Laowa Expands Proteus 2X Anamorphic Lens Series With Four New Focal Lengths

by Francesco AndreolaApril 18^th, 2023

Laowa has just unveiled four new lenses in their Proteus 2X anamorphic prime set: 20mm, 28mm, 100mm and 135mm. The lenses feature an interchangeable PL/EF mount, cover Super35 sensors, and you can choose between amber, blue or silver lens flares. Pricing starts at $4,999 per lens.

Chinese lens manufacturer Venus Optics/Laowa made its debut in the world of anamorphic lenses by unveiling the Nanomorph 1.5x anamorphic series back in April 2022. Their journey then continued with the Proteus 2X anamorphic set, which was officially announced at the beginning of this year.

Existing focal lengths include a 35mm, 45mm, 60mm and 85mm T2 – all designed for the Super35 format. Now, the company is unveiling four additional focal lengths at NAB 2023 in Las Vegas. Hence, we stopped by their booth to take a closer look!

Laowa Proteus 2X anamorphic lens series: 4 new lenses

Newly added focal lengths include 20mm, 28mm, 100mm, and 135mm. These new lenses share many characteristics with the existing models, including a constant 2X squeeze factor and Super35 coverage (25.92X21.6mm). The 28mm and 100mm also have the same T2 aperture, while it’s not clear whether the 20mm and 135mm are equally fast.

Included with the lenses is a user-interchangeable ARRI PL/Canon EF mount along with three coating options – amber, blue, and silver. The rear section of each glass has a built-in back focus adjustment mechanism to replace the manual shimming process.

The Proteus set features a unified position for the 0.8MOD focus and iris gears. The lens aperture throw is 60° and the focus throw is 300°, with the option for imperial or metric focus markings. Additionally, the lens has a front outer diameter of 114mm and includes a 105mm filter thread to accommodate screw-on filters.

Price and availability

The Laowa Proteus 2X anamorphic lenses retail for $4,999 / €4,945.22 per lens or $9,499 / €9,279 for a 2-lens kit. The new 20mm, 28mm, 100mm, and 135mm 2X anamorphic primes are expected to ship in late 2023. However, for those who have already pre-ordered the existing focal lengths, shipping starts in May.

The pre-order deposit for Proteus anamorphic lenses is $600 for a single lens, $1,200 for set A (35mm and 60mm) and set B (45mm and 85mm), or $2,400 for a complete set. If you submit an order by April 30th along with a short film shot on Proteus and BTS footage, you will be eligible for a $1,200 cash rebate.

The 4 new focal lengths are currently on display at Venus Optics’ booth (C8538) at NAB 2023 in Las Vegas. The show closes its doors on April 19th.

For more information, please visit the Laowacine website here.

Have you tried the existing Laowa Proteus 2X anamorphic lenses yet? How do you like the look of this lens series? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!