On September 30 Venus Optics released the Laowa ACRIS 35mm f/2.8 1X AF Macro APO: a full-frame 35mm that goes all the way to 1:1 and, in the right mounts, has autofocus. Laowa calls it the first full-frame autofocus 35mm lens with 1:1 magnification. It sells for $449, the same price across every mount. European pricing hasn’t been announced yet.

The numbers

  • Magnification: 1:1, with an 18 cm minimum focus distance and a 48.6 mm minimum working distance from the front element.
  • Aperture: f/2.8-22. Nine blades on the AF version, thirteen on the manual one.
  • Optics: 13 elements in 10 groups, apochromatic design to keep chromatic aberration in check, in and out of focus.
  • Internal focusing: the lens length stays the same as you focus.
  • AF mounts: Sony E, Nikon Z and Canon EF. Manual only: Canon RF and L-Mount.
  • Weight: 560 g in Sony E, 570 g in Nikon Z, 530 g in Canon EF. 72 mm filter thread on the AF version, metal body with sealing at the mount and near the rings.

Autofocus, just not where you need it most

Read the announcement carefully. Full autofocus works from infinity down to 0.5 m. Below half a metre, which is the actual macro range, Laowa talks about “assistance”: you pull focus by hand and the motor helps with fine adjustments, mainly aimed at focus stacking for stills. For video people that means the drop running down a bottle 20 cm from the lens is still a manual focus job, like with any macro.

We don’t see that as a flaw, just honesty. Anyone who shoots product and food knows that at 1:1 depth of field is measured in millimetres and no AF system reliably holds a plane that thin on a moving shot. The real benefit is different: the same lens gives you the macro detail and, two minutes later, the medium shot in autofocus. On a small crew, that’s one less lens change.

Who it makes sense for in Abruzzo

A 35mm macro is an unusual focal length, and that’s what makes it interesting. A classic 100mm macro isolates the subject and compresses the background; a 35mm at 18 cm shows you the product and the setting around it. Think of spots for wineries and olive mills, restaurant reels, local produce shot on a wooden table with the village behind it: a wide macro tells you where you are, not only what you’re looking at.

The practical limit is working distance: 48.6 mm from glass to subject means lens and camera end up almost on top of what you’re shooting, and it’s easy to cast a shadow. With plates and glasses you manage it with soft light from high and to the side; with insects and anything alive it’s a different game.

How we’d use it on set

  • In E-mount it goes straight onto a Sony FX3 or a Sony FX6, with the camera’s AF working beyond half a metre.
  • Manual macro focus needs a proper monitor with peaking and magnification: an Atomos Ninja V on the rig is the difference between “nearly” sharp and sharp.
  • Aperture: at f/2.8 and 1:1 the focal plane is razor thin. In the field, product detail shots usually sit between f/5.6 and f/8, and you need the light to match.

At $449 this is a lens a videographer can simply buy, and if you shoot food and product all year it makes sense. The rest of the kit, camera, monitor and lights, is better rented for the single job: you’ll find it all in our equipment page.

Official source: Venus Optics / Laowa, ACRIS 35mm f/2.8 1X Macro APO page. Verified by: Newsshooter.