Venus Created Worlds First Shift Zoom Lens

2024.11.05

A truly groundbreaking announcement from Venus Optics was published this morning. The optics company famous for unique lenses just created the first Shift Zoom Lens in the world! The new model is a constant aperture zoom with the ability to shift parallel to its focal-plane.

The unique Laowa 12-24mm F/5.6 Zoom Shift is an ultra-wide zoom lens designed for cameras with an APS-C sensor. It is equivalent to a very wide 18-36mm lens on Full-Frame. The maximum F/5.6 aperture is on the dim side yet is rarely an issue since shift lenses are mostly used on a tripod due to the complexity of their controls. Its focal-range gives it a field-of-view between 63° and 102°. Additionally it can shift along on axis ±7mm for some very interesting perspectives.

As one of the only shift lenses designed for sensors smaller than Full-Frame, this lens is comparatively compact and light. It measures 10cm in length and has an 8cm diameter. The lens weighs 575g which is very low for any lens with perspective control. There is a very think fixed hood to protect the front element. It is shallow enough for photographers to use standard screw-on filers. The thread-size on the 12-24mm F/5.6 Zoom Shift is 77mm.

©2024 Gu Ge - Image Courtesy of Venus Optics

Universally for a Venus Optics lens, this is a completely manual lens. First party shift lenses are generally also manual except for aperture control, so this one requires only a little more effort. Focusing can be down to 15cm, resulting in an impressive 0.4X maximum magnification.

This is is being released immediate by Laowa for $700 USD. It is available for 6 mounts: Canon RF, Fujifilm X, Leica L, Leica M, Nikon Z and Sony E. For several of those mounts, this is the only Shift lens available even!

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