Laowa unveils widest zoom for Sony cams
THE WIDEST zoom lens available for Sony full-frame FE mount cameras, the new Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 FE Zoom, has now been announced and is designed for cameras in the Sony Alpha 7 and Alpha 9 ranges.
Aimed primarily at travel and reportage photographers, the lens is the smallest lens in its class, measuring just 910mm in length and 70mm in diameter. It’s also lightweight, as it weighs only 496g.
It has no electronic connections, and although it is primarily designed for full-frame cameras, it can also be used with Sony’s APS- C E- Mount models, such as the A6500. With such smaller-sensor cameras, the lens will give a focal length equivalent of 15-27mm.
The lens has a straight five-bladed aperture, which has been designed to offer an attractive 10-point sunstar rendering. This makes it a good choice for nightscape photography. It also offers a short focusing distance of 15cm – the closest in its class – making it useful for certain kinds of macro photography.
With an all-metal barrel, the lens houses 14 elements in 10 groups, with one extra-low dispersion element and two aspherical elements, which Laowa claims provides the lens with exceptional optical quality and performance.
The angle of view is 102°-130°, with an internal manual-focusing mechanism, which means that the front elements do not rotate. A rear filter thread is included to fit 37mm filters, or an optional filter holder is available for 100mm wide filters (such as ND Grad filters). The lens features a traditionalstyle aperture ring, which can be de- clicked for silent control of the aperture when shooting video. The minimum aperture available is f/22. Finally, the lens features a high- quality chromium mount construction, which promises to ensure a solid coupling between the camera body and the lens. Available from the end of November this year, the Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 FE Zoom lens will retail for £899. Versions for the Canon R and Nikon Z mounts are also promised for release in the next few months. For more details on the FE Zoom, see www.laowalens.co.uk.