Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2:1 Ultra Macro lens review with samples (Full-frame & APS-C)
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- Опубліковано 4 вер 2024
- Another lens with a difference from Venus Optics - this one was a lot of fun to test out.
Find it here (Amazon affiliate link) (Be sure to get the right lens for your camera system - this is the Sony E mount version):
geni.us/laowa1...
All pictures taken by me on Canon 6D, EOS M3, and Sony a7R II cameras.
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A very interesting lens, and a great review. I've got a copy in transit to me right now for review, so I look forward to playing with it. Spring is a great time for macro.
I ever wait your reviews to buy a lens but this time...
This is a must-buy. All metal, APO, 2:1, 450$...
What else?
I look forward to your review Dustin
Hey Dustin. Do you think it makes a difference if I use a breakthrough photography or BW front filter instead of the one they provide? I know in macro every detail counts. What do you think? Thanks.
The CA control on this lens is crazy! the best that I have seen.
what is CA?
It means chromatic aberration mate
@Foto4Max Well, there really aren't many macro lenses faster than f2.8 and even some of those aren't true macro(they "only" achieve a 1:2 magnification) and this one being able to do 2:1 while still being able to focus to infinity it's a one of it's kind of lens.
Marcos is this lens really that great? I admit to being a canon snob who loves their really sharp 180mm macro lens. I’ve also used canons IS 100mm and own the 65mm MPE lens. Love macro. Is this 100mm really just as sharp and how about the colors? What are your thoughts on the 15mm wide angle macro too? Thanks
Agreed
@2:52 a small addition, from the venus optics site :
"Only Canon EF version is equipped with a CPU chip and motor for aperture control via the camera. All other mounts are manual and aperture is controlled by the aperture ring on the lens."
Also another difference, the Cannon EF version has only 9 aperture blades while the other versions have 13 ....
So for Rf mount also better to go for EF version and use with adapter.
I basically wait your review before buying any lens. :)
Same here.
Chris Frost and Dust. Abbott.
LOL Same here Wei Liu !!!
Same. In addition, I make my decisions based on the reviews.
Same here.
I pre-ordered this lens earlier this month after my old macro lens broke - can't wait to get my hands on it!
I was looking forward to your review - I really value your opinion on lenses, and enjoy your videos immensely!
Laowa is making great strides; who would have thought that a Chinese lens maker would be on the wish list for many photographers twenty or even ten years ago.
Christopher, I just discovered your channel and thank you for the quality of the reviews you deliver. For me, your charts, explanation without long-winded side stories are the perfect blend of reviews I seek. Much, much appreciation for your work and sharing it with us.
That LoCA performance is amazing!
Laowa never fails to deliver. Amazing sharpness and low CA everytime.
Is the sharpness REALLY good ?
This lens looks like a dream. So sharp, great color, great background blur, great bokeh balls, no fringing, metal design, reasonably priced. I so want one.
That manufacturer has so many very interesting/unique products!
Your reviews are the most reliable. No bullshiting, no "bought reviews" no "woooow, this lens is a must have, wow!!! the best ever! Such a bokeh!!" blabla, just objective, real, pure information and samples. I love it.
It seems Laowa is starting to become a great lens manufacturer, similarly how Sigma stepped up. Except Laowa lenses (to me) are far more interesting as options, and they optimize their lens sizes (Laowa 7.5mm f2.0 on m4/3 for example). Great lens by the look of it!
I forget who said it, but I've heard it said that Laowa finds the spaces in between other lenses and creates very interesting and niche lenses. I think that sums it up, and I'm pretty sure it was a review for the Venus Optics Laowa 24mm f/14 Probe Lens
Laowa has always been a great lens manufacturer but people never gave them a chance thinking it was just a Chinese manufacturer. Reality is, ive slowly shifted a lot of my work to Laowa. They fill out focal lengths that everyone else neglects.
