Venus Optics Laowa Aksen 17.5mm f/1.7 5-10x Ultra Macro APO Cine Lens (ARRI PL)

Overview

The Venus Optics Laowa Aksen 17.5mm f/1.7 5-10x Ultra Macro APO Cine Lens (ARRI PL) is a full-frame, cine-style ultra macro lens built around an interchangeable ARRI PL mount, giving cinematographers a genuine 5 to 10x magnification range with an f/1.7 to f/5.6 aperture. Designed for creative, commercial, and scientific macro capture, it pairs high optical quality with parfocal performance, so focus stays locked as magnification changes across the zoom range.

Cine style focus and iris gearing on a 0.8 MOD standard makes the lens easy to control with a follow focus system, and an included tripod collar with two 15mm rods lets you mount it securely to a rig or support rail. With a fixed working distance of 2.25 cm and a constant lens length throughout the zoom range, camera and lighting positions never need to move as you adjust magnification, keeping setups stable for both handheld and rig mounted macro cinematography.

Apochromatic Optics Control Color Fringing

The Aksen 17.5mm is designed with apochromatic correction to minimise chromatic aberration, producing ultrasharp images with little to no color fringing even at the highest magnifications. Exposure compensation is required as you increase magnification, since the effective aperture narrows through the zoom range.

Parfocal Zoom for Uninterrupted Framing

Because focus is fixed and the internal zoom is parfocal, you can shift magnification anywhere between 5x and 10x by adjusting the position of your subject rather than refocusing the lens. This full-frame lens can also be used on medium format cameras, though it will produce varying levels of vignetting depending on the magnification used.

Cine-Style Gearing and Rig Support

• Cine-style iris and zoom gearing follows the 0.8 MOD standard for use with standard follow focus systems.
• A rear filter thread accepts 37 mm filters.
• The included tripod collar and two 15mm rods let you mount the lens directly to a rig or support system.
• The lens has an interchangeable ARRI PL mount.