Venus Optics
Chinese photographic-optics company behind the Laowa brand, known for distinctive macro, ultra-wide-angle, shift, and fast-aperture lenses.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Venus Optics, legally identified in reference material as Anhui ChangGeng Optics Technology Co., Ltd., is a Chinese photographic-optics manufacturer founded in 2013. Its lenses are marketed primarily under the Laowa name, written 老蛙 in Chinese and commonly translated as “old frog.” The company is headquartered in Hefei, Anhui Province, where its production and core operations are based. It also maintains sales and marketing activity through offices in Hong Kong and the United States, giving the brand an international commercial presence. Laowa has built its identity around optical specifications that are unusual, difficult to design, or underserved by larger camera-lens manufacturers. Its portfolio has concentrated on ultra-macro, rectilinear ultra-wide-angle, wide-angle macro, shift, and very fast-aperture lenses. Rather than competing primarily through a broad range of conventional autofocus zooms, Venus Optics has generally used specialized focal lengths, uncommon magnification ratios, compact designs, and distinctive optical corrections to appeal to photographers and filmmakers seeking particular visual effects or technical capabilities. The company’s first lens was the Laowa 60mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro. It offered a 2:1 reproduction ratio while also being capable of focusing at infinity, a combination that distinguished it from many conventional macro lenses. Venus Optics subsequently introduced the 15mm f/4 Wide Angle Macro, designed to provide 1:1 macro capability from an unusually wide field of view. This approach allows photographers to show both a close subject and more of its surrounding environment, although the short working distance at high magnification imposes practical limitations. Other notable products include the Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D, a full-frame ultra-wide-angle lens designed to minimize rectilinear distortion, and the Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO, which extends the company’s macro specialization with high magnification and apochromatic correction. The range has covered full-frame, APS-C, Micro Four Thirds, and Fujifilm G-mount systems. Venus Optics has also developed cinema products, including traditional cine lenses and anamorphic lenses, expanding the Laowa proposition beyond still photography. Many Laowa lenses have historically been fully manual. In such designs, the lens does not provide autofocus, optical image stabilization, automatic aperture control, or electronic communication for transferring exposure and lens data to the camera. These omissions can be less consequential in macro, architectural, landscape, and controlled video work, where manual focusing and deliberate aperture selection are common. The company has nevertheless indicated that electronically integrated products are not excluded from future development, and at least some later products include electronic functionality. Brand communication has emphasized experimentation and user creativity. Since 2017, Laowa has used the slogan “New Idea, New Fun” in international marketing initiatives. It has supported photo competitions, creator interviews, and video programs intended to demonstrate what its unusual lenses can produce. The Laowa Photo Competition began in 2017 and later expanded beyond images made exclusively with Laowa equipment. In 2021, the company launched the invitation-only Laowa Video Marathon, bringing together ten videographers and YouTubers to create linked one-minute films. It also introduced “Laowagrapher,” a series profiling emerging photographers from different countries. Venus Optics occupies a specialist, enthusiast-oriented position in the camera-equipment market. Its products are particularly relevant to macro photographers, landscape and architectural photographers, filmmakers, and creators who value unusual perspectives over full automation. Public reference material identifies Dayong Li as founder, managing director, and chief developer. Li studied opto-electronic engineering at Beijing Inst…
History
Venus Optics was established in 2013 in Hefei, Anhui Province, China. The company operates under the corporate name Anhui ChangGeng Optics Technology Co., Ltd. in the supplied reference material and markets its photographic lenses internationally under the Laowa brand. Its headquarters and manufacturing activities are located in Hefei, while sales and marketing operations have also been associated with Hong Kong and the United States. The company’s public identity has been shaped by its founder and technical leader, Dayong Li. Li is identified as Venus Optics’ founder, managing director, and chief developer. He studied opto-electronic engineering at Beijing Institute of Technology. Reference material also describes him as having been involved in a number of Tamron lens-development projects, including work connected with the 24–70mm f/2.8 and 70–200mm f/2.8 product categories. The supplied sources do not provide a complete employment chronology or independently document the precise scope of every project attributed to him. Venus Optics began with a lens designed to demonstrate the company’s preference for unconventional optical solutions. The Laowa 60mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro provided 2:1 magnification and could focus to