Chinese manufacturer Venus Optics, creator of the Laowa line of lenses, has unveiled the Laowa Magic Shift Converter (MSC) for use with Sony full-frame E-mount cameras – specifically, for the Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D in both its Canon and Nikon versions.
As the name implies, the idea of the MSC is to act as a lens adapter that effectively turns an ultra-wide angle lens into a Shift lens without causing vignetting to occur. It does this by using its optical construction to expand the image circle of said wide angle lens, allowing the camera’s sensor to be shifted along the axis.
With converging verticals and perspective distortions particularly difficult to avoid when shooting buildings like skyscrapers, lenses with good shift capabilities are often prized by architecture and interior photographers.
By applying the MSC, the 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D becomes a 17mm f/4 Zero-D lens with +/- 10mm shift capability. According to Venus Optics, when tested at maximum shift the lens exhibited no vignetting and there was no noticeable drop in its performance.
The Laowa MSC is available to pre-order now from www.venuslens.net for $300 (about £232). The Canon variant ships late July, while the Nikon version is expected to be available a couple of months later.
The MSC will be the first in Magic Converter family to be available to consumers. Venus Optics had previously announced the Laowa Magic Format Converter which uses the same optics system, this time to fit a full frame lens onto a GFX medium format body without vignetting – but that isn’t due until later in the year.
