Thankfully for Fuji shooters, we can list the focal length in the EXIF via a menu. It's fiddly, but very useful when working with a lot of non-electronic lenses. Sadly Sony doesn't write the selected focal length to EXIF (despite users asking for that since the A7II and A7RII came out), and only uses the data for IBIS.
A great review, sir. It's amazing how you managed to consider such a wide variety of parameters and qualities of the lens in such a short video. Highly appreciated.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Dustin!!! All the best for your family :) I bought this lens for my Fuji xt4, and I really loved the results, though I never used the canon mp65 this one is a great lens! Best for you all !
Hi Dustin, I really appreciate that you still reply to comments after that many years . I’m considering getting a canon m6 mark ii with that lens for dental photography. I’ve been trying to figure out if there’s enough distance to get a good lighting with a twin flash (Godox MF-12) to get a smile in frame
Great review. I only miss info on whether it has any focus breathing. I'd like to do more focus bracketing/stacking in macro in the future so it's relevant to me in that regard.
If you really want to mitigate the effects of focus breathing just add in a slider rail to your tripod setup and frame according to your closest point, then just crop off the outer edge after your stack is combined. I think that kind of blending is easier for the software versus in-lens focus adjustment. I've had great results doing this in Helicon. I may be wrong, but I think there is always some change of perspective as you move the focus point at macro distances. Its physics at work.
With practice you can focus stack hand held. What I do is set it to manual focus, set the lens to closest focus, then move my body/camera to focus. Set your camera fps to high, move in until just the very tip of what you photographing is in focus, hold steady, hold your breath, hit the shutter while subtly moving forward. It's really not as hard as you think it will be. A little practice is all you need.
Aah that feeling when a company has such incredible brand and value recognition that you just buy the best deal on Amazon and then watch a review like this and know you've made an amazing investment that you can then partly include in your quotation to the next client. First world blessings.:)
A little late on this...but sometimes late means deals on ebay as it's not on the top of the radar screen. Macro is also a source for abstract work, which, considering the plethora of romantic imagery I keep seeing on my Ultimate Fuji Facebook group needs some attention. The mysterious is always under..well, it's under something...
The $2 Note was not marked by someone. The red circular line is one of the micro threads inside the paper to make it very dificult to counterfeit. I am looming at this lens or the 60mm for my Canob 2000D crop DSLR.
Dustin, great review as always. Very thorough review. However, i apologise if i missed it. But besides the exif data that isn't transmitted to camera due to lack of contacts, are there any other limitations? I'm assuming you still get live view, focus peaking,... Ibis? Thank you
That's superb. Makes me wonder why I'm not getting ibis thru my viltrox when using the Canon 65mpe on my a7r iv. I'll have to dig a bit more. Thanks for your thoroughness as always. I always know j can trust your judgment. All the best
@@sdijnfpo0jaisf You may well be getting IBIS with that combo, but it's ineffective. Image stabilization is very limited in effectiveness at macro magnifications and the MP-E is never at any other distance.
Hi Dustin! Thanks for the high quality review - as usual. Although I have a full frame mirror-less Sony body, but the crop sensor lens version seems even better than the full frame one. Adding the form factor and size advantage, this is tempting to go for me to enter to the field of macro photography at a very reasonable price point. The only reason of my hesitation is the uncertainty of precise focusing based on my less than perfect eyesight. As there is no electronic contact with the body, I assume there are no focus aids (peak, magnification) available. How do you achieve optimal focusing?
And that's a pretty good comp in terms of performance. The Voigtlander has a few advantages, but so does the Laowa with its much better macro capabilities.
Hi Dustin. First let me thank you for such a comprehensive and detailed review of this Macro lens! (Though I still believe that the Fujinon XF80 f/2.8 Macro is sharper.) As I do have prior experience with Nikon, and currently using Fuji's X-T3 (with some stellar Fujinon XF lenses), I was strongly considering going the Z7 route, but just concerned with Nikkor S lens availability, as I shoot primarily wide (24, 35), macro/micro (80), and occasional short telephoto (200-300). I know the Sony System has some quite good optics in those ranges, but not sure about Nikon's roadmap availability (and obviously unknown image quality) of, say, the Nikkor S 105 Micro, and how that would compare to the known stellar Sony 90 f/2.8 Macro G OSS lens. That said, I do love the ergos and body sealing of the Z7. But at the end of the day, I'm most concerned about image sharpness and detail retention when printing large. I'm thinking both systems would satisfy in that regard, but please correct me if I'm wrong. Thank you sir!
These days image quality is rarely the deciding factor. It is more about feature sets and the complete packaging. I would say that autofocus is probably a more important consideration than the ability to have sharp images when printing.
