Venus Optics announces availability for world’s widest native GFX lens, the Laowa 17mm f/4 Zero-D
posted Friday, August 2, 2019 at 3:00 PM EST
Originally announced at Photokina in 2018, Laowa has announced pricing and availability for the world's widest native lens for Fujifilm GFX medium-format cameras, the Laowa 17mm f/4 Zero-D GFX. In 35mm terms, the 17mm f/4 Zero-D lens offers a 13mm focal length, which corresponds to a 113-degree angle of view.
The rectilinear lens has been designed from the ground up for the Fujifilm GFX system and is aimed at architecture and landscape photographers. The 17mm f/4 GFX lens is the fourth lens in Laowa's "Zero-D" product lineup, which means that it exhibits "close-to-zero" optical distortion, a feature particularly appealing to architecture photographers, as the "Zero-D" design ensures straight lines.
In terms of physical size, the lens is 4.9 inches (12.5 centimeters) long and weighs 1.8 pounds (around 800 grams). Compared to the GF 23mm f/4 lens, which offers an 18mm-equivalent focal length, the Laowa 17mm f/4 is 0.1 pounds (around 45 grams) lighter while being about an inch longer. On the lens itself, there is a focus ring, engraved depth of field scale and a dedicated aperture control ring. The manual focus lens can focus as close as 7.9 inches (20 centimeters), which results in a maximum magnification ratio of 0.27x. Despite its ultra-wide-angle length, the lens does have a built-in filter thread (86mm) and is also compatible with an optional 100mm magnetic filter holder system.
The Laowa 17mm f/4 Zero-D lens for Fuji GFX is available for preorder now. The lens is expected to release in the next few weeks with a suggested retail price of $1,199 USD. For additional information, click here.