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Laowa has been showing off some new lenses at this year’s China International Photograph & Electrical Imaging Machinery and Technology Fair 2024 – otherwise known as “China P&E”. And they’re a new one for Laowa. Kind of.
The company has made shift lenses before, and we reviewed the Laowa 15mm f/4.5 shift lens here on DIYP. But this time, we’re also getting tilt, with the Laowa FFII T/S 55mm f/2.8 Macro 1:1 and Laowa FFII T/S 100mm f/2.8 Macro 1:1 lenses.
What are tilt-shift lenses?
Tilt-shift lenses feature internal mechanisms that let you… Well, the clue’s in the name. They let you tilt or shift the lenses away from the usual central axis of the centre. They allow you to do things like correcting for perspective or adjusting the angle of your plane of focus.
Traditionally, they’re used a lot in commercial and architectural photography. They stop buildings from looking like they’re falling over, and they allow you to correct the perspective in small product photography.
These days, though, most people use them to make the world look miniature, similar to the video above from Fenchel & Janisch. They used the Lensbaby Composer Pro II, which exploits similar principles, if not quite as predictable as a real tilt-shift lens.
That miniature effect can also be created in post, although it’s not quite as practical as using a real tilt-shift lens, either. It’s a lot of hard work, to really sell the effect and make it look realistic, no matter what some tutorials may lead you to believe.
What are the specs of the new lenses?
As is often the case with Laowa, the two new lenses are both macro lenses. One has a focal length of 55mm, while the other is 100mm. Both offer a 1:1 reproduction ratio and have a maximum aperture of f/2.8, stopping down to a minimum of f/22.
Naturally, these are manual focus lenses, but they’ll be dust and splash-proof, allowing for use in a wide range of conditions. They will offer a tilt range of ±10° and a shift range of ±12mm on full-frame bodies. I expect it will be a little less for medium format.
Speaking of medium format, both lenses will become available in a variety of mounts including Fujifilm GFX, Sony E, Canon RF, Nikon Z and Leica L.
Even with no other information, that 100mm is already looking awfully tempting to me. I often use a 105mm f/2.8 macro on tiny subjects and the depth of field limitations at those short distances is a nightmare. Being able to swing it around to bring more of what I want in focus would be invaluable to me on a macro lens with this focal length.
Price and Availability
Laowa has remained quiet when it comes to price and availability. So, there’s no word on when they’ll be released nor how much they’ll cost. We’ve also not yet seen any sample images of what the images will look like.
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