Nikon has just released 2 Z-Mount macro lenses that look decent; the 50mm & 105mm. The only downside seems to be you can't place teleconverters on them.
I very recently purchased the Laowa 100 2:1 macro which you reviewed last year. Your review of that lens was very positive, but seemingly not as glowing as this review of the Laowa 65. Is that the reality? Is the APS-C version of the lens even better?
I do like a few things about the APS-C version better. I didn't love the need for a protection filter on the 100M as part of the optical formula. I liked the focus throw distance a bit better. But I think the bigger factor is that there are far fewer competitors on APS-C. The lens stands out more.
I'm using a6400 and may or may not going up to FF. I have a hard time deciding between this lens and the 100mm version of it. 300 gr weight differences seems a lot, but the 100mm in return have a longer working distance and tiny bit of edge in performance, with a very small price difference...
Hmmm, I don't think I've reviewed a Fuji 80mm. I would be surprised if it matches the resolution of this lens, however, as this lens is exceptionally sharp.
Hi Dustin, thanks for the reviews. How would you compare this against the Voigtlander 65mm f2 APO Lanthar. Or is the Voigtlander leaps and bounds ahead of the Laowa.
First of all, one of those lenses is for full frame, the other for APS-C. Both lenses are incredibly sharp, though I will always favor Voigtlander color, which is a real treat.
Dustin, I have been binging your videos and I must say, I would like to know your top 3 macro lenses knowing what you know today. I have been leaning toward buying the Sony 90mm, but I would really value your top 3 suggestions. Additionally, a possible future video could be a top 5 macro lens breakdown.
Great review. Since you tried it on a Sony mount, I have a question, did you get to try it on a full frame Sony? was the vignetting awful ?The reason I ask this is because it is a very very small lens, and although is designed for aps-c it may be an alternative for those of us who use a high megapixel full frame (like the a7r Iv), please inform !!
Excellent review, lots of detail explanation and samples. For a beginner like me who want to do family portrait and occasionally macro, would you give your insights of using Sigma 56mm f1.4 for portrait and adding extension tube for macro? How does this set compared with true macro lens for macro photography? Thanks for your insight.
Extension tubes are useful (though more limiting than a dedicated macro lens). The macro performance with extension tubes will depend a lot on the particular lenses ability to resolve fine details at close focus distances. I didn't test the Sigma for that, so I can't comment.
Hi Dustin, good piece of content! I am looking for a inexpensive macro lens to shoot videos of wristwatches details. Would you recommend it with an Xt3? Thank you
Hi there! I'm using an A6000, relatively new to photography, and I'm looking to get into macro. Currently, I'm primarily looking at the lens subject of this video, the Laowa 65mm ultra macro, and the Zeiss Touit 50mm. The main draw for me of the Zeiss Touit over the Laowa would be that it has autofocus, as well as that 50mm would be better suited for landscape & portrait photography as well. Seeing as I'd like to use as few lenses as possible, that's quite a thing. Sadly, it's really hard to find any real information on the Zeiss Touit series, especially the 50mm. So I was wondering if you could maybe give somewhat of a comparison. I'm mainly curious whether one is optically stronger than the other, and where the differences lie.
This lens is definitely sharper than the Touit, though yes, the Zeiss does enjoy autofocus (thought not top tier AF since it is an older lens). I'd personally probably go with this lens unless no AF is a dealbreaker for you.
Great review! I'm new to photography. I'm planning to switch to Sony (Sony a6100). I've never used such type of lens. Do I have preview on my screen when changing aperture or shutter speed (just like any other mirrorless camera)? There isn't any electronic connection to a camera. I’m a little confused. :D
This lens has plenty of resolution for the 40MP sensor. When you ask what I'm using to make videos, are you talking about filming them? If so, that information is at the end of each of my reviews.
Hello Dustin. I've been recently considering this lens for my Fujifilm X-S10 and been wondering wether the 19cm focus distance for 1:1 magnification ratio for instance is measured from the sensor? Which would mean there's 9cm left between the front of the lens and the subject? Perhaps not very ideal when shooting insects. I'm concerned about that. Thank you.
Hey Dustin. I got a Nikon Z7 and I want a 2:! magnification, since my Nikkor Z 105mm MC only can do 1:1, the Nikon Z7 is a a fullframe with 45,7 MP, Would this Laowa lens fit the cam?
There is a Nikon Z mount version of the new Laowa 90mm F2.8 (ua-cam.com/video/JLA5Bpk1ZCY/v-deo.html). It's the lens you want for your Z7 - it's awesome.
