Continuing its endeavor to build unique lenses, Venus Optics announces the availability of two new products, the 1.4x Full Frame Expander and 1.33x Rear Anamorphic Adapter with PL-PL mount, both available at the recommended retail price in the United States (without tax) of $999/pc, or a bundle cost of $1,800. Pricing may vary in different countries, according to Venus Optics.
When pairing with the Laowa OOOM 25-100mm T2.9 Cine lens, the Laowa 1.33X Rear Anamorphic Adapter allows expanding your filming canvas to a 2.35:1 cinematic widescreen ratio in a 16:9 sensor while retaining the resolution. According to the company, “although it does not produce oval bokeh and expands horizontal field of view like front anamorphic lenses does, it still introduces cinematic characters over your spherical lenses and creates a distinctive look on the flares and bokeh.”
There is a price to pay for the use of the Laowa 1.33X Rear Anamorphic Adapter: users can expect that there will be a half stop light impact on the lens after the anamorphic adapter is installed.
The second product now available from Venus Optics is the 1.4x Full Frame Expander, which does what the name suggests: it expands the coverage from Super35 into full-frame without affecting image quality. Outstanding from other expanders in the market, in Venus Optics words, the Laowa 1.4x Expander is designed to offset the aberrations found on the OOOM and maintains its vintage characters and excellent optical performance.
As with the Laowa 1.33X Rear Anamorphic Adapter, there is a price to pay: there will be a 1-stop light loss and 1.4x impact on the focal range, making OOOM a 35-140mm T4 lens. A quick switch button is designed on the OOOM to allow easy conversion of focal length & t-stop scale.
Those who dread the usual need for back focus adjustments will appreciate what the company did here to make back focus adjustment simple. Laowa specially designed a back-focus-adjusting mechanism on the 1.4x Expander which replaces the time-consuming and tedious procedure of back focus adjustments by shims.
Both the 1.33x Adapter and 1.4x Expander offer high-build quality, being built with metal which is durable for different challenging filming environment. A protective case is also provided for individual adaptor or bundles for safe transport.
Laowa 1.33x Rear Anamorphic Adapter and 1.4x Full Frame Expander can be used with other cine lenses in the market. Tools are available for clearance check. Users may print out and compare the mount part of their lenses to ensure compatibility.
There is a long list of compatible lenses with the Laowa 1.33x Rear Anamorphic Adapter, with specific lenses as the Angenieux 28-340mm Optimo Zoom T3.2, the Carl Zeiss Supreme Prime 25 mm T1.5 and many other Primes from the same family, or the ARRI 45-250MM T2.6. a list that updated continuously, according to Venus Optics. The company notes that on some lenses users may need to remove the rear plates.
The Laowa 1.33x Rear Anamorphic Adapter and 1.4x Full Frame Expander are currently available to order in the official website of Venus Optics (https://laowacine.com/)and their authorized resellers.