The Laowa 100mm Is a Fun Macro Lens

With unmatched sharpness, focusing from infinity to 2:1 magnification, and a bargain price tag - the Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO is an incredibly fun lens. Whether you have some macro photography experience under your belt and are looking to take magnification past 1:1, or you are just beginning to explore the world of macro, this lens is a great choice for photographers looking to introduce a bit of fun into their work. #Macro #Photography #Laowa

[jezztech]

what a lovely dog, you are lucky to have him as you as your peer assessor!.

[FrederickDunn]

So glad you mentioned image stabilization. My Z9 has excellent stabilization in-camera and that is critical with video, very important. I ordered the Nikon Z mount version. Looking forward to some great results. Your still images and video sequences are absolutely superb! I wish you all the best, and thanks for the excellent review.

[garrett]

Haven't watched yet but just got this lens a week or two ago as my first macro and it's a blast, I've used beyond 1:1 so much already I'm glad I went for it.

[robgerety]

Love the Barred Owls when they start barking like that. Great lens. I have and enjoy the new 90mm. The 90mm has no weather sealing either, but, it does have an actual closed final element like a normal lens. It is 100% manual. Designed for mirrorless cameras. The viewfinder is very bright when using mirrorless cameras. Works great. At least on the R5. IBIS in the R5 works well with the lens. My habit when shooting high magnification macro photography is to focus by moving the camera, not the focus ring. But, the focus ring is very smooth if you need it. IBIS minimizes shake. I think this set up really works very well.

[Walkinginthewoods]

Nice review Neil. I found this lens works really well with my Nikon Z6 as the viewfinder gives you a workable (brighter) image to focus and compose. The camera then takes the picture with the settings you have chosen. I usually use a flash for higher magnification macro. Also my camera has IBIS so that is not a problem. As you say, weather sealing is the only major thing missing.

[stevelink]

Excellent review of this amazing Macro lens, sir! I agree with your points, except if I may make the following observation on the Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2x Ultra-Macro APO for the Nikon Z System...Yes, it is a fantastically sharp, well-built manual-focus only 2:1 Macro lens. Using it with a Nikon Z7, I'm able to obtain extremely sharp, detailed images across the frame. The ONE disappointment with this lens is that the "focus throw" is VERY short, meaning that a very small rotation of the focus ring results in a large shift in the focus point! As a result, this makes critical focus on your desired focus point, a bit of an unnecessarily tedious, laborious process. That said, when you DO nail your focus point, this lens delivers sharpness and detail in spades!! Thanks again!

[GregJorgo]

I bought one about 3 weeks ago and it’s simply awesome! Great review, Thankyou!

[avalon-media]

Hi Neil. Excellent review. One hint. The nuclesu follow focus is often reffered to as too weak. It is not. Just attache a higher voltage to the motor, wich is capable of 12 Volts, giving you enough power to run any focus wheel. If you stick to the 5 Volts, you won't manage to... :D all the best

[_RichardOrtega]

Awesome video, fantastic shots and thorough explanation of the functions of this lens. But the true star of the show was definitely Cousteau.

[RR-bmod]

Great video. What canon camera are you using in this video. Also can you use it on none full frame cameras.

[arniet]

Great demo and recommendations. What do you think about this lens for indoor macro?

[XlflX]

had the lens since its released.. very sharp! great distance... however strait out of the factory.. middle lenses are dirty.. so have to edit spots out of every single frame..

I've just got one paired with canon 90D and love hiw sharp it is. I'm using it handheld trying to get close up as I can. It's difficult at times but still amazing! Anyone recommend flash and diffuser??

[troydemercado]

Hi Neil, do you know if it will work on the canon 5d mark4, because of the is.

[Voliere-infoNl]

doing some macro with the sony 20mm 1.8 i realy enjoy, i'm slightly looking at a dedicated macro lens for sony FE (A7 iii). Could you suggest this lens as first dedicated macro lens? As it also serves well for some portrait work as being a 100mm lens its priced quite attractive for the possibility of 2:1.

Manual focus is not realy a problem for me, only the manual aperture is a bit new for me as i'm very used to in-camera shutter and aperture setting

[januthbr]

Amigo, estou em busca de uma lente Macro para minha Canon R6. Eu irei utilizar apenas para fazer foto de produtos (joias, aneias, etc). Eu descobrir essa marca esses dias e estou incrivelmente estimulado a comprar uma lente dessa em vez de uma Canon 100. Acha que estarei fazendo uma ótima aquisição tendo em vista que meu trabalho será sob luz controlada?

[shivsudarshan]

Hi, thanks for this review. I want buy this for my z6ii which has ftz ii adapters. My question is, is there any difference in image quality for z mount vs F mount on Z series cameras. I wonder why same lenses in z mount is so expensive than f mount.

[MOAB-UT]

On a D5500, should I get the 100mm? I have no connection to the lens. Will it be too dark, or hard to see in the viewfinder? I do have a large lcd screen. I usually live around F8. Will TTL work?

[clissonplage]

thank you for your video
I am indeed looking for a replacement for the 100mm RF macro
because I don't find it super defined/spicy just on ants
1/200 - F8 - ISO 100 to 400
so to the comments of your 2 videos on the LAOWA 90/100
I'm seriously thinking about the 90 to go on an R7
Does this seem like a good approach to you?

THANKS

[chetan.khurana]

Wish they had an Auto AF version for Nikon F, hard to use otherwise?