Despite no electronic contacts, it is possible with Laowa macro 2x 65mm or 100mm to see the image through live view of Sony body? Can I see the correct exposure through live view before shooting? Can I use the stabilization of the body or not?
@@DustinAbbottTWI I think I understand. Laowa got away with halving the weight and decreasing the length by a third, without compromising on the image quality. Your review shows this lens has incredible precision optics.I think I'm going for this one as well, even though I wish it had electronic exif pins like the Zeiss Loxia lenses.
Hi Dustin I’m new to photography I purchased Laowa 100mm 2.8 I’m using on Canon M50 and I think it’s too heavy for macro photography. Thinking to change for 65mm Laowa Will this work better on my camera?? Thank you 😊
Hello from Greece . I'm thinking of buying the Laowa 65mm f / 2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO to use with a sony a6300. What is your opinion? Will it be difficult without a tripod outdoors for macro photography? What would you do in my place? 100 drachmas of Greece ... where did you find this banknote?Well done for the work you did ... offering us this video ....
Hi Petros, doing handheld macro when your camera doesn't have IBIS either is tough. As for the banknote, I've collected world currency for a number of years, so I've probably had it for decades.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Hello again. I'm still thinking about buying the Laowa 65mm f / 2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO for use now with a Sony A6600. In SteadyShot Settings, however, it does not have 65mm (....... 50mm, 55mm, 60mm, 70mm, 75mm, .......). How will I adjust it manually 65mm ???
@@petrosdiamantis8591 I also have the a6600 and interested in this lens. Wondering if you ever got it and figured out the IBIS situation to work with this lens?
@@DustinAbbottTWI allright then, i ask fuji and they say all their xf lenses are apochromatic. But must say, its never on the spec sheets, which i think its strange, because its worth to show it, right?!
Thanks, I am looking at that Camera and I just picked up a really nice legacy 300mm f/2.8 L New FD from Japan to throw on my R/RP setup. Looking at some deep space astrophotography with a star tracker. I could get even more of a distance with the M6 MkII. Thanks again Tom
Great review! Just wondering would this lens be suitable for shooting macros shots insects given its close focus distance and the lack of autofocus? Currently deciding between this and the Fuji XF80mm lens.
That obviously would depend on the insect. Insect photography is a unique discipline because of the need for more working distance. Often longer focal lengths work better for that reason, though I've seen some amazing insect macros taken with this lens.
Totally agree with you on that. That's what made me hesitate in buying the lens as I'm worried that the working distance might be too short if I wanted to shoot macros shots of insect. But it is really light compared Fuji's XF80mm lens so im kinda stuck in a dilemma now😂
@@DustinAbbottTWI "Insect photography is a unique discipline because of the need for more working distance." ... particularly if the subject is recent our immigrant 'Murder Hornets' :-)
Has anybody tried it with a full frame sony a7iii? It gives vignetting, but switching to apsc can fix that, and what about the image quality on full frame?
Mine came with a couple smears of something on the lens. I don’t mind cleaning a few specks of dust, but I should not have to spend the time getting out my lens cleaning equipment to clean a new lens. Bad quality control. Past about 8 feet the focus is way too soft and unusable for me for anything other than macro shots. I wish I had returned it and would not recommend it. I was hoping to use the lens for more than just macro. I don’t take it when I travel due to its limited usefulness. Chinese lens seem to have a higher number of bad examples than the Japanese or German lenses.
That's shocking to me, actually. I have never heard anyone report anything like that from Laowa before (and I've purchased several of their lenses myself). This lens is one of the sharpest APS-C lenses ever, so I do not believe that it was soft past 8 feet...unless severely damaged.
Hi guys. I have a Canon 100mm f/2.8L IS USM. I think it might be malfunctioning in auto-focus or IS, but I don't use either. It takes okay photos, color sharpness is amazing, but it's hard for me to use. I like getting closer to my subjects and the focus area moves a lot because lens is long. I really want to exchange this for the Laowa 65mm because it's lighter and it goes to 2x. Would I be disappointed if I did this. My main concern is the color reproduction and image fidelity. Opinions?
@@DustinAbbottTWI Thanks, I seen a few videos of people using the 60mm on Full Frame but, I think you get some vignetting. The Laowa Macros are on sale right now so I decided to pick up the 100mm.
Titled "definitive review": sorta like standing in front of a movie theater after the credits roll, saying, "hey everybody, listen up, I am going to give you the definitive review of this movie you just watched."
What are you, 12? This is easily the best video on this lens, tonnes of valuable info - go back to watching pewdie pie vids with your short attention span
Can't believe how sharp this lens is. It seems almost a waste to use a small depth of field. This is the best review I've seen on it.