infinity, enabling both extreme close-up work and ordinary distant focusing. The company then introduced the Laowa 15mm f/4 Wide Angle Macro, which offered 1:1 reproduction from a notably wide perspective. This lens allowed photographers to include environmental context around a close subject, although its very short working distance at 1:1 magnification limited practical clearance. The subsequent Laowa range developed around several recurring themes: ultra-macro reproduction, rectilinear ultra-wide views, low distortion, shift movements, and very large apertures. The company produced lenses for full-frame, APS-C, Micro Four Thirds, and Fujifilm G-mount cameras. The Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D became a prominent example of its full-frame ultra-wide approach, using the Zero-D designation to communicate an emphasis on controlling barrel distortion. The Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO represented a further development of its macro offering and is identified in the reference material as an exception to the otherwise predominantly manual lens lineup because of its electronic integration. Manual operation has been a defining feature of much of the brand’s catalog. Many lenses do not autofocus and do not electronically communicate aperture, focal-length, or other lens information to the camera. They also generally lack lens-based optical stabilization and automatic aperture control. These characteristics make them less automated than many mainstream camera lenses, but they can suit macro, landscape, architecture, and cinematography, where photographers and filmmakers often work deliberately and value mechanical control. The reference material indicates that Venus Optics has not ruled out producing additional electronically enabled designs. The company later broadened its activities from still photography into motion-picture optics. Its output includes traditional cinema lenses and anamorphic lenses, allowing the Laowa name to address filmmakers as well as still-image creators. This expansion retained the company’s emphasis on specialized optical effects and formats rather than presenting the brand as a general-purpose replacement for every mainstream camera-lens category. Marketing has relied heavily on demonstrations of creative possibilities. Since 2017, Laowa has organized international initiatives using the “New Idea, New Fun” slogan. It began the Laowa Photo Competition in 2017, initially focusing on work made with Laowa lenses before permitting photographs taken with lenses from other manufacturers. By 2021, other brands had participated through collaboration or prize sponsorship. In early 2021, Laowa also began presenting interviews with photographers under the “Laowagrapher” label. Later that year, its Laowa Video Marathon assembled ten invited videographers and YouTubers to create ten one-minute films, with each film’s opening designed to connect to the ending of the preceding film. These product and communication choices position Venus Optics as a specialist optics maker serving photographers and filmmakers who seek uncommon perspectives, extreme magnification, low-distortion ultra-wide coverage, or manual control. The supplied reference materials do not establish financial results, a public listing, ownership beyond the identified operating company, or any major legal or reputational scandal. The company is described as active and continues to market Laowa-branded lenses internationally.
- 2021
Laowagrapher creator profiles begin
[1]Laowa introduces a series profiling emerging photographers from multiple countries.
- 2021
Laowa Video Marathon launches
[1]The invitation-only program commissions ten connected one-minute films from videographers and online video creators.
- 2017
Laowa begins its photo competition program
[1]Laowa launches the Laowa Photo Competition and begins using international creative campaigns built around the “New Idea, New Fun” slogan.
- 2013
Venus Optics is founded
[1]Venus Optics is established in Hefei, Anhui, China, with Dayong Li identified as founder, managing director, and chief developer.
- 2013
First Laowa lens launches
[1]The Laowa 60mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro becomes the company’s first lens, combining 2:1 magnification with infinity focus.
- 2013
Wide-angle macro capability is introduced
[1]Venus Optics releases the Laowa 15mm f/4 Wide Angle Macro, offering 1:1 magnification from an unusually wide field of view.
Products and positioning
Specialist and enthusiast-oriented photographic and cinema optics, emphasizing unusual focal lengths, macro capabilities, distortion control, and manual creative control.
Ultra-macro photographic lens · 2013
Laowa 60mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro
Venus Optics’ first lens, designed for extreme close-up photography. It offers a 2:1 reproduction ratio and can focus to infinity, allowing it to move between high-magnification macro work and more conventional subjects. Its combination of magnification and focusing range established the Laowa brand’s emphasis on unusual optical specifications.
Wide-angle macro lens · 2013
Laowa 15mm f/4 Wide Angle Macro
A distinctive macro lens that provides 1:1 reproduction at a very wide 15mm focal length. The design is intended to place a close subject within its environment, retaining background context that would normally disappear at longer macro focal lengths. Its short working distance at maximum magnification requires careful subject and lighting management.
