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.
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.
