Laowa 10-18 f/3.5-4.5 and Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO Officially Announced

By Louis Ferreira | Published: April 20, 2018

Press Release
Venus Optics announces 4 new & unique lenses in development, led by the Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 FE, World’s widest zoom lens for Sony full frame E-mount cameras

All 4 lenses will make their debut in the coming Beijing P&E Imaging Fair.

Anhui China, Apr 20, 2018 – Venus Optics, the camera lenses manufacturer who had previously launched a number of unique Laowa camera lenses, is proud to announce 4 new and unique lenses.

–  Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 FE Zoom
–  Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO
–  Laowa 17mm f/4 GFX Zero-D
–  Laowa 4mm f/2.8 Fisheye MFT
–  Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 FE Zoom

This lens is currently the widest zoom lens available for Sony full frame E-mount cameras. Designed primarily for travel photography, Venus optics have managed to compress the size to smallest in its class, less than 10 inch (<10cm) and only 1.1 pounds (<500g). The 102° (18mm) to 130° (10mm) angle of view provides flexibility for photographers to compose landscape or architecture photos with ease. The lens houses with 14 elements in 10 groups with 2 aspherical elements & 1 extra-low dispersion element to deliver exceptional performance. It can focus as close as 15cm for some mini-macro shooting. A rear filter slot is included to fit with 37mm filter. Click/clickless aperture can be toggled by the switch on the lens barrel.

Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO
Followed by the success of the Laowa 60mm f/2.8 2:1 Macro, the 100mm f/2.8 2:1 Macro is the 2nd member of Laowa 2:1 macro line-up. This new 100mm lens can cover full frame sensor size and focus from 2:1 magnification to infinity. The wide magnification range allows macro photographers to capture subject at any sizes. This 100mm portrait lens also features an apochromatic (APO) characteristic that no chromatic aberration can be found. The 12 elements in 10 groups optics design delivers a crystal sharpness image in both macro and tele distances. Canon EF / Nikon AI / Pentax K / Sony FE mounts are available.

Laowa 17mm f/4 GFX Zero-D
This is currently the widest available native lens option for Fujifilm G-mount cameras. The new Laowa 17mm f/4 GFX has a field of view equivalent to 13mm in 35mm format (113°). Featuring a close-to-zero distortion and 86mm filter thread, this lens is ideally suited for landscape, architecture & interior photography. The 21 elements in 14 groups design with 2pcs of aspherical & 3pcs of Extra-low dispersion elements successfully help to control the distortion & chromatic aberrations to the minimal.

Laowa 4mm f/2.8 Fisheye MFT
Featuring a 210° angle of view, this lens delivers unique circular fisheye field of view on Micro four thirds cameras. The ultra-wide angle view allows photographers to create 360° panorama with ease. Despite the unique & ultra-wide perspective, the lens only weighs 0.3 pounds (135g).

Availability
All four lenses will be available for trial at Venus Optics’ booth (T225) in Beijing P&E Imaging fair during 3rd-6th May 2019. They are expected to be shipped in mid/late 2018. Exact shipping date and pricing are to be confirmed.

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Overall Winners Revealed For 2018 Sony World Photography Awards

By Louis Ferreira | Published: April 20, 2018


Overall winners revealed for 2018 Sony World Photography Awards
● British artist Alys Tomlinson named Photographer of the Year
● 10 Professional category winners and finalists revealed
● Overall Open, Youth and Student winners announced
● Images available at www.worldphoto.org/press

London, April 19, 2018: The World Photography Organisation today names the overall winners of the prestigious 2018 Sony World Photography Awards at a London ceremony.

The coveted Photographer of the Year title was presented to British artist Alys Tomlinson for her series Ex-Voto, winning the photographer $25,000 (USD). The work was praised by the jury for its beautiful production, technical excellence and sensitive illustration of pilgrimage as a journey of discovery and sacrifice to a greater power.

Tomlinson was selected from the 10 category winners of the Professional competition who were announced today alongside those in 2nd and 3rd place in each Professional category. The overall winners of the Awards’ Open (best single image), Youth and Student Focus competitions were also revealed.

All winners were flown to the London awards ceremony and received Sony digital imaging equipment, publication in the winners’ book and their work will be shown as part of the 2018 Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition at Somerset House, London.

