Laowa 25mm F/2.8 2.5x-5x ultra macro lens

Lou Jost · Post by **Lou Jost** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 6:01 am

Chris, yes, I see that I could rock along one axis and then smoothly connect that to a gif rocking along another axis. The smooth circular rocking of Rik's example and Keith's example is I think more informative.

Keithcooper · Post by **Keithcooper** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 8:49 am

I've not done much 3D stuff with my work, other than as demos, but here's what I used for the example earlier.

http://www.heliconsoft.com/heliconsoft- ... 3d-viewer/

Perhaps I'm in the wrong forum to mention this though ;-) :-)

... I did get it quite a few years ago ;-)

Macro_Cosmos · Post by **Macro_Cosmos** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 8:56 am

Lou Jost wrote:
"As far as I know, it's not optimised for any particular magnification, hence it's fun to use. "
I am afraid those Rayfact lenses are all highly optimized for particular magnifications. See their website for the details of each one.

The website doesn't show every single rayfact lens that Nikon makes. There are ordered to made versions that aren't optimised for particular magnifications, such as the one I own. It's not found on Nikon's website but made by Nikon nonetheless.

Lou Jost · Post by **Lou Jost** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 9:11 am

Macrocosmos, are you sure it isn't optimized for some range? Even the custom ones usually are, I think. The few that have wide ranges seem to need a beta ring, like the old version of the PN 150 or the SK Makro-Varon.

ChrisR · Post by **ChrisR** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 5:16 pm

Lou Jost wrote:Chris, yes, I see that I could rock along one axis and then smoothly connect that to a gif rocking along another axis. The smooth circular rocking of Rik's example and Keith's example is I think more informative.

Yes it's much prettier. You can arguably get the same information with perspectives at say 4 compass points, which just takes 2, or 3, normal outputs from ZS, (followed by arrangement of the animation.) It only saves memory, though.
Even cooler would be a stereo pair of rotating images. I've tried rocking pairs, but not rock'n roll pairs.

Macro_Cosmos · Post by **Macro_Cosmos** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 7:42 pm

Lou Jost wrote:Macrocosmos, are you sure it isn't optimized for some range? Even the custom ones usually are, I think. The few that have wide ranges seem to need a beta ring, like the old version of the PN 150 or the SK Makro-Varon.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure about it. I know a scientist that is in contact with Nikon engineers and he recently acquired a bunch of these lenses as well, still attached to the camera. That was his conclusion after testing them.

I'm willing to believe it; might be an appeal to authority, but the specific lens I own is not found on any Nikon website.

Chris S. · Post by **Chris S.** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 11:17 pm

Keithcooper wrote:http://www.heliconsoft.com/heliconsoft- ... 3d-viewer/

Perhaps I'm in the wrong forum to mention this though ;-) :-)

... I did get it quite a few years ago ;-)

I know you're joking, but to clarify a point that may sometimes be misunderstood, it is absolutely OK to talk about Helicon Focus, or any brand of stacking software, here. This forum is brand agnostic.

--Chris S.

Keithcooper · Post by **Keithcooper** » Wed Feb 07, 2018 12:03 pm

I've had a few more tries with the 25mm, comparing it with my MP-E65.

Effectively I'm seeing the Laowa just pipping the Canon for sharpness.

These two at 4x f/2.8

At f/5.6 the difference between the 6 blade aperture of the Canon and 8 blade of the Laowa is clearer (100% view)

johan · Post by **johan** » Thu Feb 08, 2018 1:26 am

Fwiw, my hunch would be that leaving the aperture manual is a way of making sure there's compatibility to many mounts. So almost an MPE, but for all brands - which the market should like.

microman · Post by **microman** » Thu Feb 08, 2018 2:05 am

How is the sharpness @ F8 at say 3X ?

I had alot of fun last summer with the Laowa 60mm 2X Macro using it with a Panasonic GH5 filming insects. It was sharp even at F8 so it was perfect to use as a videolens with enough dof at close macro. With pictures you can always stack but for video its a problem.

Would guess this lens is more suited for pictures and stacking

Thanks for sharing, its an interesting lens and will probably be alot cheaper than Canon.

morfa · Post by **morfa** » Thu Feb 08, 2018 9:07 am

I just published some initial impressions of this lens having used it for the past week. It's written in Swedish but the bot-translated version linked at the top of the article is quite comprehensible.

http://makrofokus.se/blogg/2018/2/7/for ... -2528.html

I've included a quick shootout between the Laowa and the MP-E at 5X and you'll find links to image files in original resolution towards the end of the article.

The Laowa seems visibly sharper at 5X and f/2.8 on a Canon 5DmkII.

ChrisR · Post by **ChrisR** » Thu Feb 08, 2018 9:55 am

Nice review, John.

Once again, the question of MPE sharpness comes up, in that some owners report that f/2.8 is sharper than f/4 at 5x, and others say it's not

I wonder if it'll get cloned by another Chinese company, like Oshiro

microman · Post by **microman** » Thu Feb 08, 2018 10:32 am

I agree, very through and comprehensive review. Looking forward to more samples. I also live in Sweden so i know how it feels waiting for spring and bugs.

morfa · Post by **morfa** » Fri Feb 09, 2018 1:02 am

Once again, the question of MPE sharpness comes up, in that some owners report that f/2.8 is sharper than f/4 at 5x, and others say it's not

Yes, I was actually surprised by the lacking sharpness of the MPE @ f/2.8 and 5X. I suppose a simple answer would be that it's a question of sample variation. A friend of mine uses two copies at his workplace – both produce indistinguishable results at 1-4X but he tells me one is significantly worse at 5X.

Macro_Cosmos · Post by **Macro_Cosmos** » Fri Feb 09, 2018 7:07 am

I just received my Laowa 25mm 2.5-5x Ultra Macro lens. I'll just call it LW25 here.

Laowa 25mm 2.5-5x Ultra-macro In Hands by Macro Cosmos (DH)

Laowa 25mm 2.5-5x Ultra-macro Size Comparison by Macro Cosmos (DH)

It really is a cute little thing, fits perfectly in my hands. It's the same size as my 95mm f/4 Rayfact lens. A bunch of extension is needed to get my 95mm to 2.5:1 though, so with that taken into account, the 95mm line scanner lens is massive.

Laowa 25mm 2.5-5x Ultra-Macro Sitting in its Box by Macro Cosmos (DH)

The Lens Collar, with the lens it its box. Mine was opened and tested prior to shipping, or else it should come in an air-tight vacuum bag. I tried and lens collar and it's a bit disappointing. My setup is perfectly centered, using the lens collar throws it off a little bit. I wouldn't worry at all though, the lens is light weight and will be fine without that small collar. Even fully zoomed in (5x), it balances very well. It is evidently way shorter than and smaller than the Canon MPE.

Laowa 25mm F/2.8 2.5x-5x ultra macro lens

A bit more Laowa 25mm testing