Lens Roundup: Cine Zoom Lenses from Laowa and 7 Artisans, and more

Time for a new lens roundup! There are a few new cine zoom lenses launching on crowdfunding sites from Laowa and 7Artisans, plus a new zoom from Lumix, and Laowa's first autofocus lens. Plus, we say goodbye to Vazen Lenses.

Laowa launches New Indiegogo for two T2.9 Anamorphic Zoom Lenses

Laowa has consistently delivered quality and affordable glass, and usually takes to Indiegogo for new lens campaigns. It just launched a new one for two anamorphic zooms, and the prices can't be beat.

The Laowa Nanomorph ZOOM anamorphic lenses feature a 28 to 55mm and 50 to 100mm zoom range (3.5x), T2.9, consistent 1.5x squeeze, a PL mount and 5 mirrorless mount options, and their famous flare in amber, blue, or silver.

While a set of anamorphic prime lenses are a must-have for most cinematographers, an anamorphic zoom lens or two solves a big problem: The time it takes to swap a lens in between shots and setups.

The issue, of course, is the the size, weight, and price of an anamorphic zoom lens: It's big all around. Laowa has designed the Nanomorph ZOOM lenses to be lighter and more compact (up to 3.34 lbs./1.5 kg.).

Features include:

• 28-55mm and 50-100mm focal length (3.5x zoom range)
• Consistent squeeze of 1.5x
• Super35
• Maximum T2.9 aperture
• A minimum focusing distance up to 1.5 inches (45 cm)
• Low chromatic aberration
• A choice of flare color: Amber, silver, or blue
• Parafocal design
• PL mount and a choice of 5 mirrorless camera mounts
• Compatible to add a 1.33x front anamorphic adapter from Laowa to get a 2x squeeze

The price of each lens is $2999 each and that includes choosing which lens (focal length), mount, and flare color. They do have an early bird special that drops the price of each lens to $2699. There are early bird pre-order specials that bring the price of two lenses down from $5930 to $4744.

The Laowa 1.33x front anamorphic lens is priced at $715 but there is a potential discount.

Check out the Indiegogo campaign here; you can contribute whatever you wish or make a pre-order. It has raised $117,000 at publication.

7Artisans launching new 24-96mm T2.9 Zoom

Not to be outdone, 7Artisans is launching its own cine zoom lens, a 24-96mm T2.9 part of the 7Artisans Sprite Series. The lens features:

• 24-96mm (4x zoom)
• T2.9 aperture
• 3.3 ft. / 1 m minimum focusing distance
• 18° to 66° frame of view
• 1.5x teleconverter
• PL and EF mounts
• Mount adapter
• Weight of about 5.29 lbs. (2.4 kg)

7Artisans hasn't launched the Kickstarter just yet, but are promoting a $400 USD discount (20% off) if you sign up on its website. It doesn’t have a price listed, other than $1,xxx, but a little math says it's going to list for about $1999 at launch. Pretty good price for another cine zoom.

Panasonic unveils Lumix S 28-200mm f/4-7.1 MACRO O.I.S

Staying with zoom lenses, Panasonic has revealed the Lumix S 28-200mm f/4-7.1 MACRO O.I.S. with a Leica L-mount. This full-frame lens is part of Lumix’ S-series and is the perfect grab-and-go lens. You’re not packing two zoom lenses, for example, to get that wide to telephoto option. Nor are you packing a bunch of prime lenses, either.

The Lumix S 28-200mm f/4-7.1 MACRO O.I.S. full-frame lens comes with: 

• Focal length of 28mm to 200mm focal length 
• f/1.4 to f/7.1 aperture 
• 5.5-inch minimum focusing distance 
• Good construction with splash and dust resistance 
• Optical Image Stabilization (O.I.S.)
• And more

The Lumix S 28-200mm f/4-7.1 MACRO O.I.S. full-frame lens will be available in April 2024 for a retail price of $899, which is pretty affordable for a lens that you really won’t need to have to change to get a variety of focal lengths while out shooting or filming. Learn more here.

Laowa 10mm F/2.8 Zero-D FF; an Autofocus!

Let's go back to Laowa, because it has released their first autofocus lens. Yep, you heard that right! However, there is a caveat: This ultra wide lens is only available in autofocus with a Nikon Z-mount or Sony FE-mount, while the Canon RF-mount and Sony FE-mount options are manual focus.

The Laowa 10mm f/2.8 Zero-D FF features:

• Ultra wide angle of 10mm
• Minimum focusing distance of 4.72 in. (12 cm)
• 77mm front filter thread
• Compact size of 2.79 in. (70.8mm) and .925 lbs. (420g)
• Nikon Z-mount and Sony FE-mount (autofocus)
• Canon RF-mount and Leica L-mount (manual focus)
• And more

The price of the Laowa 10mm f/2.8 Zero-D FF lens is $799, no matter the lens mount. Check out its site for more details. 

Vazen Lenses closes shop

Lastly, Vazen is closing down just five years after its splashy debut. The company was an interesting manufacturer who focused on anamorphic cine lenses with a 1.8x squeeze instead of the usual 1.33x. These lenses were for the Micro Four Thirds market. Their popularity saw them expand beyond the initial offerings of 28mm, 48mm, and 65mm lenses (here’s an article from 2020 with some of their debut lenses).

The company website has a pretty heartfelt message, but no real explanation of what happened. M4/3 is popular, but other camera types with lens mounts are even more so.