The Laowa Argus T1 Cine series are incredibly fast cinema lenses

Optical designs in the camera industry have only gotten faster over the years. With only a few rare exceptions, modern lenses bring in far more light than vintage lenses and allow creators more creative opportunities in dimly lit scenes. Venus Optics’ new series, the Laowa Argus T1 cine, follows that trend and pushes the limit on low-light performance in the cinema world.

The Laowa Argus series

These aren’t the first lenses Venus Optics has released under the Laowa Argus name. The previous lenses in the lineup are actually quite similar to the new Cine T1 series. It seems that most of the new lenses are simply updated versions of their predecessors in a new stylish cine housing. (Which I’m definitely not going to complain about). The only exception is the new 28mm T1, which I’ll get into shortly.

The Laowa Argus T1 Cine series

The series is composed of three groups: a full-frame group, a Super35 group, and an MFT group. Every lens in every group has the same T1 aperture, a close-focusing distance of up to 0.2m, low-focus Breathing, and a professional cine housing. The only aspects that change are the price and sensor coverage of the lens.

The Full Frame Laowa Argus T1 series

The full-frame Argus T1 series consists of three lenses: 28, 35, and 45mm. Each, as mentioned, is a T1 lens, which is incredibly impressive. There are no other 28 mm or 35mm T1 full-frame lenses on the market at the moment. Each lens costs $1499, or $3999 for the three-lens bundle. The mount options are Canon RF, Sony E, and Nikon Z.

The Super 35 Laowa Argus T1 series

Like the full-frame series, the Super 35 Argus T1 series consists of three lenses: 33, 25, and 18mm. Again, these lenses are ridiculously fast compared to other offerings in the market. Each lens costs $899, or you can get all three for $2399. The mount options are Canon RF, Sony E, Nikon Z, and Fuji X.

The MFT Laowa Argus T1 series

The MFT group of the Argus series is only composed of two lenses, unlike the other groups. One 18mm lens and one 25mm lens. Curiously, there is an overlap with the focal length of the 25 and 18 mm lenses of the Supe 35 group. Each lens costs $699, or you can get both for $1259.

Laowa Argus T1 specifications

Name	Argus 28mm T1 FF Cine	Argus 35mm T1 FF Cine	Argus 45mm T1 FF Cine	Argus 18mm T1 S35 Cine	Argus 25mm T1 S35 Cine	Argus 33mm T1 S35 Cine	Argus 18mm T1 MFT Cine	Argus 25mm T1 MFT Cine
Focal Length	28mm	35mm	45mm	18mm	25mm	33mm	18mm	25mm
Aperture Range	T1-16	T1-16	T1-16	T1-11	T1-11	T1-11	T1-11	T1-11
Angle of View	75.2°	63.4°	51.3°	76.15°	58.8°	46.2°	61.9°	47°
Image Circle Diameter	Ø43.3mm	Ø43.3mm	Ø43.3mm	Ø31.5mm	Ø31.5mm	Ø31.5mm	Ø21.6mm	Ø21.6mm
Format	Full Frame	Full Frame	Full Frame	Super 35	Super 35	Super 35	Micro Four Thirds (MFT)	Micro Four Thirds (MFT)
Lens Structure	14 elements in 9 groups	14 elements in 9 groups	13 elements in 9 groups	15 elements in 10 groups	14 elements in 9 groups	14 elements in 9 groups	14 elements in 8 groups	14 elements in 8 groups
Aperture Blades	15	15	15	15	9	9	9	9
Focus Throw	211°	270°	270°	250°	250°	250°	270°	270°
Aperture Throw	92°	85°	92°	87°	87°	87°	70°	70°
Focus Indicator	Metric & Imperial (Dual Scale)	Metric & Imperial (Dual Scale)	Metric & Imperial (Dual Scale)	Metric & Imperial (Dual Scale)	Metric & Imperial (Dual Scale)	Metric & Imperial (Dual Scale)	Metric & Imperial (Dual Scale)	Metric & Imperial (Dual Scale)
Min.Focusing Distance	1’3” / 0.4m	1’7” / 0.5m	1’7” / 0.5m	9.84” / 0.25m	1’1” / 0.34m	1’1” / 0.35m	7.88” / 0.2m	9.84” / 0.25m
Max.Magnification Ratio	0.11x	0.11x	0.11x	0.13x	0.1x	0.13x	0.15x	0.17x
In-focus Driving Mode	Manual Focus	Manual Focus	Manual Focus	Manual Focus	Manual Focus	Manual Focus	Manual Focus	Manual Focus
Filter Thread Size	Ø77mm	Ø77mm	Ø77mm	Ø77mm	Ø77mm	Ø77mm	Ø77mm	Ø77mm
Front Diameter	80mm	80mm	80mm	80mm	80mm	80mm	80mm	80mm
Dimensions	Ø3.34”x4.80” / Ø84.8mm*121.83mm	Ø3.34”x4.09” / Ø84.8mm*103.86mm	Ø3.34”x4.31” / Ø84.8mm*109.44mm	Ø3.33”x4.19” / Ø84.7mm*106.5mm	Ø3.34”x3.78” / Ø84.8mm*96mm	Ø3.35”x3.70” / Ø85mm*94mm	Ø3.31”x3.84” / Ø84mm*97.5mm	Ø3.31”x3.84” / Ø84mm*97.5mm
Weight	2.65lbs / 1200g	2.09lbs / 950g	2.35lbs / 1065g	2.09lbs / 950g	1.68lb / 762g	1.54lb / 700g	1.45lb / 659g	1.52lb / 690g
Mount	Sony E, Nikon Z, Canon RF	Sony E, Nikon Z, Canon RF	Sony E, Nikon Z, Canon RF	Sony E, Fuji X, Nikon Z, Canon RF	Sony E, Fuji X, Nikon Z, Canon RF	Sony E, Fuji X, Nikon Z, Canon RF	MFT	MFT