My pleasure.
Thankfully for Fuji shooters, we can list the focal length in the EXIF via a menu. It's fiddly, but very useful when working with a lot of non-electronic lenses.
Sadly Sony doesn't write the selected focal length to EXIF (despite users asking for that since the A7II and A7RII came out), and only uses the data for IBIS.
I agree that this is a good Fuji feature that others should copy.
A great review, sir. It's amazing how you managed to consider such a wide variety of parameters and qualities of the lens in such a short video. Highly appreciated.
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks Dustin I went and purchased this due to you reviewing of the full frame I needed APC wanted smaller package glad I did as well
It's a great lens.
I have been waiting for a good review of this lens. Thank you!
You're welcome!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Dustin!!! All the best for your family :) I bought this lens for my Fuji xt4, and I really loved the results, though I never used the canon mp65 this one is a great lens! Best for you all !
This is a very good one. Super sharp!
Awesome review 😎
Thank you!
Hi Dustin, I really appreciate that you still reply to comments after that many years .
I’m considering getting a canon m6 mark ii with that lens for dental photography. I’ve been trying to figure out if there’s enough distance to get a good lighting with a twin flash (Godox MF-12) to get a smile in frame
I would definitely say yes.
Many thanks.
Great review. I only miss info on whether it has any focus breathing. I'd like to do more focus bracketing/stacking in macro in the future so it's relevant to me in that regard.
Good question. I just tested and there is quite a bit of focus breathing.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Thanks for your reply. A shame. :( Looked like the perfect future lens for me in every other area.
If you really want to mitigate the effects of focus breathing just add in a slider rail to your tripod setup and frame according to your closest point, then just crop off the outer edge after your stack is combined. I think that kind of blending is easier for the software versus in-lens focus adjustment. I've had great results doing this in Helicon. I may be wrong, but I think there is always some change of perspective as you move the focus point at macro distances. Its physics at work.
@@Elgsdyr Focus breathing is going to be unavoidable, if I'm not mistaken. Macro rails would help.
With practice you can focus stack hand held. What I do is set it to manual focus, set the lens to closest focus, then move my body/camera to focus. Set your camera fps to high, move in until just the very tip of what you photographing is in focus, hold steady, hold your breath, hit the shutter while subtly moving forward. It's really not as hard as you think it will be. A little practice is all you need.
Best review out of all the reviews, u really went into detail, ur thoughts, the good, the bad, sample image, love it man! thank u so much.
Glad you liked it!
Thanks man, I've been waiting for more reviews about this lense. Won't hesitate to pick one 😉👌🏻
I don't blame you. It's a solid lens.
Great review, Dustin! Thanks for being so detailed and including all the sample images.
My pleasure!
Great review, Dustin! Useful and comprehensive. Thanks! I think this will be great on my Fuji X-H1.
That's a good application. I like it best on cameras with IBIS.
Excellent review Dustin! Decided to buy one after watching your video, cheers! :)
It's a really great choice.
Aah that feeling when a company has such incredible brand and value recognition that you just buy the best deal on Amazon and then watch a review like this and know you've made an amazing investment that you can then partly include in your quotation to the next client. First world blessings.:)
It is that.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Thank you as always for all that you do.:)
I know this review is a few years old, would you ever retest it with the xh-2 to see if the IQ holds up on 40mp?
A little late on this...but sometimes late means deals on ebay as it's not on the top of the radar screen. Macro is also a source for abstract work, which, considering the plethora of romantic imagery I keep seeing on my Ultimate Fuji Facebook group needs some attention. The mysterious is always under..well, it's under something...
It's a killer lens, for sure.
The $2 Note was not marked by someone. The red circular line is one of the micro threads inside the paper to make it very dificult to counterfeit.
I am looming at this lens or the 60mm for my Canob 2000D crop DSLR.
That's interesting.
Thx for the review. Helped me decide.
Glad to help out.
Glad to help out.
Dustin, great review as always. Very thorough review.
However, i apologise if i missed it. But besides the exif data that isn't transmitted to camera due to lack of contacts, are there any other limitations? I'm assuming you still get live view, focus peaking,... Ibis?
Thank you
You still get all those things, though you will need to manually select the correct focal length for IBIS.
That's superb. Makes me wonder why I'm not getting ibis thru my viltrox when using the Canon 65mpe on my a7r iv. I'll have to dig a bit more.
Thanks for your thoroughness as always. I always know j can trust your judgment. All the best
@@sdijnfpo0jaisf You may well be getting IBIS with that combo, but it's ineffective. Image stabilization is very limited in effectiveness at macro magnifications and the MP-E is never at any other distance.