I have been waiting different UA-camrs to test this lens, turns out you are the first few UA-camr to test it, lovely :)
The formula for how much darker the image becomes at macro distances is that for every 1X of magnification, the exposure/effective aperture becomes 1 stop darker. So a lens at f/2.8 shooting at 1X magnification will expose as if it as at f/4, 2X magnification will effectively be like f/5.6, and at 5X magnification will have an effective aperture of f/16! However, the depth of field still becomes thinner as you would normally expect from focusing closer.
I tall about it in my Photo101 video about macro extension tubes :-)
Hi Christopher, I really hoped that you make this lens review and you did it! Thank you very much it was very useful!
Thanks for the test.
Recently I bought the Canon 100mm L Macro.
If I would have waited a little longer...
Thank you so much Chris! Your reviews are just the best.
Laowa - Venus Optics So are your products, we had to wait a bit for this lens but it was worth it :)
I just got my copy of this lens few days ago , and i love it ,
excellent build quality , smooth turning focus ring , good macro performance of cause , also a good portrait photo lens too ,
i use it with my fuji xh1 (which via fringer ef-fx pro ) , no problem at all
i also got a tripod collar and a lens bag by pre-ordered the lens
by the time i wonder you may interest in this lens , and you already got it !
i hope you enjoy it !
With the Fringer Canon to Fuji adapter, mounted to the Fuji X-H1 do you receive the full EXIF data (camera body, lens, focal length, aperture, shutter speed, date and time) recorded with the image?
This is incredible performance for a lens at this price point. Great review!
Your voice is very calmful
Hi Christopher. Great video as always! I would love to hear your opinion on Color Rendering and Contrast of this lens compare to Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS Lens. Thank you!
Kickass lens. Amazing it still does so well at infinity and 2:1.
3:58 "if you look carefully" *screen becomes 99% black*
Yes.. hardly noticeable xD
Love your reviews so much, my go-to when I wonder what a lens is like :)
I own this lens , and I love it … Image quality is simply stunning
Thank you for the fantastic review ! One of the most competent out here.
As always, another well done lens review, thanks, Jay!
Great review as always! This will be the next lens I buy! And congratulations on Laowa posting your review on their website! Keep up the awesome work!
YESSSSSS THAT IS WHAT WE WERE WAITING FOR!!!
Please make a video with all all macro lens
6:50 it's been observed by other lens reviewers that mid-frame performance can be worse than edge performance. So the slightly softer corner performance on APS-c may reflect this phenomenon rather than the sensor's higher pixel density.
I can't comment on the mid-frame performance without further data, but that 24mp APS Sony CMOS has the highest pixel density among the three cameras tested. If you scale it's size up to full flame, its resolution'd become 1.5^2 * 24mp or 54mp. The relatively lower corner sharpness was likely stemmed from this.
I love when you say it's me.
In my opinion BEST macro lens out there! Maybe there are some that are 1 or 2% better, but dor about 5 x the price. Good werk Laowa! 👏
I'm from Argentina, and boy... I did not see 7:14 coming. I 100% don't mean to start a political argument or anything like that (I completely understand that, having won a war, the UK's claim on the islands is perfectly legitimate). It's just that, having grown up here, I'm used to hearing the opposite claims. Political statements; public places, schools, hospitals, whole counties named after the islands; you know the drill. It's interesting seeing the subject approached from the other side.
I love your videos :) I check them out as soon as I see a new one is up! And this lens is just wonderful, I've been looking for a decent macro lens for a while and at this price this one looks like an amazing alternative.
It is interesting the different narratives we grow up with. Glad you enjoyed the review and peace to you :-)
Yes, just got my lens for Sony e-mount and YES it has a hood and UV filter which is awesome because I can use that UV on my other lenses, since all but one of them are 67mm... I'm anxious to start working with it ASAP😂
Wow. What a great lense! Thank you for the review 👍
This review is very well made and helpful. Thanks for making this video.
Hit after Hit from Laowa! Crazy hit rate for them since the Zero D series for wide angle lovers and now these macro lenses from the 60mm and now this 100mm 2:1 lens. Such a great time to shoot mirrorless and have lenses that can resolve the newest sensors today. :)
You should try the IRIX 150mm 2.8 Macro
Amazing lens and review, thanks!
