Earlier this week Laowa announced a new line of super 35mm 2X Anamorphic lenses called Proteus. The new Laowa Proteus has lenses at the moment starting from 35mm all the way to 85mm all with a T2 with multiple mount options.
Going 2x squeeze
A 2x squeeze anamorphic lens means that you are able to capture twice the amount of horizontal information compared to a “normal” spherical lens. 2X squeeze anamorphic lenses are fairly rare and most of them are exceptionally expensive.
Recently we have seen a lot more affordable anamorphic lenses on the market, however for the most part these were not 2x squeeze lenses and for those looking for this option without adapters the new Proteus line might be a tempting new option.
Laowa Proteus 2X Anamorphic Lenses
The 45mm Proteus 2X Anamorphic was first shown during Interbee 2022 in Japan but the entire series was officially announced only this week and it includes 35mm, 45mm, 60mm, and 85mm focal lengths all with a T2 maximum Iris and 0.8 MOD gears for focus and aperture. When it comes to focus-throw, all 4 lenses have a 300° throw and a 60° aperture throw. All lenses have a 105mm filter thread and a 114mm outer diameter.
The minimum focus distance of the lenses is 55cm/1.8 feet, pretty close by Anamorphic lens standards. The lenses weigh between 2.4kg / 5.29 lbs (for the 35mm and 45mm, the 60mm is 100g lighter) to 2.95 kg / 6.5 lbs for the 85mm lens.
According to Laowa the new Proteus lenses use a patented anamorphic design that should produce modern-level sharpness with a vintage look. You can purchase lenses with flares that are either blue, amber, or neutral silver.
A useful feature on these new lenses is a back focus Adjustment Mechanism that allows the user to calibrate the back focus with the lens mounted on the camera itself.
While the lenses cover super 35mn sensors by default, Laowa mentions that it is possible to get full-frame coverage with 1.4X expander. The lenses come in a EF or PL mount.
Pricing and availability
When it comes to pricing, each Laowa Proteus 2x Anamorphic lens will sell for just under $5 and while this is certainly not an “affordable” price tag it is still between 2-3 times less expensive compared to some other 2X anamorphic lenses. The lenses will start shipping in May 2023.
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Iddo Genuth 
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