Venus Optics’ New Fisheye Zoom Is Here

credits: Venus Optics

Venus Optics’ new Laowa 4.5-10mm f/2.8 CF fisheye zoom is here. It is an ultra-wide manual-focus lens designed for APS-C and Micro Four Thirds cameras and it has a 180-degree field of view at the 4.5mm end, which produces a full circular fisheye image. Zooming toward 10mm changes the lens into a more traditional diagonal fisheye that fills the frame instead.

Inside, the lens uses a 13-element, 9-group optical design with a constant f/2.8 aperture throughout the zoom range. It also works as a parfocal lens, meaning focus stays locked while zooming, which is particularly useful for video. The lens has a very close 10cm minimum focusing distance, allowing for some exaggerated foreground perspectives and close-up fisheye shots. Venus Optics also says the lens can be “de-fished” in post-processing, turning the curved fisheye rendering into an even wider-looking rectilinear-style photo than a standard 10mm ultra-wide lens would normally produce.

The lens measures around 68.9 × 59.3mm and weighs roughly 330 grams, it uses a fully manual focus design, has a 7-blade aperture diaphragm, supports a maximum magnification of 0.27x, and offers an aperture range from f/2.8 to f/22. The Laowa 4.5-10mm f/2.8 CF is priced at $399 and is available for Sony E, Fujifilm X, Nikon Z, Canon RF, Canon EF-M, L-Mount, and Micro Four Thirds mount systems.