Your review convinced me to get one of these which i just did!
I read that that electronic aperture control is just for the canon version. a nikon and sony version can be preordered, too. aaaand the have different numbers of aperture blades!
I really hope it does end up having electronic contacts on the Sony version! Wondering if they made a different design for manual aperture control?.. and why!
I'd prefer to adapt and get the exif, than have a native mount without.
@@KeyLimeyPie222
www.venuslens.net/product/laowa-100mm-f-2-8-2x-macro-apo/
i also cant understand why it is different for sony :(
At least sony has the most aperture blades...
@@snmemich Saw that the day it was announced.. I'm just hoping somehow that it's wrong! :'( I didn't notice the aperture blade difference until you said that, though!
Excellent lens and review!
Dang that's a pretty solid macro lens with the added benifit of a fairly solid portrait/landscape lens. How's that stack up against the Tokina 100mm macro?
They've come a long way since the 60mm, but the open ended lens barrel is a disappointment.
Chris I have a Canon R7 but stuck between 65mm and 100mm venus lenses. I watched both of your reviews, but you physically got to test them. Would you put the 65mm or 100mm on your aspc mirrorless camera? TIA!
Your videos are killer btw and I am addicted to watching them before I purchase any new lenses 🙌
Chris, Another great review. I have notifications on for your channel and watch all your reviews. I have always wondered where you got your test chart? Thanks.
Made it myself :-) it's full of pictures I've taken myself in the past
😱😱Freaking sharp
Love your reviews! Sony has taken a favored spot in this review.
No macro test shots with a Canon 6D, when you have a canon mount lens, was a disappointment. Sony may well take the crown from Canon but not yet. Don’t forget us your Canon shooters and loyal fans.
Just look at the macro test shots on the Sony and imagine them being sharper :-)
Tried that. But my adapted canon glass, on the Sony, wasn’t consistent, especially in low light like macro work. Back to Canon.
@@peepers4763 Not really sure what you mean by that - I've certainly never had any kind of problem like that.
A7iii with a metabones adapter, a Canon EF lens wouldn’t auto focus in shade or low lighting but that same lens was fine in full sun. I tried all of my ef lens on the rented A7iii. No issues with the Sony G Master images, lead me to believe adapted EF lens could be inconsistent on the Sony.
@@peepers4763 I've had no serious problems with my Sigma MC-11 adaptor. Anyway, as I mentioned before, in your case, with this video, just look at the macro test shots on the Sony and imagine them being sharper :-)
This lens looks like good value. I wonder how it compares with the Voigtlaender 110 f/2.5 APO Macro which also has excellent sharpness and lateral/longitudinal chromatic aberration correction.
I'd love to see a direct comparison between this lens and the canon rf 100mm macro. Given the massive price difference yet not so different image quality, it would be a fun watch
Hello! Have you ever been able to find a comparison of these lenses? I’m choosing between the two now and I can’t figure out which one is better in terms of photo quality
@@damien_black I can't remember if I'm honest, but I own the Laowa and I'm very happy with it. However, having auto focus is definitely missed sometimes. The Laowa magnifies closer than the Canon so that's why I chose it
@@JustinMcNeil thanks for the answer!
Just got mine today actually
Only the Canon EF version is auto aperture the other version are manual
Very impressive performance.
'demanding 42 megapixel sensor' ... bingo!!!
Thank you for this helpful vedio , could you please review the 105 macro sigma lens and is it a good lens , thank you 🙏
it's sharp, but it's very slow and loud in focusing and stabilization, low in colors and contrast, bloomy as like all other Sigma EX lenses and pretty dark as in t-stops.
I hope sigma refreshes the rest of their macro lineup soon.
If you can't buy it for a steal, save your money for it's eventual replacement.
i kid, i love your reviews! very helpful!
Hi Chris, i remember You reviewing Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8... Now adapter MC-11 got special update to improve its performance on sony mirrorless.. do you still have an access to that lens? It would be amazing to see how it performs on 42mpix mirrorless body.. Could you re-visit that lens please?
