Laowa’s launch of four new Micro Four Thirds cinema lenses shows its confidence in the MFT format for filmmakers, and absolutely right too! They have all the features of regular cinema lenses – T-stop iris adjustments, gear focus and iris rings – and at extremely competitive prices.
The new lenses will not only fit Panasonic Lumix G cameras, like the Lumix GH5 II and GH6, but also Olympus cameras, as well as video/cinema cameras like the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and Panasonic BGH1.
The Laowa 6mm T2.1 Zero-D MFT Cine, Laowa 10mm T2.1 Zero-D MFT Cine and Laowa 17mm T1.9 MFT Cine are ultra-wide to moderately wide primes, while the Laowa 50mm T2.9 Macro APO MFT Cine offers 2x macro magnification but can also focus at infinity.
Cine Laowa 6mm T2.1 Zero-D MFT
We’ve already published a full review of the Laowa 6mm T2.1 Zero-D MFT Cine and found a pretty spectacular ultra-wide lens with almost no aberration at regular apertures and good performance at wide apertures too.
It is the widest rectilinear lens available for the MFT format and offers a whopping 121.9 degrees angle of view, a minimum focusing distance of 0.09m and weighs just 180g. Even better, this lens will retail for just $699 (about £522 / AU$961).
Laowa 10mm T2.1 Zero-D MFT Cine
This lens corresponded to a 20mm angle of view in full frame, so it is still very wide but less extreme than the 6mm lens. This is also a Zero-D lens, so we expect very good aberration control thanks to its optical composition, which consists of 11 elements in 7 groups, including two ED and two aspherical elements.
The Laowa 10mm T2.1 Zero-D MFT Cine weighs even less than the 10mm version, at 150g, and will retail for $549 (about £410 / AU$755).
Laowa 17mm T1.9 MFT Cine
This lens is a full-frame 35mm angle of view, so it offers a semi-wide angle of view useful for all kinds of video work. It doesn’t carry the Zero-D label, but that’s normally reserved for Laowa’s ultra-wide lenses.
It has a minimum focusing distance of 0.15m, weighs 175g and will retail for $399 (about £298 / AU$549), making it the cheapest of Laowa’s new cine lenses by some margin.
Laowa 50mm T2.9 Macro APO MFT Cine
Finally, the Laowa 50mm T2.9 Macro APO MFT Cine offers 2x macro magnification, according to Laowa, but will also focus at infinity, so it can serve as a short telephoto lens (100mm equivalent) for close-ups, interviews or the talking head. strokes.
This lens has an APO (apochromatic) design to control color fringing and improve sharpness and clarity. Its focal length and magnification make it larger than other new Laowa cine lenses, but it’s still quite light at 289g and will cost $549 (about £410 / AU$755).
Laowa MFT Cine Prime 3 Lens [Wide + Macro] pack
The four lenses will be sold individually, but they can also be purchased in two sets of three lenses. The Wide + Macro package costs $1,350 (about £1,008 / AU$1,859) and includes:
● Cine Laowa 10mm T2.1 Zero-D MFT
● Cine Laowa 17mm T1.9 MFT
● Laowa 50mm T2.9 2x Ultra Macro APO
Laowa MFT Cine Prime Wide Lens 3 Pack
The Wide bundle replaces the 50mm macro lens with an older existing wide lens (not the 6mm). It will cost USD 1,450 (around £1,082/AU$1,995) and includes:
● Cine Laowa 7.5mm T2.1 MFT
● Cine Laowa 10mm T2.1 Zero-D MFT
● Cine Laowa 17mm T1.9 MFT
Read more:
• What is a cinema lens?
• Best Micro Four Thirds Lenses
• Best cameras for vlogging
• Best cinema cameras
• Best 4K cameras for video
