Laowa has officially announced the launch of what it describes as the world’s first full-frame autofocus 35mm lens capable of true 1:1 magnification. This innovative optic is designed to bridge a long-standing gap in the photography market by promising the unique, life-size rendering typical of a dedicated macro lens while retaining the broader environmental context characteristic of a wide-angle focal length.
Traditionally, macro photography has been heavily reliant on longer focal lengths, such as 90mm, 100mm, or 180mm. While these telephoto macro optics excel at isolating a subject by compressing the background and carving the main focal point out of its surrounding scene, they often isolate the subject to such a degree that all contextual environmental details are lost.
The newly introduced Laowa Acris 35mm f/2.8 1x Macro Apo shifts this paradigm by bringing a 1:1 reproduction ratio to a much wider perspective. By pairing this wide-angle field of view with a bright maximum aperture of f/2.8 and advanced autofocus capabilities, the manufacturer aims to give photographers a versatile tool that can capture both minute, life-size details and the wider world surrounding them in a single frame.
Autofocus Compatibility and System Support
While the inclusion of autofocus marks a significant milestone for this specific style of optical design, the feature comes with specific mount-dependent limitations. The Laowa Acris 35mm f/2.8 1x Macro Apo will be available with full autofocus functionality on Sony E, Nikon Z, and Canon EF lens mounts. However, photographers shooting with Canon RF and L-mount systems will need to rely entirely on manual focus, as the lens will be delivered as a manual-focus-only variant for those platforms.
To optimize performance across diverse shooting scenarios, the autofocus-enabled versions of the lens incorporate what Laowa refers to as a Dual-Mode Hybrid Focusing system. This proprietary design is engineered to maintain high performance across all shooting distances, seamlessly transitioning from standard everyday tasks to extreme close-up work.
The system features a Standard Autofocus mode, which operates from infinity down to 0.5 meters. According to the manufacturer, this mode delivers fast, responsive, and accurate subject acquisition tailored for everyday photography, street documentation, and environmental portraits where reaction speed and reliability are paramount.
When the lens is pushed past that threshold into the close-up range, ranging from 0.5 meters down to the full 1:1 reproduction ratio, the second part of the system takes over. Designated as Macro Focus Assistance, this mode shifts the handling to provide tactile, micro-step manual precision. This specialized configuration is designed to integrate smoothly into modern focus-bracketing workflows, simplifying the capture of handheld or tripod-based focus stacking sequences. By offering refined control at high magnification, the system helps photographers achieve the exceptional depth of field often required in detailed macro compositions.
Advanced Optical Construction and Physical Design
True to its nomenclature, the Laowa Acris 35mm f/2.8 1x Macro Apo features an advanced apochromatic (APO) optical design. Laowa states that this sophisticated engineering virtually eliminates both longitudinal and lateral chromatic aberrations, commonly known as color fringing, in both in-focus regions and out-of-focus background areas, ensuring clean, high-contrast imagery regardless of the aperture or lighting conditions.
The internal optical formula is built around a total of 13 lens elements arranged in 10 distinct groups. The aperture mechanism varies slightly depending on the operational version of the lens, featuring nine aperture blades on the autofocus models and thirteen blades on the manual-focus variants, which can influence the character of the bokeh and out-of-focus highlights. The lens offers a minimum focus distance of 180 millimeters, translating to a minimum working distance of just 48.6 millimeters from the front element to the subject at maximum magnification.
Physical dimensions and weight characteristics vary across the different mount options to accommodate varying flange focal distances and electronic requirements. For instance, the Sony E-mount version serves as a representative standard for the mirrorless lineup, measuring 79 millimeters in diameter by 114 millimeters in length, and weighing 560 grams while accepting a 72mm front filter thread. In contrast, the Canon DSLR version is more compact, measuring 79 millimeters by 87.4 millimeters, tipping the scales at 530 grams, and utilizing a smaller 67mm filter thread.
To ensure reliability in demanding field conditions, all versions of the Laowa Acris 35mm f/2.8 1x Macro Apo incorporate comprehensive weather sealing. This protective construction makes the lens a capable and resilient option for outdoor photographers working in damp, dusty, or unpredictable environmental conditions to capture flora, fauna, and environmental macro scenes.
The Laowa Acris 35mm f/2.8 1x Macro Apo is currently available for purchase, with a retail price set at $449, approximately £339, or AU$645.