Nope, don't have access to that lens anymore I'm afraid!
@@christopherfrost Thank you kindly for the answer :) Pitty, its 5-6 years that the lens is on the market and yet its still one of a kind...Would love to see how it would perform on Sonies ... :-/ Take care :)
Thanks for the useful review :)
looks pretty good to me
I pre-ordered it with Sony e-mount.
Best macro lens on the market with the lowest price. No sense, they should price it at least 2x times more
Or you can get two!
I think the nikon version has manual aperture control on the lens
Hey Christopher! :) I love your channel and i'm looking for makro lenses at the moment, can you try the meike 85 mm 2:1 makro ?
Thanks for your great review. I definitvely like this lens and think it's very interesting. I am looking for a really good replacement of my Zeiss 100mm Makro Planar f2 that I had for my Nikon D810 before I switched to Sony. I don't really like the Sony 90mm 2.8 Macro (especially the bokeh) and will probably sell it as soon as this Laowa Macro lens becomes available. I like the apo correction, the "pop" of the lens and 2:1 magnification.
thanks for the great review...just want to ask you chris if this would be a great pair to my canon 90d
Your reviews are so thorough I've subbed! Question. Can/would you reverse mount a 50mm lens on this for ultra macro?
Hmm, good question, I've never tried :-)
I shoot mostly narrative short films and want to get a macro lens for close up shots of eyes, mouths, hands and object details. I doubt I will need the 2X level of magnification for this, but presume I can also use this lens for a 1X macro type shot.
Would you recommend this lens over a used Canon 100mm macro lens? The Canon lenses are readily available for $450-500, and highly regarded.
My cameras use EF and L mount, and I already have the Sifma EF to L mount adapter.
Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated!
great video. did the aperture control work with the canon version of the lens coupled with the Sony camera and adapter mount?
This lens is nice, but the problem I’m having is a large ring around the image at 2.8 & 3.2. I use it on a Canon T6s. Do you think the problem is because I use an APS-C camera?
A large ring?!
Christopher Frost Photography Yes. It’s sort of like a halo.
Christopher Frost Photography Here’s a video I did about it: m.ua-cam.com/video/PSj7Rze0BrM/v-deo.html
same thing with my canon m50 with eos-ef adapter. Rings were the immediate first thing I noticed when looking through he liveview, and thought would have to send it back, but took a few photos and when you playback you don't see the rings so disaster averted thnkfully, mildy annoying when looking at your subjects in the live-view but not the end of the world - seems to be a good lens so far...
An excellent review as usual! But when you say the focus ring should be more precise, what do you mean? Is it sticky/jerky or do you wish the travel distance was longer?
I wish the travel distance was a bit longer
Hi Christopher, thanx for all your great vids, do you know if this macro lens will come in Fuji X mount ?
Chris - - Appreciated the John 1:1 sample. A question: will this lens fit on a Nikon D750?
Any other 2x macros with a similar focal length worth comparing this to? In the market for something - was looking at the 1:1 Canon 100mm L (primarily for food photog/film) but the 2x has such potential for fun!
For $450 you could buy a second hand Canon EF 100mm f2.8 L IS. You don't get the 2x macro but you do get IS an AF.
Surprised you still haven't reviewed the Sony 90mm f/2.8 macro. Apparently it's a gem.
I too wondered how that lens compares to this one. Obviously auto focus but wondering about image quality.
I will look at that lens (eventually)
Unfortunately so far dxomark hasn't tested any Laowa lenses yet. I would like to buy this lens but i have know idea about the sharpness of the lens, what is the maximum amount of megapixels that it can 'handle', transfer through this lens?
Also, do you find it usable as a portrait lens at this focal length? I know you briefly commented on that subject, but any further thoughts?
100mm on Fullframe or ~150mm on APS-C. I think this would make a great portrait lens.
Flaring and colour fringing are usually worse on macro lenses tho. I use Tamron 90mm/f2.8 (macro) for portraits and it works great. I would think this lens does too.
