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In a surprising move, lens manufacturer Vazen has just announced that they are officially ceasing operations. After only five years in the niche market of 1.8x anamorphic lenses, the company’s rise was as swift as their fall. So, let’s talk about Vazen’s story.
Vazen is – or was – a Chinese lens manufacturer founded in 2019 in Shenyang. The company was established by Weizhen Liu, an optical engineer who saw a blind spot in the filmmaking industry: creating anamorphic lenses, not with a “traditional” 1.33x squeeze ratio, but making the screen wider with a 1.8x squeeze design. The Vazen brand was born, and the first lenses started to hit the market.
Vazen Super35 1.8 anamorphic lenses’ initial roadmap. Image credit: Vazen
Vazen Super35 1.8x anamorphic lenses
Vazen started by releasing Super35 lenses for Micro Four Third and, later down the road, Canon RF cameras. The company had three lenses, all with a 1.8x squeeze ratio: 28mm, 40mm, and 65mm, all with a maximum T2.0 aperture. Back in 2019, these lenses immediately caught our attention, and my colleague Gunther did a review of the 40mm T2.0 that you can watch here. Now that the company had everybody’s attention with a price tag of around $3,250 per lens, it was time to go bigger.
The Vazen 1.8x anamorphic full-frame 3-lens set. Image credit: Vazen
The full-frame quest
With the rise and gain of traction of full-frame and large-format cinematography, Vazen decided to start developing new 1.8x anamorphic lenses, starting with the 85mm T2.8 in August 2020 that we also reviewed here. In May 2021, the company launched the 50mm T2.8, and in April 2022, the 3-lens set was complete with the 135mm T2.8. Each Vazen full-frame lens was way more expensive than its Super35 counterpart, at around $8,000 each. Unfortunately for the company, the 3-lens set will never be expanded.
Image credit: Towfiqu Barbhuiya via Unsplash
Vazen ceases operations
Today, March 6th, 2024, Vazen announced that they have officially ceased operation. Here is what the company states on its website:
As we turn the page to the final chapter of Vazen’s story, we want to take a moment to express our deepest gratitude to you, our customers and partners. Your unwavering support has been the cornerstone of our journey, fueling our passion for creating lenses that bring visions to life.
Though we have come to the difficult decision to conclude our operations, the memories and images captured through our lenses will continue to inspire us. It has been an extraordinary privilege to be a part of your creative process and to witness the world through your unique perspectives.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for allowing us to be a part of your creative journey. We bid you farewell with the hope that your stories will continue to be told through the beauty of your captures, in all the days to come.
The Vazen Team
As always, when a manufacturer’s door closes, this is sad news for the filmmaking community. We don’t have additional information for the reason behind their announcement. As a filmmaker, I think that releasing their full-frame lenses one after another, spaced by a year, caused the lens set to never really catch up in terms of sales.
If you had planned to purchase Vazen lenses, I guess that the only solution left for you is the aftermarket, and I would not be surprised to see prices starting to rise. If you’re already a Vazen owner, then you had better not need third-party replacement parts or servicing.
What do you think about this closure? Do you own Vazen lenses, or had you planned on purchasing one? Did you already shoot with Vazen lenses? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!
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