Full-frame ultra-wide-angle lens
Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D
A full-frame ultra-wide-angle lens associated with Laowa’s low-distortion design philosophy. The Zero-D designation signals an effort to reduce the barrel distortion commonly associated with very short focal lengths. It is suited to landscape, architecture, interiors, and other applications where a broad field of view and controlled geometry are important.
Apochromatic ultra-macro lens
Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO
A 100mm macro lens offering up to 2:1 magnification and apochromatic optical correction. It extends Venus Optics’ high-magnification specialty while providing a longer working distance than the company’s shorter macro designs. The reference material identifies it as an exception to the predominantly manual Laowa range because it includes electronic functionality in at least some versions.
Cinema lenses
Laowa cinema lenses
A group of motion-picture lenses developed for cinematography rather than still photography. The cinema range extends Laowa’s specialty-optics approach to video production, where manual focus, controlled aperture operation, and distinctive optical rendering can be valuable.
Anamorphic cinema lenses
Laowa anamorphic lenses
Anamorphic products for filmmakers seeking the characteristic image geometry and cinematic rendering associated with anamorphic capture. The supplied sources confirm that Venus Optics produces anamorphic optics but do not provide a complete model list or detailed technical specifications.
Marketing campaigns
- 2021Laowa Video Marathon
International
An invitation-only video initiative gathered ten videographers and YouTubers to produce ten one-minute short films. Each film was structured so that its opening shot matched or connected with the preceding film’s ending.
Outcome. The program created a connected showcase of Laowa’s cinema and specialty lenses. No performance metrics are provided in the sources.
- 2021Laowagrapher
International
Laowa interviewed and presented emerging photographers from different countries under the Laowagrapher label, using creator stories to demonstrate the brand’s lenses and photographic community.
Outcome. The series expanded Laowa’s creator-focused communications; the supplied sources do not report quantified results.
- 2017New Idea, New Fun
International
Laowa began organizing international marketing initiatives around the “New Idea, New Fun” slogan, emphasizing experimentation and creative uses of specialty lenses.
Outcome. The campaign platform became a recurring part of Laowa’s international brand communication.
- 2017Laowa Photo Competition
International
Laowa launched a photography competition to encourage users to share images made with its lenses. The program later broadened to accept images made with other brands’ lenses, and by 2021 other companies were participating through collaboration or prize sponsorship.
Outcome. The competition continued as a creator-engagement and product-demonstration vehicle; the supplied sources do not state audience figures or commercial results.
Brand decisions
2013
Launch of the 60mm f/2.8 2X Ultra MacroProduct launchBackground
Venus Optics entered the lens market with a product emphasizing capabilities not common in conventional macro lenses.
Action taken
The company released a full-frame 60mm macro lens with 2:1 magnification and infinity focus.
Aftermath
The product established Laowa’s reputation for specialized and unconventional optical designs.
2013
Launch of the 15mm f/4 Wide Angle MacroProduct launchBackground
The company sought to extend macro photography beyond conventional medium-telephoto focal lengths.
Action taken
Venus Optics released a 15mm lens capable of 1:1 macro reproduction while retaining an unusually broad perspective.
Aftermath
The lens reinforced the brand’s differentiation through unusual focal lengths and specialized photographic applications.
- Expansion from still photography into cinema opticsStrategy
Background
Venus Optics had established a portfolio centered on manual and specialty photographic lenses.
Action taken
The company expanded the Laowa range to include traditional cinema lenses and anamorphic lenses.
Aftermath
The move broadened the brand’s addressable audience to filmmakers while preserving its emphasis on distinctive optical designs.
Recent events
- 2021
Laowa launches the Laowa Video Marathon[1]
Campaign
The invitation-only program brought together ten videographers and YouTubers to produce a sequence of connected one-minute films.
- 2021
Laowa introduces the Laowagrapher creator series[1]
Campaign
Laowa profiled emerging photographers from around the world in a series designed to showcase creative use of its lenses.
Venus Optics introduces the Laowa 60mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro[1]
Product launch
The company’s first lens established its specialty focus by combining 2:1 macro magnification with the ability to focus at infinity.
Venus Optics develops a wide-angle macro lens with 1:1 reproduction[1]
Product launch
The Laowa 15mm f/4 Wide Angle Macro extended the company’s unusual-lens strategy by offering 1:1 macro photography from a very wide angle of view.
Laowa expands into cinema and anamorphic optics[1]
Product generation · Other
In addition to still-photography lenses, Venus Optics developed conventional cinema lenses and anamorphic products.
Sources2 sources
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