Love the old German d-mark bill.
I heard that pretty often.
what a great review. Thank you! (also, SO great that you didn't use Imperial measurements for everything) :D
I try to use both as much as possible, as my audience is pretty bifurcated.
Very good reviews. Thank you so much!!
My pleasure!
Hi Dustin! Thanks for the high quality review - as usual. Although I have a full frame mirror-less Sony body, but the crop sensor lens version seems even better than the full frame one. Adding the form factor and size advantage, this is tempting to go for me to enter to the field of macro photography at a very reasonable price point. The only reason of my hesitation is the uncertainty of precise focusing based on my less than perfect eyesight. As there is no electronic contact with the body, I assume there are no focus aids (peak, magnification) available. How do you achieve optimal focusing?
Good news is that all manual focus aids are still available. Those are not reliant on electronics.
its a 98/100 greatness，at this price with voigtlander 65 apo level peformance，just cant beat。
And that's a pretty good comp in terms of performance. The Voigtlander has a few advantages, but so does the Laowa with its much better macro capabilities.
awesome video
Thank you!
Fantastic review Dustin. Great photos, great examples, specific, detailed, and relevant facts. Thank you!
You’re welcome
Hi Dustin. First let me thank you for such a comprehensive and detailed review of this Macro lens! (Though I still believe that the Fujinon XF80 f/2.8 Macro is sharper.) As I do have prior experience with Nikon, and currently using Fuji's X-T3 (with some stellar Fujinon XF lenses), I was strongly considering going the Z7 route, but just concerned with Nikkor S lens availability, as I shoot primarily wide (24, 35), macro/micro (80), and occasional short telephoto (200-300). I know the Sony System has some quite good optics in those ranges, but not sure about Nikon's roadmap availability (and obviously unknown image quality) of, say, the Nikkor S 105 Micro, and how that would compare to the known stellar Sony 90 f/2.8 Macro G OSS lens. That said, I do love the ergos and body sealing of the Z7. But at the end of the day, I'm most concerned about image sharpness and detail retention when printing large. I'm thinking both systems would satisfy in that regard, but please correct me if I'm wrong. Thank you sir!
These days image quality is rarely the deciding factor. It is more about feature sets and the complete packaging. I would say that autofocus is probably a more important consideration than the ability to have sharp images when printing.
Nikon has just released 2 Z-Mount macro lenses that look decent; the 50mm & 105mm. The only downside seems to be you can't place teleconverters on them.
Great review as always. I wondered how you would compare this to the Fuji 80mm macro. Have you used that lens?
I haven't used it yet.
I very recently purchased the Laowa 100 2:1 macro which you reviewed last year. Your review of that lens was very positive, but seemingly not as glowing as this review of the Laowa 65. Is that the reality? Is the APS-C version of the lens even better?
I do like a few things about the APS-C version better. I didn't love the need for a protection filter on the 100M as part of the optical formula. I liked the focus throw distance a bit better. But I think the bigger factor is that there are far fewer competitors on APS-C. The lens stands out more.
@@DustinAbbottTWI not to mention having less weight hanging off the front of a APCS size camera :-)
I'm using a6400 and may or may not going up to FF. I have a hard time deciding between this lens and the 100mm version of it. 300 gr weight differences seems a lot, but the 100mm in return have a longer working distance and tiny bit of edge in performance, with a very small price difference...
It's a tough call, for sure. I can remember being in that undecided place between APS-C and full frame.
Hi Justin, Thanks for good review. Would you say this is a good len for negative film scanning and good to hear your view? Thanks
I think it would. Low distortion, very high sharpness, no chromatic aberrations.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Thanks.
excepted the autofocus, it looks like a great lense for portrait photography! How does it compare to the Fuji 80 mm ?
Hmmm, I don't think I've reviewed a Fuji 80mm. I would be surprised if it matches the resolution of this lens, however, as this lens is exceptionally sharp.
Hi Dustin, thanks for the reviews. How would you compare this against the Voigtlander 65mm f2 APO Lanthar. Or is the Voigtlander leaps and bounds ahead of the Laowa.
First of all, one of those lenses is for full frame, the other for APS-C. Both lenses are incredibly sharp, though I will always favor Voigtlander color, which is a real treat.
Dustin, I have been binging your videos and I must say, I would like to know your top 3 macro lenses knowing what you know today. I have been leaning toward buying the Sony 90mm, but I would really value your top 3 suggestions. Additionally, a possible future video could be a top 5 macro lens breakdown.
