Maker | Venus Optics |
---|---|
Lens mount(s) | Canon EF, Nikon AI, Pentax K, Sony A, Sony E |
Technical data | |
Type | Prime |
Focus drive | manual focus |
Focal length | 105mm |
Image format | 35mm full-frame |
Aperture (max/min) | f/2.0 - 22.0, T3.2 - T8 |
Close focus distance | 0.90 metres (3.0 ft) |
Max. magnification | 1:7 (0.14x) |
Diaphragm blades | F-stop: 8, 9 or 14 (depending on production date), T-stop: 14 |
Construction | 11 elements in 8 groups |
Features | |
Manual focus override | Yes |
Weather-sealing | No |
Lens-based stabilization | No |
Aperture ring | Yes |
Unique features | Smooth Trans Focus |
Application | Portrait |
Physical | |
Max. length | 98.9 millimetres (3.89 in) |
Diameter | 76.0 millimetres (2.99 in) |
Weight | 745 grams (1.642 lb) |
Filter diameter | 67mm |
History | |
Introduction | 2016 |
Retail info | |
MSRP | $699 USD |
The Venus Optics Laowa 105mm F2 Smooth Trans Focus lens is a smooth trans focus full-frame prime lens for Canon EF, Nikon AI, Sony A, Sony E, and Pentax K mounts, announced by Venus Optics in September 2016. It is marketed as the "Bokeh Dreamer" lens. [1]
Though designed for full frame, the lens can be used on APS-C camera bodies, with an equivalent full-frame field-of-view of approximately 136.5mm - 157.5mm. Canon EF-Mount versions are optionally equipped with a focus confirmation chip.
The lens features an apodization filter element within the lens itself which lends itself to producing creamy smooth bokeh at the expense of light gathering capabilities. The lens features the bokeh of an f/2.0 lens but maintains the light-gathering of a T/3.2 lens, requiring brighter lighting conditions from the environment to compensate.
In photography, bokeh is the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in out-of-focus parts of an image, caused by circles of confusion. Bokeh has also been defined as "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light". Differences in lens aberrations and aperture shape cause very different bokeh effects. Some lens designs blur the image in a way that is pleasing to the eye, while others produce distracting or unpleasant blurring. Photographers may deliberately use a shallow focus technique to create images with prominent out-of-focus regions, accentuating their lens's bokeh.
The EF 50mm lenses are a group of normal prime lenses made by Canon that share the same focal length. These lenses are based on the classic double-Gauss lens, with the f/1.8 being a standard six-element double-Gauss with an air gap and powers between element 2 and 3 and its faster cousins adding additional elements. The 50mm focal length, when used with a 35mm film or full-frame sensor, has been widely considered to match the perspective seen by the human eye.
The Canon EF 35mm lenses are a family of wide angle prime lenses with EF mount made by Canon Inc. The family also includes one EF-S lens that only mounts on Canon bodies with APS-C sensors.
In signal processing, apodization is the modification of the shape of a mathematical function. The function may represent an electrical signal, an optical transmission, or a mechanical structure. In optics, it is primarily used to remove Airy disks caused by diffraction around an intensity peak, improving the focus.
Lens speed is the maximum aperture diameter, or minimum f-number, of a photographic lens. A lens with a larger than average maximum aperture is called a "fast lens" because it can achieve the same exposure as an average lens with a faster shutter speed. Conversely, a smaller maximum aperture is "slow" because it delivers less light intensity and requires a slower (longer) shutter speed.
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The Smooth Trans Focus (STF) technology in photographic lenses uses an apodization filter to realize notably smooth bokeh with rounded out-of-focus highlights in both the foreground and background. This is accomplished by utilizing a concave neutral-gray tinted lens element next to the aperture blades as apodization filter, a technology originally invented by Minolta in the 1980s, and first implemented in a commercially available lens in 1999. In contrast to soft focus lenses, STF lenses render a perfectly sharp image in the focus plane.
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The Zeiss Batis Sonnar T* 1.8/85mm is a full-frame (FE) portrait prime lens for the Sony E-mount, announced by Zeiss on April 22, 2015.
The Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary lens is a fixed maximum aperture standard prime lens for Sony E, Micro Four-Thirds, Canon EF-M, and Leica L mounts, announced by Sigma in February 2016.
The Sony FE 100mm F2.8 STF GM OSS is a premium full-frame smooth trans focus prime lens for the Sony E-mount, announced by Sony in 2017.
The Sony FE 50mm F2.8 Macro is a full-frame macro prime lens for the Sony E-mount, announced by Sony on August 30, 2016.
The Sony Zeiss Sonnar T* FE 55mm F1.8 ZA is a standard full-frame prime lens for the Sony E-mount. It was announced by Sony on October 16, 2013.
The Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM is a premium short telephoto full-frame prime lens for the Sony E-mount, released by Sony on February 3, 2016.
The Canon RF lens mount is an interchangeable-lens mount developed by Canon for its full-frame mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras, and featured first by the EOS R, followed by the EOS RP. The RF mount was announced in September 2018. In May 2022, Canon announced APS-C EOS R cameras and RF-S lenses designed for these cameras.
YONGNUO(永诺) is the International Trademark of photographic equipment manufacturer Shenzhen Yongnuo Photographic Equipment Co. Ltd. of Shenzhen, China which develops and manufactures Photographic Equipment, including smart camera, lenses, LED video light, flash speedlite, flash trigger, microphone, softbox, and other accessories. YONGNUO makes autofocus prime lenses for Canon、Nikon DSLR cameras, and Canon, Sony, Nikon Mirrorless camera, also make lenses for Olympus and Panasonic.
Venus Optics is a Chinese manufacturer of photographic lenses, specialized in the design of innovative macro, wide angle, shift and f/0.95 lenses. Headquarters and production are in Hefei, while sales and marketing office is located in Hong Kong and the USA. They are currently marketing the lenses using the brand 'Laowa'.