Designed for full-frame cameras, the new 55mm and 100mm f/2.8 Tilt-Shift 1X Macro lenses enable photographers to control the plane of focus and perspective in shots.
The new Laowa 55mm and 100mm f/2.8 Tilt-Shift 1X Macro lenses. (Source: Venus Optics.)
The new lenses are the first tilt-shift macro lenses with a fast f/2.8 aperture that have been designed for full-frame mirrorless cameras. Both lenses allow a precise tilt of +/-10°, a shift of +/-12mm, with an impressive 1:1 magnification, making them ideal for commercial applications such as product photography. They can also be used for portraiture, landscape and architectural photography. Photographers can use the tilt function for selective focusing, where specific areas at different distances from the camera are brought into focus, using a wide lens aperture to replicate the popular miniature effect or stopping down for maximum depth of focus. The shift function enables easy correction of vertical lines in product and architectural shots. It can also be used to prevent unwanted reflections when photographing products with reflective surfaces, such as jewellery or rooms containing large mirrors. Panoramas can also be easily created through photo stitching. Like almost all lenses of this type, these lenses are manual focus only.
Basing the design on a 67 mm diameter image circle has enabled the manufacturer to offer these lenses in mounts for Fujifilm GFX and Hasselblad XCD medium-format mirrorless cameras (where it is limited to +/-8mm shift and +/-10mm tilt ), as well as Canon RF, Leica L, Nikon Z and Sony E mounts, which support full adjustments. Both lenses have built-in 77 mm diameter filter threads, allowing easy use of screw-in filters. They also come with built-in lens supports that are compatible with the Arca-Swiss tripod mount system. Click here to visit the product page for the Laowa 55mm f/2.8 Tilt-shift 1X Macro lens and here for the Laowa 100mm f/2.8 Tilt-shift 1X Macro lens.
The new Laowa 55mm & 100mm f/2.8 Tilt-shift 1X Macro lenses are priced at US$1,249 each (approximately AU$1960 at time of publication) and currently available through the Venus Optics official website but will also be sold through authorised resellers.
Photo Review has received early production units to review in advance of the official release, both with Sony E mounts. Click here for the review of the Laowa 55mm f/2.8 Tilt-shift 1X Macro lens and here for the review of the Laowa 100mm f/2.8 Tilt-shift 1X Macro lens.