I would need more clarification, as you're posing this question on an APS-C specific macro review but mention a full frame Sony as well.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Full frame Sony.
So, does the front element move in and out during focusing? You obscured the front lens when focusing. Not sure why.
The front element does not move out. All focus is internal.
Great review. Since you tried it on a Sony mount, I have a question, did you get to try it on a full frame Sony? was the vignetting awful ?The reason I ask this is because it is a very very small lens, and although is designed for aps-c it may be an alternative for those of us who use a high megapixel full frame (like the a7r Iv), please inform !!
This is not designed to cover the full frame image circle (look at the text review), so you will have mechanical vignetting (complete black).
Excellent review, lots of detail explanation and samples. For a beginner like me who want to do family portrait and occasionally macro, would you give your insights of using Sigma 56mm f1.4 for portrait and adding extension tube for macro? How does this set compared with true macro lens for macro photography? Thanks for your insight.
Extension tubes are useful (though more limiting than a dedicated macro lens). The macro performance with extension tubes will depend a lot on the particular lenses ability to resolve fine details at close focus distances. I didn't test the Sigma for that, so I can't comment.
So will the peaking display function not work with this lens? I use the A7iii as my camera.
Cheers
Peaking display will work, as that works off of contrast edges from within the camera.
@@DustinAbbottTWI cool. This seems like an ideal option for trying some proper macro. A cheaper alternative to the 90mm Sony Macro. Cheers
Hi Dustin, good piece of content! I am looking for a inexpensive macro lens to shoot videos of wristwatches details. Would you recommend it with an Xt3? Thank you
I definitely would. That's an awesome combo.
Great review of a very sharp looking lens. Do you know if focus peaking is possible using this lens on a Fujifilm camera? (I have the X-S10)
Yes it is.
Nice review sir, thinking to get one for Sony.
Good choice
Hello, nice video. Would you recommend this one over the FUJINON 80mm f2.8 ?
I would, if you don't mind manual focus. It's a fabulous macro lens.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Even for food photography?
Hi there!
I'm using an A6000, relatively new to photography, and I'm looking to get into macro.
Currently, I'm primarily looking at the lens subject of this video, the Laowa 65mm ultra macro, and the Zeiss Touit 50mm. The main draw for me of the Zeiss Touit over the Laowa would be that it has autofocus, as well as that 50mm would be better suited for landscape & portrait photography as well. Seeing as I'd like to use as few lenses as possible, that's quite a thing.
Sadly, it's really hard to find any real information on the Zeiss Touit series, especially the 50mm. So I was wondering if you could maybe give somewhat of a comparison. I'm mainly curious whether one is optically stronger than the other, and where the differences lie.
This lens is definitely sharper than the Touit, though yes, the Zeiss does enjoy autofocus (thought not top tier AF since it is an older lens). I'd personally probably go with this lens unless no AF is a dealbreaker for you.
Great review! I'm new to photography. I'm planning to switch to Sony (Sony a6100). I've never used such type of lens. Do I have preview on my screen when changing aperture or shutter speed (just like any other mirrorless camera)? There isn't any electronic connection to a camera. I’m a little confused. :D
You do get the live view on your screen. It mostly behaves as normal, save you have to control aperture and focus.
Nice and scientific review.
I am wondering how well will this work on xh2 (40 megapixel)?
One more thing , what are you using to make videos?
This lens has plenty of resolution for the 40MP sensor. When you ask what I'm using to make videos, are you talking about filming them? If so, that information is at the end of each of my reviews.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Thanks for the reply. I ment also what kind of software you use for editing the video (cutting, trimming , ...)?
Have you tested the Sony 90mm macro?
I haven't. At some point I will.
taken the price away, is the 80 mm Fuji significantly better than the 65mm Laowa?
I haven’t tested the 80mm, but I’ve seen very few macro lenses sharper than the Laowa
Is it good for diamond photography? That can give me natural color and perfact reflection of diamond. Please let me know it will help me alot. 🙏
It should work well for that.
Hello Dustin. I've been recently considering this lens for my Fujifilm X-S10 and been wondering wether the 19cm focus distance for 1:1 magnification ratio for instance is measured from the sensor? Which would mean there's 9cm left between the front of the lens and the subject? Perhaps not very ideal when shooting insects. I'm concerned about that. Thank you.
That would be measured from the sensor.
Thank you.
Hey Dustin. I got a Nikon Z7 and I want a 2:! magnification, since my Nikkor Z 105mm MC only can do 1:1, the Nikon Z7 is a a fullframe with 45,7 MP, Would this Laowa lens fit the cam?