Other thank every pimple and blackhead being clear as day due to the sharpness it should be good. Avoid backlit subjects though.
100mm is a great focal length for portrait work.
Very Nice Lens!!!!
I've been trying to decide whether or not to buy the Canon 100mm f2.8 L macro lens for a while now. If AF isn't a big deal to me, would you recommend this lens instead?
If AF isn't a big deal just go for this Laowa lens
@@christopherfrost Thanks! I really love your reviews by the way. I know if a lens is on your channel, I'm always going to see all the important information and no filler material. All quality content. Thanks!
Only the Canon version is electronically controlled! The Sony is all manual, the Nikon is mechanically coupled, but with No chip.
I have APS-C camera, 12mp) Ordered, waiting for delivery. Thank you for video, but I did not understand half of the information, I need to learn English😉. Is this top for my camera?😇
Nice review, Chris! As a user of this Laowa 100 f/2.8 Ultra Macro with a Nikon Z7, while it has proven to be indeed, ultra-sharp, I find that the Focus "throw" is quite short! In other words, when I turn/rotate the manual focus ring on the lens, the focus point changes a LOT! Hence, it's quite difficult to rotate the ring VERY SLIGHTLY, in order to focus precisely on the desired part of the subject! Have you found this to be true, and if so, is there a workaround to achieve optimum focus easier/quicker? Thank you!
Isn’t it available in e mount as well though? You can preorder it on e mount. Thus not needing an adaptor?
He probably did not want to buy 2.
Nordburg he didn’t buy any, they sent it to him to review for two weeks
@@Iruinyourkdr who said he bought any? I hate that guy.
Amazing Lens 🙂
Wow, sound cool
Christopher would this lens be a better buy than a CANON MACRO LENS EF 100mm f2.8 USM w/ included TRIPOD COLLAR ???
Waiting for review of Tokina atx-i 100mm FF lens.
I thank you for the video, but I assume you're throwing Nikon Z in your tags. I am trying to find Nikon specific videos or reviews and the tags are pulling this up on searches. This is the second vid that's using Sony but falls under Nikon searches.
Excellent review. What is the working distance for ultra macro?
Weird I have this lens for my sony a7ii and it does have an aperture ring, and no body communication at all. It's also quite a bit longer due to deeper rear flange in order to compensate for the sensor position in a mirrorless camera
Hi Chris! I really like your videos! I am beginning my journey to macro photography. I am a hobbyist. And I'm on the fence right deciding for 3 macro lenses (this lens, sigma 105mm f2.8, canon 100mm f2.8 non-L). They have similar prices. Which do you think I get for the price range? Thanks a lot!
Is there a new version Laowa 100mm f2.8 CA-Dreamer Macro 2x?
Did I miss the mention of the "working distance" at 2:1 macro ?
Thinking about this Laowa vs. Tokina vs. Samyang. The one, immediate, use would be to photograph picture books to transfer to video. Otherwise I 'might' use it for food photography and typical garden subject photography. For these purposes, I don't see AF as a priority. Also I already have a Samyang trio (18, 35, 75). 2 to 1 sounds nice, but not sure I need it. Any other insight I should be considering? Thanks!
I get confused about Sony lens nomenclature - FE and E. I bought this lens about a year or so ago after seeing your review and am using on my Sony A7RIII and it seems to be doing fine without an adapter. Am I doing something wrong to my camera?
Have you got a video about the Kipon 40mm 0.85 MKII? Interested in this lens.
Coming soon
Why is the coin blurry on the top and bottom?
You mentioned an adapter is needed to electronically connect the lens. I have a Canon EOS RP.. Which is the adapter needed for this camera?
Great review. Will this lens fit directly on Canon EOS 6D Mark I? or I need to buy adapter with it.
No adaptor needed if you get the Canon EF version of the lens
Super review. Nice voice. Great. Is it suitable for Nikon f mounts?
Yes it is!
@@LaowaByVenusOptics Is this fully compatible with nikon d300,apsc old 12.3 mp camera?or do you think 60mm is best for my camera?i want to buy your lens right now