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This foot-long camera lens will give you a bug’s-eye view of the world

This foot-long camera lens will give you a bug’s-eye view of the world

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It also looks totally wild

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The camera lens manufacturers at Venus Optics have just launched their latest creation: a foot-long, skinny camera lens that’s meant to give you a macro view of the tiniest parts of the world.

The Laowa 24mm f/14 2x Macro Probe was developed to give photographers and videographers a “new perspective” and remove traditional barriers that come with using macro lenses. Traditional macro lenses aren’t a foot long, meaning that photographers need to get super close to their subject. This design allows photographers to get those clear, crisp, and close-up shots from a distance and fit their lens in tinier spaces. This is great for shooting wildlife, like tiny bugs or quick-moving animals that might be scared off if a bigger, bulkier camera gets too close.

The lens’s 24mm focal length is also meant to give a wide “bug’s-eye view” that provides more background detail. This combination of features, according to Venus Optics, offers a point of view that no other lens on the market can provide. The company also says the lens’s skinny size means it blocks out less incoming light than a traditional barrel lens would. And for extra brightness, there’s a USB-powered ring-style LED light on its tip.

The lens is being offered with adapters for Canon EF, Nikon F, and Sony FE mounts, as well as Arri PL.

Image: Macro Room

Right now, the lens is being supported through a Kickstarter campaign, similar to the successful campaign that the camera lens manufacturer ran back in 2016. Though this bug’s-eye lens isn’t available for wide release (yet), some of the lucky backers are supposed to start getting their Laowa lenses by October 2018. When it’s on shelves, it’ll retail for about $1,500 USD, according to the site, but advanced backers can get it for just under $1,300 USD.