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Film zooms are no longer a novelty today, and many optical manufacturers are releasing new zoom lenses designed specifically for film shooting. Venus Optics has introduced two new Laowa zooms from the OOOM Cine Zoom series: 14-60mm T2.9 for Micro Four Thirds and 12-85mm T4 S35 Cine. The first lens, indicated by the model name, is designed for the Micro Four Thirds (MFT) mount. The second lens is designed for the ARRI PL mount.
Both lenses feature a 4x zoom capability, ideal for beginner cinematographers and small film studios working with tight budgets. Also, zoom lenses will help out in situations where changing the lens is undesirable or impossible, but you need to shoot, for example, for news reports and other cases. Typically, cinema zooms are larger than prime lenses, but Laowa calls their lenses compact, measuring 80mm in diameter and 172mm in length.
The OOOM 14-60 mm T2.9 lens caters to MFT, while the OOOM 20-85 T4 S35 Cine features an image circle of 31.5 mm, which nearly covers the ARRI Alexa 35 4.6K 3:2 Open Gate format completely. Both lenses have a parfocal design that maintains focus when changing focal lengths. Laowa talks about minimal focus breathing. Color rendition and contrast also stand out, and the lenses feature the same cinematic body as other lenses in the series. The minimum focusing distance is 56 cm.
Key features
- 4x zoom in a compact body
- Parfocal design
- Minimal focus breathing effect
- Minimum focusing distance: 56 cm
- Excellent color rendition and contrast, low distortion
- Focus ring rotation angle: 284°
- Back focus adjustment mechanism
- Filter thread diameter: 77 mm
- Front Lens Diameter: 80mm
Venus Optics Laowa OOOM cine lenses price and availability
- The 20-85mm T4 S35 cine lens is available for $1,999 on Bhphotovideo and ships within 2-4 weeks.
- The 14-60mm T2.9 cine lens is also available for $1,999 on Bhphotovideo and ships within 2-4 weeks.
Venus Optics recently introduced the Laowa Nanomorph Zoom kit. Arri offers a line of anamorphic ultra-wide zoom lenses for cameras with Super35 sensors. The models include the Laowa Nanomorph Zoom 28-55mm T2.9 1.5x and the 50-100mm T2.9 1.5x.
