Venus Optics launches Loawa 105mm F2 with apodization element

Chinese lens manufacturer Venus Optics has announced a portrait lens that uses an apodization element and dual diaphragms to produce better looking out-of-focus highlights. The company says that the apodization element in the new Laowa 105mm F2 STF acts as a radial gradient filter that becomes darker towards its outer edge. This graduation of tone is said to help produce smooth tonal transitions in out-of-focus discs. The element works in conjunction with a 14-bladed diaphragm that Venus Optics...