Best known for its tripods, Ulanzi now has its first mirrorless lens in its huge accessory range
(Image credit: Ulanzi)
Ulanzi is launching its first-ever interchangeable lens. The new Ulanzi AF 27mm f/2.8 is designed for use with Sony E-mount APS-C mirrorless cameras, and will have a budget price ticket of under $140.
China-based Ulanzi is perhaps best known for its tripods - such as the impressive Ulanzi F38 travel tripod. However, despite only being founded in 2015, the company boasts that it has designed over 3,000 products and has 400+ patents for its rapidly-growing range of photo accessories. And now it is entering the lens game...
Unusually, Ulanzi is not taking the usual step for a newbie lens manufacturer of starting off with manual focus primes. It is instead going for an autofocus model for the popular Sony E-mount. It is not a full-frame lens, however, and therefore on an APS-C crop-sensor camera gives an equivalent focal length of 40.5mm.
The autofocus lens has manual focus override via a grooved ring (Image credit: Ulanzi)
Constructed with six elements in five groups, the AF 27mm f/2.8 weighs 182g and has a close focusing distance of 0.3m.
There is a 52mm filter ring at the front, and a neat addition on the side is a USB-C socket, to simplify firmware updates.
Chris George has worked on Digital Camera World since its launch in 2017. He has been writing about photography, mobile phones, video making and technology for over 30 years – and has edited numerous magazines including PhotoPlus, N-Photo, Digital Camera, Video Camera, and Professional Photography.
His first serious camera was the iconic Olympus OM10, with which he won the title of Young Photographer of the Year - long before the advent of autofocus and memory cards. Today he uses a Nikon D800, a Fujifilm X-T1, a Sony A7, and his iPhone 15 Pro Max.
He has written about technology for countless publications and websites including The Sunday Times Magazine, The Daily Telegraph, Dorling Kindersley, What Cellphone, T3 and Techradar.
