Laowa has announced its new Ranger S35 Zoom Lens set. The Ranger S35 Compact Cine Zoom set comes with 3 lenses, 11-18mm T2.9, 17-50mm T2.9, and 50-130mm T2.9.
I will have a full in-depth review of the Laowa Ranger S35 Zooms at the end of the month.
Essentially these are smaller and lighter versions of the Ranger full-frame zooms that I reviewed on the site last year.
Just like their full-frame counterparts, the lenses were designed to meet the demands of different production sizes from solo to small crew run-and-gun filmmakers up to larger productions.
According to Laowa, they set a new benchmark for the s35 market with a focal range from 11-130mm and a smaller-than-phone form factor. Laowa also states that they deliver exceptional optical performance.
Key features
- 11X zoom range in the total
- From Ultra wide (11mm) to Telephoto (130mm)
- Incredibly compact (4.25”) and lightweight (1.64 lb)
- Constant T2.9 aperture
- Parfocal design
- Well-controlled focus breathing
- Extremely close focus distance
- Professional cine housing
- 7 mounts available (PL, EF, E, RF, X, L, Z)
The lenses weighs around 1.7 lbs / 700-800g. Their small size and weight gives them the flexibility to be used with gimbals, car rigs, or simple handheld setups.
Focal Range
One of the biggest caveats of using a full-frame or larger sensor digital cinema camera is that the lenses become larger, heavier, and have reduced focal ranges. This is especially true when it comes to cine zooms that cover large image circles.
With quite a few new S35 cameras on the market, it makes sense to cater to that sensor size as you can make smaller, lighter, and more affordable lenses.
The focal ranges of 11-18mm, 17-50mm, and 50-130mm over a decent range that will cover a lot of shooting scenarios. I would still like to see Laowa make a longer focal length. I think a 75-250mm T2.9 S35 zoom that weighs less than 1.6kg would be very popular. They already made a 75-180mm T2.9 full-frame lens that weighs 3.1 lb / 1.4 kg, so it’s certainly possible.
Because of their low weight and small size, they could be used on anything from a mirrorless hybrid to a digital cinema camera.
Optical Design
The optical design of the 11-18mm consists of 17 elements in 11 groups. The 18-50mm has 22 elements in 18 groups. The 50-135mm has 17 elements in 13 groups. All of the lenses have 11 aperture blades. The focus throw is 270 degrees.
Close Focus
The 11-18mm and the 17-50mm can focus at pretty close distances. With the 11-18mm it is 36cm / 14.17″, and on the 17-50mm it 35cm / 13.78”. The 50-130mm has a close focus ability of 75cm / 29.53″.
A PL native mount is standard but they are also available in the following mounts:
- Canon EF
- Sony E
- Canon RF
- Fujifilm X
- Leica L
- Nikon Z
Unfortunately at this point in time I am unable to tell you much more about the lenses as my review is still under embargo.
