors

Extremely Close Focusing Distance
15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift is an ultra wide shift lens coupled with 20cm closest focusing distance. Macro-like photos can now be created easily. The Functionality of the lens is diverse. Wide angle macro image can be easily captured with this lens.

Stunning 10-point Sunstar
The 5-bladed aperture creates stunning 10-point sunstar rendering.

360° Rotation
The rotation function enables photographers to change the direction of the shift easily by pressing the silver unlock button. This gives photographers more flexibility in composing the image (in both landscape and portrait orientation). The lens barrel can be rotated through 360° and it clicks every 15°.

Shift Lens Support
A lens support is specially designed for 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift. Perfect for panorama stitching as the optic axis remains unchanged..

Multiple Mount options
Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift is available in Canon EF, Nikon F, Canon RF, Nikon Z, Sony FE mount.
(Canon EF and Nikon F will be available on Late Nov, 2020)
(Canon RF, Nikon Z and Sony FE mount will be available on Feb, 2021)

Pricing & Availability
The new Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift is currently available to purchase via Venus Optics official website (http://www.venuslens.net/) and authorized resellers.

The US price for 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift is $1,199 for all mounts. Pricing varies in different countries. The first 100 orders through our webstore will get a lens pouch for FREE.

Shipping starts from late-Nov 2020 for Canon EF and Nikon F mount.
The Canon RF, Nikon Z and Sony FE mount will be shipped from Feb 2021.

MTF

Optical Structure