ZEISS Milvus 15mm f/2.8, 18mm f/2.8 and 135mm f/2 lenses officially announced

zeiss milvus

We leaked the images of upcoming Zeiss lenses a few days ago, now it’s official. Zeiss announced three new Milvus lenses, 15mm f/2.8, 18mm f/2.8 and 135mm f/2. Sales prices are €2,699/$2.699 for the Milvus 15mm f/2.8, €2,299/$2.299 for the Milvus 18mm f/2.8, and €2,199/$2.199 for the Milvus 135 f/2.

Pre-orders are available:

Zeiss press release:

Three new lenses for the ZEISS Milvus family

The lens family with manual focusing for DSLR cameras is now also available with focal lengths of 15, 18 and 135 millimeters

OBERKOCHEN/Germany, 08/09/2016.

Two super-wide angle lenses, the ZEISS Milvus 2.8/15 and ZEISS Milvus 2.8/18, and the telephoto lens ZEISS Milvus 2/135 have expanded this family of manual focus lenses for DSLR cameras, bringing the total number of ZEISS Milvus focal lengths to nine. “The ZEISS Milvus family of lenses is an invaluable investment for the future due to its excellent imaging quality and its large range, which now covers 15 to 135 millimeters,” says Christophe Casenave, product manager at ZEISS Camera Lenses. Delivery of the new ZEISS Milvus lenses begins at the end of October 2016.

For high-end DSLR cameras

“The ZEISS Milvus lenses have been designed in particular to fulfill the requirements of today’s powerful digital cameras and those of the future thanks to their high imaging performance, even in difficult lighting situations,” says Casenave. The new lenses are characterized by a harmonious bokeh and very high degree of flare control due to the T*® anti-reflective coating from ZEISS. Further optimization of the lens coating has also ensured less likelihood than ever of ghosting, flare or shading effects, even in critical lighting situations. And all ZEISS Milvus lenses come with a floating elements design, which compensates imaging errors at different distance settings.

ZEISS Milvus for video

The new ZEISS Milvus lenses also allow the user to create high-quality film shoots with a pleasing cinematic bokeh. “Due to their extremely high contrast rendition, the lenses fulfill the most modern video standards of 6K and higher, and have uniform color characteristics,” said Casenave. All ZEISS Milvus lenses have a focus ring with a very large rotation angle to enable precise focusing, and are made of comfortable rubber to ensure a good grip while focusing. The De-Click function on lenses with a ZF.2 mount lets cinematographers set the aperture in a soft and infinitely variable way so they can work professionally in changing lighting conditions. The ZEISS Milvus lenses’ robust full-metal barrel ensures long and reliable usage. In addition, the lenses are protected against dust and spray water. The robust metal lens shade is an integral part of the overall product design and included with all ZEISS Milvus lenses.

The new focal lengths of the ZEISS Milvus family are also compatible with the ZEISS Lens Gears, providing filmmakers with additional value-add. The ZEISS Lens Gears, which are made of high-quality aluminum with a hardened surface coating, slide into the respective lens and are attached to the focus ring by turning two counter-rotating rings through a simple mounting procedure.

The new ZEISS Milvus lenses in summary:

ZEISS Milvus 2.8/15:

This super wide-angle lens with a field of view of 110 degrees allows every photographer to consciously compose using extreme perspectives. The lens has excellent imaging performance – even with an open aperture – thanks to the correction of color errors. Color fringing and distortion are minimal. This is all thanks to a ZEISS Distagon® lens design with 15 lens elements in 12 groups, including two aspheric lenses, special glass with anomalous partial dispersion, and the floating elements design. A removable lens shade and the 95-millimeter filter thread also make this lens the ideal companion for special applications with additional slide-in filter holders.

ZEISS Milvus 2.8/18:

This compact super-wide angle lens with a newly calculated ZEISS Distagon optical design has 14 lens elements in 12 groups, including two aspheric elements. The ZEISS Milvus 2.8/18 has a short close-up distance of 0.25 meters and internal focusing. With an angular field of 99.9 degrees, this lens is the ideal companion for landscape and architectural photography, as it allows creative shots to be taken using unusual perspectives. The filter thread has a diameter of 77 millimeters. The ZEISS Milvus 2.8/18 delivers outstanding imaging performance and very good distortion correction.

ZEISS Milvus 2/135:

This fast telephoto lens delivers excellent correction of all color errors. Thanks to a large aperture and pleasing bokeh, it is the perfect lens for portrait photography from a medium distance. The angular field is 18.7 degrees. The short minimum object distance of 0.80 meters makes this lens even more versatile. It has an optical design with 11 lens elements in eight groups and, like the ZEISS Milvus 2.8/18, a filter diameter of 77 millimeters.

Price and availability

The delivery worldwide of the three new lenses will begin at the end of October 2016. The lens shade is included with the corresponding lens. Sales prices are EUR 2,699 (including 19% German VAT) or 2.699US$ for the ZEISS Milvus 2.8/15; EUR 2,299 (including 19% VAT ) or 2.299US$ for the ZEISS Milvus 2.8/18; and EUR 2,199 Euro (including 19% German VAT) or 2.199US$ for the ZEISS Milvus 2/135. For ambitious cinematographers and photographers, a set solution is also available for up to six ZEISS Milvus lenses. A discount of 8% is available with the purchase of three to four lenses. Purchasing more than five lenses gives the user a 10% discount.