Outstanding Contribution to Photography recipient Candida Höfer was also at the ceremony to collect her prize.

Produced by the World Photography Organisation, the Sony World Photography Awards is the world’s most diverse photography competition. The 11th edition saw a record breaking 320,000 submissions by photographers from more than 200 countries and territories, presenting some of the world’s finest contemporary photography captured over the past year. The Awards’ annual London exhibition brings together the best established and emerging talent from around the world, providing winning and shortlisted photographers the opportunity to showcase their work on an international stage. Read More »

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Laowa 10-18 f/3.5-4.5 Pictures Leak

By Louis Ferreira | Published: April 20, 2018


Photorumors received photos of the upcoming Laowa 10-18 f/3.5-4.5. The Laowa 10-18 is the widest FE zoom full frame lens, this lens is designed for travel photography and it will be extremely compact and small. Laowa has been releasing a lot of interesting lenses lately.


Via Photorumors

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Laowa 10-18 f/3.5-4.5 Full Frame and More Coming

By Louis Ferreira | Published: April 19, 2018


Venus Optics will have several major announcements at the Beijing P&E starting May 3rd. The following new Laowa lenses are rumored/expected:

◦ Laowa 10-18 f/3.5-4.5 full frame manual focus lens for Sony FE
◦ Laowa GF 17mm f/4 for Fuji GFX
◦ Laowa 2x tele macro for DSLR cameras
◦ Laowa fisheye lens wider than 180° (not 100% sure about this lens)
◦ Laowa 25-100mm f/2.8 full frame mirrorless lens (also not 100% sure about this lens)

The latest Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro lens is delayed until the end of May. Additional information on Venus Optics products can be found here. Laowa lenses are sold at B&H Photo and on their official website.

Via Photorumors

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Phase One Releases Capture One 11.1 With Sony a7III Support

By Louis Ferreira | Published: April 19, 2018


Update Provides New Resource Hub, Expanded Camera Support and Improved Workflow

COPENHAGEN, Apr. 19, 2018 – Phase One, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-end digital camera systems, today released Capture One 11.1, a feature release to the industry’s premier RAW conversion and image editing software. The release enhances the Capture One user experience, through a new support platform and functionality updates to ensure a faster, smoother workflow. Improved Styles and presets workflow, support for 11 new cameras, including Sony A7 Mk III and Fuji X-H1 and 10 new lenses, including Tamron lenses for both Nikon and Canon, and an all-new Resource Hub are among the latest updates.

“Capture One remains dedicated to the needs of ambitious photographers. These latest updates introduce an extension to camera and lens support, as well as an all-new Resource Hub. The Resource Hub is an in-app portal that allows users to easily access news, tutorials, updates and much more – all designed to inspire photographers and ensure the best workflow and user experience in Capture One,” said Jan Hyldebrandt-Larsen, VP Software Business at Phase One. Read More »

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Photokina 2018 Drama: Sony Confirms Attendance

By Louis Ferreira | Published: April 18, 2018


It seems there was some drama caused by rumors that vendors were dropping out of Photokina 2018, which turned out to be untrue. The noise must have gotten pretty bad because Photokina issued a press release confirming that all of the major camera makers would be in attendance. Of course, Sony has lots of new stuff to show off and we might even see the Sony a7SIII in time for Photokina.

Stay Tuned to SonyAddict for all the Photokina 2018 announcements and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube

Photokina 2018: high exhibitor demand

Five months prior to the start of the 35th edition of photokina on 26 September 2018, the organisers are expecting every single exhibitor space in the halls in Cologne to be filled. Leading companies of the industry like Arri, Canon, Cewe, DJI, Epson, Fujifilm, Kodak Alaris, Leica, Manfrotto, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Profoto, Sigma, Sony, Tamron and Zeiss have already secured their stands at the coming event. The application phase is also moving full speed ahead for photokina 2019.

“Last year we reached a series of important decisions affecting the future of photokina, and can now see that these decisions are already having a positive impact in 2018”, according to Christoph Werner, Vice President Koelnmesse. “We are pleased that many technology leaders have decided in favour of participation in photokina – in some cases extending beyond 2018.”

Photokina is also of great interest to young companies. With the Imaging Lab, a format was created that brings together start-ups, research institutions and the innovation departments of the technology leaders to jointly enable a look into the future of imaging.

via Photorumors

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