Laowa launches its campaign for its ultra-compact APS-C Nanomorph anamorphic lenses: Digital Photography Review

Laowa has launched its Indiegogo campaign page for its new Nanomorph anamorphic lenses, revealing more details about compact anamorphic lenses.

After a brief delay in the launch of the campaign, the first three Nanomorph lenses are now avaialble to back on Indiegogo: a 27mm T2.8, 35mm T2.4 and 50mm T2.4. Venus Optics says 65mm and 80mm focal lengths to follow later this year. The lenses are designed for S35 and MFT sensors with mount options for Canon EF, PL mount, Canon R, Sony E, M43, DJI DL, Nikon Z, L mount and Fuji X.

All three offer a constant 1.5x squeeze factor throughout the entire focus distance range, something usually only seen in higher-end anamorphic lenses. This constant squeeze ratio means the lenses won’t suffer from a reduction in their anamorphic effect when close to a subject—something that can cause faces and objects to appear distorted in scenes.

The company also says the lenses have the shortest closest focus distance of any anamorphic lenses on the market, with the 27mm T2.8 lens able to focus to 43cm (16.9”), and the 50mm T2.4 able to get the sensor just 70cm (27.5”) from the subject. The launch information reveals exactly how small the lenses are as well, with the mirrorless mount versions measuring roughly 10cm (4”) long and weighing between 313g (0.69lbs) and 390g (0.86lbs). The models designed for EF and PL mounts are smaller in length but weigh more. A 55m filter thread is used for the mirrorless versions, while the EF and PL models will take 77mm filters.

A specifications breakdown for each of the Nanomorph lenses.

Laowa says the mounts for these lenses are user interchangeable, and that each lens will come with your chosen mount, but for $50 users can buy another mount that can be swapped out at home. A back-focus adjustment mechanism is positioned towards the rear of the lens so that users can recalibrate infinity focus with each change to ensure the focusing scale will be accurate.

The mirrorless versions will retail for $999 and the EF/PL versions will be $1,499, though ‘early bird’ discounts are available for backers on the company’s Indiegogo campaign. Shipping is expected to begin in August.

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