Launching on Indiegogo, these two T2.9 Nanomorph zooms will cover a combined focal length of 28-100mm
(Image credit: Laowa)
Anamorphic lenses have a very special party trick. They squash a wide scene horizontally to fit the width of the camera sensor so that you can stretch the footage on output to get much wider cinematic aspect ratios than native sensor widths are designed for, while still using the full sensor area – so you’re not cropping out large chunks at the top and bottom of the frame.
That’s not all. Their unique construction means they create particular visual effects which are really on-trend right now, including horizontal blue streaks from highlights and oval rather than round bokeh. The anamorphic look is in demand!
But the best anamorphic lenses aren’t cheap, and they usually come as primes, which means lots of lens swapping for different angles. Laowa already solves the first problem with its highly affordable 1.5x Nanomorph and 2x Proteus anamorphic lens ranges, and it also offers a 1.33x front lens adapter for use with regular lenses.
But these new Nanomorph zooms go a step further, combining a 28-55mm T2.9 option with a 50-100mm T2.9. If you get both, you’ve got a combined 3.6x zoom range.
Anamorphic lenses produce characteristic optical effects including horizontal flare and oval-shaped bokeh. (Image credit: Laowa)
Laowa Nanomorph Zooms – what we know so far
The Nanomorph 28-55mm and 50-100mm are “insanely compact” according to Laowa, though these things are relative, and cinema-grade zooms are chunky beasts. These lenses are a similar size and weight, tipping the scales at around 1.5kg. They will be supplied in PL mount and offer the same 1.5x ‘squeeze’ as Laowa’s existing Nanomorph lenses.
Laowa is promising “exceptional” image quality, low distortion and chromatic aberration and “mesmerizing” bokeh and flare.
That’s as much as we know right now. If you want to find out more you can sign up now to the Laowa Nanomorph Zoom Indiegogo campaign. This will get you a discount of up to 30% when the campaign is officially launched on March 1.
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Rod is an independent photography journalist and editor, and a long-standing Digital Camera World contributor, having previously worked as DCW's Group Reviews editor. Before that he has been technique editor on N-Photo, Head of Testing for the photography division and Camera Channel editor on TechRadar, as well as contributing to many other publications. He has been writing about photography technique, photo editing and digital cameras since they first appeared, and before that began his career writing about film photography. He has used and reviewed practically every interchangeable lens camera launched in the past 20 years, from entry-level DSLRs to medium format cameras, together with lenses, tripods, gimbals, light meters, camera bags and more. Rod has his own camera gear blog at fotovolo.com but also writes about photo-editing applications and techniques at lifeafterphotoshop.com