Canon 15mm f/2.8 fisheye lens becomes a Hockey Puck, and gets smashed

It happened during the Stanley Cup Finals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the San Jose Sharks. It’s a Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 fisheye lens that dropped on the rink while the game was going on. A few short clips of the accident made it on Twitter.

Guess stuff like this gets filed under s**t happens.

Canon 15mm f/2.8 fisheye

[via PetaPixel]

The IRIX lens made from “Swiss precision and Korean innovation” is a 15mm f/2.4 lens

Irix 15mm F2.4

UPDATE: the Irix 15mm f/2.4 has been announced.

From an anonymous source we got an image of the lens which recently was teased by a so far (at least to me) unknown lens manufacturer named Irix lens.

The teaser I posted a few days ago was about a lens based on “patented solutions with the finest optical performance  – Swiss precision and Korean innovation“. Well, one of our readers had the chance to shot an image at The Photography Show in Birmingham, UK (thank you so much).

It’s an Irix 15mm F2.4 lens. I have no idea if it is for full-frame or not (I guess it is). And what the hence is “neutrino coating“? Well, the lens looks pretty exciting. As far as I have been told there should be Canon mount version.

The announcement is scheduled for tomorrow, March 19. You can see the teaser below. Stay tuned for more (in a few hours)…

Irix lens

Canon EF-M 15mm f/2 STM lens for EOS M coming in 2016? [CW1]

EF-M 15-45mm F/3.5-6.3 IS STM

I have been told (thanks) that Canon may announce an EF-M 15mm f/2 STM lens for the EOS M system, somewhen in Q1-Q2 2016.

While 15mm on an APS-C sensor are equivalent to 24mm on full-frame sensor, and hence resolve to a “classic” focal lenght, I do not think this rumor is reliable. However, I am pretty sure Canon will announce an EF-M 35mm f/1.8 STM lens in 2016. We were first to report this rumor, and it appears there is a lot of people who likes it, at least according to the many sites that picked up the rumor after it was posted on CW.

Enjoy live!

Steve

Venus Optics announces the Laowa 15mm f/4 Wide-Angle 1:1 Macro lens, world’s widest 1:1 macro lens

laowa

Venus Optics announced the world’s widest 1:1 macro lens, the Laowa 15mm f/4 Wide-Angle 1:1 Macro. The Laowa 15mm f/4 wide-angle macro lens is currently available at authorized resellers and at the English official website (http://www.venuslens.net). The recommended retail price is at USD 479. Free shipping will be provided during the promotion period. Pre-order starts from today and shipping will start from late July. Sample photos are here.

Specs:

  • 110 degrees of view angle
  • 1:1 macro ability with infinity focus
  • +/- 6mm Shift ability
  •  12 elements in 9 groups with 3 pieces of High Refractive elements and 1 piece of Extra-low dispension lens
  • Multi-layer low-reflective coatings to avoid unnecessary flare
  • Carefully control on the sharpness both in the centre and the edge.
  • Limited barrel distortion
  • 14 pieces of aperture blades form a close-to-circular aperture
  • Flat Front element surface for filter installation.
  • The enclosure of the lens is made of metal to strengthen its durability.
  • Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony Alpha A, Sony FE & Pentax K mounts are available.
  • Full Frame Sensor Supported

The first 1:1 Macro lens with a 110° angle of view. It offers an impactful and unprecendented macro photography experience.

Anhui China, Jun 12, 2015 – Venus Optics, the Chinese camera lenses manufacturer who had launched the world’s first 2:1 Macro Lens in last Sept, has just released the world’s widest Macro lens for full frame cameras, Laowa 15mm f/4 Wide-Angled 1:1 Macro Lens.

The new Laowa 15mm f/4 1:1 Macro lens is the first lens in the market which posseses a ultra wide angle of view and 1:1 Macro ability. This allows photographers from around the world to start experiencing the rather undeveloped field of ‘Wide Angle Macro Photography’ without using an extension tube. Macro Lenses currently in the market tends to have a mid to long focal length and it limits users to take very close-up shots on the insect or flowers, without showing much of the background details like its habitat or environment.

The new Laowa 15mm f/4 1:1 Macro lens features an ultra wide angle of view of 110 degrees with 1:1 maximum magnification. Photographers can focus very close to the subject and let the foreground dominates in the photo but at the same time, have the background telling viewers about where and how the subject lives. You picture will immdiately become very informative and intriguing.

The lens can also serve as an excellent ultra-wide angle lenses with infinity focus for cameras with full frame sensors. A shift mechanism is added at the rear end of the lens with a maximum adjustment of +/- 6mm, which is extremely useful for landscape/architecture photography for distortion correction.

The lens houses with 12 elements in 9 groups with 3 pieces of High Refractive elements and 1 piece of Extra-low dispersion elements to deliver crystal sharpness both in the center and the edge. Barrel Distortion was also carefully controlled. 14 pieces of aperture blades form a close-to-circular aperture, capable of creating creamy shallow depth of view. The enclosure of the lens is made of metal to strengthen its durability. Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony Alpha, Sony FE and Pentax K mounts are available.

Sample photos and videos can be found in our English website (http://www.venuslens.net)

Pricing and Availability
The Laowa 15mm f/4 wide-angle macro lens is currently available at authorized resellers and at the English official website (http://www.venuslens.net). The recommended retail price is at USD 479. Free shipping will be provided during the promotion period. Pre-order starts from today and shipping will start from late July.

laowa

Laowa 15mm