There is a Nikon Z mount version of the new Laowa 90mm F2.8 (ua-cam.com/video/JLA5Bpk1ZCY/v-deo.html). It's the lens you want for your Z7 - it's awesome.
Despite no electronic contacts, it is possible with Laowa macro 2x 65mm or 100mm to see the image through live view of Sony body? Can I see the correct exposure through live view before shooting? Can I use the stabilization of the body or not?
Yes to all of that, though you will have to manually set the focal length for IBIS because the camera can't detect that.
Yes and on the Sony you can also use an external HDMI monitor (a blessing for some of us older folk :-)
What about L- mount?
It doesn't appear to be available for L-mount.
Hello. I don't have image stabilisation on the sensor on my fuji X-T20 camera. Is it still a usable lens in that case ?
Best regards.
Yes, though you'll probably want to mostly use it on a tripod.
So going from 1x to 2x is not the same as going from, say, 30mm to 60mm? Its not zooming in more?
Not really...it's increasing magnification by moving closer to the subject.
Dustin I have both Full Frame camera and APS-C camera. Which lens would you recommend me to buy between this 65mm vs the FF 100mm?
In some ways I actually like this one better.
@@DustinAbbottTWI I think I understand. Laowa got away with halving the weight and decreasing the length by a third, without compromising on the image quality. Your review shows this lens has incredible precision optics.I think I'm going for this one as well, even though I wish it had electronic exif pins like the Zeiss Loxia lenses.
Would you recommend this or the 100mm version for APSC handheld outdoor insect macro?
The 100mm will give you a longer working length, though I do like the 65mm a little better as a lens.
Hi Dustin I’m new to photography
I purchased Laowa 100mm 2.8
I’m using on Canon M50 and I think it’s too heavy for macro photography.
Thinking to change for 65mm Laowa
Will this work better on my camera??
Thank you 😊
The short answer is yes; it is a better match in size to your camera
@@DustinAbbottTWI thank you 😊
How does the 100mm full frame perform on an APSC camera? Is the 65 mm sharper on APSC?
The answer is yes (65 is sharper), though the 100M is very sharp, too.
Which one is sharper? Laowa 100 on fullframe or Laowa 65 on apsc? And Laowa 100 or Laowa 65 both on apsc?
It's a little hard to compare because sensor resolution varies so much, but I would probably give a slight edge to the 65mm
Hello from Greece . I'm thinking of buying the Laowa 65mm f / 2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO to use with a sony a6300. What is your opinion? Will it be difficult without a tripod outdoors for macro photography? What would you do in my place? 100 drachmas of Greece ... where did you find this banknote?Well done for the work you did ... offering us this video ....
Hi Petros, doing handheld macro when your camera doesn't have IBIS either is tough. As for the banknote, I've collected world currency for a number of years, so I've probably had it for decades.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Hello again. I'm still thinking about buying the Laowa 65mm f / 2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO for use now with a Sony A6600. In SteadyShot Settings, however, it does not have 65mm (....... 50mm, 55mm, 60mm, 70mm, 75mm, .......). How will I adjust it manually 65mm ???
@@petrosdiamantis8591 I also have the a6600 and interested in this lens. Wondering if you ever got it and figured out the IBIS situation to work with this lens?
How would this compare to the Fuji Macro 80mm?
I haven't reviewed that lens yet.
uhh, i think this is will be my next lens
It's a high performing one, for sure.
Pray tell where you got the lens test chart (and how big is it).
I had it custom made, actually, and it is something like 36x24"
Sir, is there any way I can download the RAW files to check for IQ and sharpness?
Thank u very much in advance 😌
Afraid not. I don't have the time or inclination to share my RAWs.
Are there any APC macros that don't focus breathe near this price range?
Not off the top of my head.
I got a fuji xf35mmf2 prime, its a normal lens, and it looks like, this laowa is taking 3d'ish pictures way more easy, can you explain why?
The Laowa is an Apochromatic lens - those optics are special in a way most lenses aren't.
@@DustinAbbottTWI allright then, i ask fuji and they say all their xf lenses are apochromatic. But must say, its never on the spec sheets, which i think its strange, because its worth to show it, right?!
I don't believe that at all. I've seen far too much fringing on a number of them for them to be apochromatic designs.
@@DustinAbbottTWI i dont believe it either, but i Will compared it with my 18-135 just to get the same 65mm, and my fuji 35mm prime
Guys, I'm so confused. Wich one I should get for fuji x mount Samyang 100m or Laowa 65mm?
I would go for the Laowa. It's a better fit in terms of size and is incredibly sharp.
I wonder how it would work on the 32 MP Sensor of the Canon M6 Mk II?
