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| The following information is no longer ‘Strictly Confidential,’ as we’ve been permitted to share it by a Venus Optics spokesperson. |
Venus Optics has announced the details of its new line of F0.95 Laowa Argus lenses, revealing the specifications of four ultra-fast manual lenses for an array of lens mounts. While there are four individual lenses, there are effectively three sub-series of Argus lenses for various imaging formats: MFT, APS-C and full-frame.
Some background
The release of these lenses has been a bit of a confusing one. While full specifications and even images of all four lenses has published across various rumor sites over the past few weeks, Venus Optics never published anything to confirm the lenses’ existence. We contact a Venus Optics spokesperson to clarify what was going on and they informed us this confusion was caused due to leaked presentation materials.
According to the representative, Venus Optics held an online event in China where it was showing off its upcoming products, including these new Argus-branded F0.95 lenses. It intended to do the same in other regions, but leakers shared the confidential presentation materials and, as a result, Venus Optics has decided to go with the flow and release the details without much fanfare. The images and information in this article is from the ‘strictly confidential’ presentation materials from Venus Optics, but we’ve been granted permission to share it.
With that out of the way, let’s take a look at what Venus Optics is offering with its new Argus lenses.
Laowa Argus 25mm F0.95 (MFT)
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| The Laowa Argus 25mm F0.95 lens for Micro Four Thirds camera system (50mm full-frame equivalent). |
First up is the 25mm F0.95 lens for MFT camera systems. This lens offers the field of view equivalent of a 50mm lens on a full-frame sensor and is constructed of 14 elements in 8 groups, including one aspherical element, two extra-low dispersion elements and three high-refractive index elements.
The MFT lens features an aperture range of F0.95 through F16, uses a nine-blade aperture diaphragm, has a minimum focusing distance of 25cm (9.8″) and uses a 62mm front filter thread. It measures 71mm (2.8″) in diameter, 86mm (3.4″) long and weighs 570g (1.26lbs). It will retail for around $530 when it goes on sale in Q4 2021.
Laowa Argus 33mm F0.95 (APS-C)
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| The Laowa Argus 33mm F0.95 lens for mirrorless APS-C camera systems. |
Next up is the APS-C format 33mm F0.95 lens, which will be available in Canon EF-M, Fujifilm X, Sony E and Nikon Z mount. The lens is constructed of 14 elements in nine groups, including one aspherical element, two extra-low dispersion elements and three high-refractive index elements.
The APS-C lens features an aperture range of F0.95 through F16, uses a nine-blade aperture diaphragm, has a minimum focusing distance of 35mm (1.4″), and has a 62mm front filter thread. Despite have it nearly identical specifications as the 25mm MFT Argus lens, it relies on a different optical design, so it’s not just a scaled up copy.
The lens measures 71.5mm (2.8) in diameter, 83mm (3.27″) long and weighs 590g (1.3lbs). It’s expected to retail for around $530 when it ships in Q2 2021.
Laowa Argus 35mm and 45mm F0.95 (full-frame)
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| The Laowa Argus 35mm F0.95 lens for full-frame mirrorless camera systems. |
To wrap it up, Venus Optics has a pair of lenses for full-frame mirrorless camera systems, a 35mm F0.95 lens and a 45mm F0.95 lens.
The Laowa Argus 35mm F0.95 lens is the ‘core’ unit in this lineup, ‘since it’s the first ever in the market with [these specifications],’ according to a Venus Optics spokesperson. It’s constructed of 14 elements in 9 groups, including one aspherical element, one extra-low dispersion element, and 4 high refractive elements.
It features an aperture range of F0.95 through F16, uses a 15-blade aperture diaphragm, has a minimum focusing distance of 50cm (19.7″) and uses a 72mm front filter thread. The lens measures 76.8mm (3″) in diameter, 103mm (4″) long and weighs 755g (1.66lbs). The Laowa Argus 35mm F0.95 will be available for Canon RF, Nikon Z and Sony E mount cameras. It’s set to retail for around $910 when it ships in Q2 2021.
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| The Laowa Argus 45mm F0.95 lens for full-frame mirrorless camera systems. |
Last up from Venus Optics is the Laowa Argus 45mm F0.95 lens. The lens is constructed of 13 elements in nine groups, including one aspherical element, one extra-low dispersion element and one high refractive element.
Identical to its 35mm counterpart, the 45mm model features an aperture range of F0.95 through F16, uses a 15-blade aperture diaphragm, has a minimum focusing distance of 50cm (19.7″) and uses a 72mm front filter thread. The lens measures 76.8mm (3″) in diameter, 110mm (4.3″) long and weighs 850g (1.87lbs). The Laowa Argus 45mm F0.95 lens will be available for Canon RF, Nikon Z and Sony E mount cameras and is expected to ship in Q2 2021. No pricing information is available at this time.
Author:
Gannon Burgett
Source: Dpreview
