Laa has been producing some hits as of Late they started with ultra wide angle No Distortion lenses they got into macro They got into recently autofocusing Ultra wides and they've gotten into cine Lenses as well and this lens is a brand New super 35 meaning apsc cine zoom lens It's one of a new Trilogy Trio that Consists of an 11 to 18 a 17 to 50 and This 50 to 130 out of the three I think The 50 to 130 is the most interesting Because I've said this in the past we Really do need a fast telephoto lens Option for apsc so I'm excited to check This thing out let's begin now this lens Is a pre-production model and therefore It came in loose non retail packaging With really no accessories besides front And rear lens caps that's really it this Is the emount version but I think with Cine lenses the smart play is to invest In the pl mount it looks like the pl Version is also shorter overall as well Weight on this is 812 G which is just Under 2 lb and for the compact size it Makes this lens feel premium it doesn't Feel cheap finishes and tolerances are Executed well starting at the rear There's a metal Mount no electronics no Weather ceiling as far as I can tell the First geared ring is the aperture which Quickly and smoothly moves from t2.9 to T22 and this is labeled on both sides no Clicks this is a video focused lens the
Next geared ring is the zoom this has a Little more resistance to the movement But it's equally smooth well damped and It moves from 50 mm to 130 and just over 90° of rotation all of the zooming is Done internally so the outside of the Lens is not affected by it it does Transfer some weight to the front as you Zoom out but it's little enough to where If you were using the lens on a gimbal You'd probably be fine without Adjustments the zoom ring is also Labeled on both sides and there are some Adjustment screws here the last geared Ring is is the focus and this one is the Lightest ring out of the three with the Longest rotation it takes 270° to go From minimum Focus which is just about 2 And 1/2 ft to Infinity the ring is Labeled in meters on the opposite side At the top there is a laa logo it's Labeled on both sides with Ranger super 35 50 to 130 and t2.9 blue accent ring Is present here and it's subtle at the Bottom there is a lens support bracket a Serial number and 77 mm filter thread Around the front there is a modest front Lens Element no writing nothing else It's pretty clean up here inside there Are 13 elements in 17 groups and an 11 Bladed diaphragm mounted on my a6700 It's not a pancake lens but you have to Admit for a 50 to 130 cine Zoom this is Impressively small cine lenses are not
Known for being small but this lens Manages to be average size which is an Achievement and because of the size I Took it with me to a bunch of places and I shot some samples with it so here they Are straight out of my a6700 unedited no Picture profiles no fanciness this is Just raw video footage basically out of My camera Ready Set Go [Music] Fall left [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Before I say anything else this lens is About storytelling and that's really the Whole point of buying a cine lens in the First place cuz why else would you Punish yourself with all of these gear Rings and manually focusing if it didn't Have some character and it didn't have Some storytelling attributes and so I Would never want to compare a lens such As this one to an actual normal Photography lens because there's really Nothing to compare the positives in a Photography lens are seen as kind of Negatives with s lenses and the Negatives of cine lenses are seen as Positives with photography lenses it's Kind of all backwards so is this lens Sharp well yes it is is it as sharp as a
High-end photography lens no it's not Clinically sharp the way most modern Sigas and Sony's are but that's kind of What Sy lenses are about again it's more About character softer rolloff uniform Tone some flares it's all backwards so If you watch a typical lens review and Then watch this review you'll probably Think I'm crazy when I talk about how The massive flares are a positive but That's just how Hollywood has been Selling movies I don't know but it is a Look and it is a preference and it does Work for some projects just like all of My samples were handheld and shaky but They worked for the tone and the story Anyway in terms of sharpness it's great Again not Tac sharp but sharp enough to Exactly where most cinematographers will Want it colors are good very neutral I Didn't find them Punchy or contrasty Which again is preferable for Cinematography so that's another Positive as for distortions chromatic Aberration is definitely there I won't Say there is a ton of it but I won't say That it's well controlled either it's Somewhere in the middle Barrel Distortion is present at 50 mm but as You zoom in the image turns flat and Stays this way out to 130 vignetting is Not much of an issue as you don't notice It as for flaring yes there is a bunch Of that and that's because of all of the
Elements that are inside of this lens it Does affect the contrast And it can take over the frame with a Bright enough light source this would Typically again be a negative with a Photography lens but in this case the Flaring adds character and can be used In storytelling bokeh performance is Solid it's smooth good round balls in The center of the frame that do cat eye A bit into the corners and the edges but Never to the point of being distracting I think that overall rendering is Pleasing and well executed this cine Lens makes for a pretty good portrait Lens in fact as a result Focus brief Breathing is also very well controlled It's almost unnoticeable which is great And one of the best things about this Lens is that it is parfocal meaning you Can zoom into your subject focus and When you zoom out your subject will Continue to be in Focus no matter where You are in the zoom range most Photography lenses require you to Refocus every single time you change Your focal length but with this lens you Focus once and as long as you and your Subject remain at about the same Distance you are all set so there is a Lot to like with this lens the first Thing I have to say is is that the zoom Range is again something that we've been Missing from apsc and it makes me really
Excited for the future because we really Do need a 50 to 130 I think it's an Absolute surprise that this lens is Coming from laa and not from a larger More established lens manufacturer I Mean why are they coming out with this And why hasn't Sony given us one of These things in 10 years of apsc lenses I don't know but the 70 to 200 mm Equivalent is perfect for weddings Sports Photography your kids soccer Games Birds whatever it is there's a Whole bunch of stuff that you can shoot With a lens with this sort of Zoom range Again the size of this lens is small Compared to cine lenses the build is Solid the Optics are good they are at or Slightly above average I would say in Every metric and it's a very fun lens to Use telephoto has never been my favorite But I have to admit that using this lens Was an absolute fun time now in terms of Pricing I have to preface this by by Saying that most cine zoom lenses cost About the same price as two brand new Toyota Corollas combined now this one is A budget cine zoom lens it comes in at $2,000 USD which is remarkably $1,000 us Less than the full-frame version of this Lens you can also buy a three lens set Of these the 11 to 18 the 17 to 50 and The 50 to13 for $5,700 us so you save About $100 per lens and the third option Is is buying a quote light version of
These lenses for $2,500 us each and you save a about 100 G or so on each lens by going the light Route now shooting Cinema style movies Is not cheap and the gear is definitely Not cheap but these lenses do open up That world to those with slightly Slimmer Pockets but let me know what you Guys think down in the comments section Below what do you think of this lens What do you think of the zoom range What's your favorite out of the Trilogy That lawa has released recently and as Always if you are interested in Reading More checking prices seeing all the Options for lens mounts and all that fun Stuff I will leave a link down in the Description so definitely check that out Special thank you goes out to LA for Sending this lens out for review keep up What you're doing and continue doing This if we could get one of these lenses With autofocus that's more kind of Photography oriented it'd be amazing Just an idea to throw out there stay Tuned for more thank you guys so much For watching and have a nice day bye-bye