I suspect wonderfully. This is a lens aching for more resolution!
Thanks,
I am looking at that Camera and I just picked up a really nice legacy 300mm f/2.8 L New FD from Japan to throw on my R/RP setup. Looking at some deep space astrophotography with a star tracker. I could get even more of a distance with the M6 MkII.
Thanks again Tom
When Laowa will made something from 21 to 35mm for apsc i will buy it INSTANTLY.
They seem to be rolling out new lenses fairly consistently.
@@DustinAbbottTWI it is true but they seems concentrated on lenses for very specific jobs.
That's true. Very few traditional type lenses.
They have a 25mm macro ...
Venus Optics Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro Lens
@@Bonjour-World yes, that's a lens not meant for everyday use.
Great review. Unfortunately, because it is a manual lens, I can't do in camera focus stacking
That's true.
How do you solve the fact that it doesn't have stabilization, and always need a tripod for it?
I actually mostly shot it handheld with Sony bodies that have IBIS. But your point is true of many, many macro lenses.
@@DustinAbbottTWI maybe a flash could help, as I soon found out, but didn't test it yet myself
Great review! Just wondering would this lens be suitable for shooting macros shots insects given its close focus distance and the lack of autofocus? Currently deciding between this and the Fuji XF80mm lens.
That obviously would depend on the insect. Insect photography is a unique discipline because of the need for more working distance. Often longer focal lengths work better for that reason, though I've seen some amazing insect macros taken with this lens.
Totally agree with you on that. That's what made me hesitate in buying the lens as I'm worried that the working distance might be too short if I wanted to shoot macros shots of insect. But it is really light compared Fuji's XF80mm lens so im kinda stuck in a dilemma now😂
@@DustinAbbottTWI "Insect photography is a unique discipline because of the need for more working distance." ... particularly if the subject is recent our immigrant 'Murder Hornets' :-)
@@kaijiekoh8653 Which lens did you go with? And how was the fun?
Has anybody tried it with a full frame sony a7iii? It gives vignetting, but switching to apsc can fix that, and what about the image quality on full frame?
I did try that, and the image quality remains excellent.
But the image will only be about 12megapixels. Would that be enough for macro photography?
Thank u sir for replying.
That's true, and whether it is enough really depends on your application. It isn't enough for my tastes, but it might be for yours.
Mine came with a couple smears of something on the lens. I don’t mind cleaning a few specks of dust, but I should not have to spend the time getting out my lens cleaning equipment to clean a new lens. Bad quality control. Past about 8 feet the focus is way too soft and unusable for me for anything other than macro shots. I wish I had returned it and would not recommend it. I was hoping to use the lens for more than just macro. I don’t take it when I travel due to its limited usefulness. Chinese lens seem to have a higher number of bad examples than the Japanese or German lenses.
That's shocking to me, actually. I have never heard anyone report anything like that from Laowa before (and I've purchased several of their lenses myself). This lens is one of the sharpest APS-C lenses ever, so I do not believe that it was soft past 8 feet...unless severely damaged.
Hi guys. I have a Canon 100mm f/2.8L IS USM. I think it might be malfunctioning in auto-focus or IS, but I don't use either. It takes okay photos, color sharpness is amazing, but it's hard for me to use. I like getting closer to my subjects and the focus area moves a lot because lens is long.
I really want to exchange this for the Laowa 65mm because it's lighter and it goes to 2x. Would I be disappointed if I did this. My main concern is the color reproduction and image fidelity. Opinions?
Hi Aaron, you won't have any problems on that front. It has beautiful color and superior image quality to the Canon.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Thanks... Unfortunately, I didn't know what an EF-M mount was. I'm gonna get the 15mm f/4 instead now.
How does this compare to the Laowa 60mm ?
That's an older lens that I haven't reviewed, but this has the 2x magnification and is a sharper lens.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Thanks, I seen a few videos of people using the 60mm on Full Frame but, I think you get some vignetting.
The Laowa Macros are on sale right now so I decided to pick up the 100mm.
Titled "definitive review": sorta like standing in front of a movie theater after the credits roll, saying, "hey everybody, listen up, I am going to give you the definitive review of this movie you just watched."
I'm not following the analogy, I'm afraid. Definitive means "thorough and complete", which is what I attempt to do in my definitive reviews.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Disagree; it presents a relative value judgement in nearly everybody's understanding of the common vernacular.
国产骄傲！！！！
SOOO BORING LEES TALK MORE ACTION!!
You do realize that you can not watch the video if you don't like it, right?
What are you, 12? This is easily the best video on this lens, tonnes of valuable info - go back to watching pewdie pie vids with your short attention span