Venus Optics, the camera lens manufacturer that has been endeavoring to invent unique lenses, is back with another surprise: the Laowa 85mm f/5.6 2x Ultra Macro APO, an exceedingly compact and affordable mirrorless full frame macro lens with excellent image quality. The lens is 81mm long and weighs only 259g, making it the world’s smallest 2x macro lens for full frame mirrorless cameras.
Available for Canon RF, Sony E, Nikon Z, Leica M the lens, despite its size, still comes with 2x magnification inherited from most of the Laowa macro lenses, which gives photographers a wider range of flexibility in creation. The APO design empowers this lens to produce pleasing minimal CA images. It fulfills the needs of many macro photographers while relieving the pain from carrying the heavy load of a lot of gear to achieve their creative goals.
Kicking out the traditional heavy bulky macro lens, Laowa built this 85mm lens to be revolutionarily small. Designed specifically for mirrorless full frame cameras with a smaller f/5.6 aperture, the new 85mm macro lens only weighs approximately 259g/9.1oz (Sony E) and with Φ53mm×81mm/2.09”x3.18” (Sony E) in size. A 46mm filter thread also provided for circular screw-in filters. It is perfect for photographers who are looking for an extreme lightweight setup, such as using at a BioBlitz. This lens would match the portable mirrorless camera body perfectly, making macro shooting a breeze while rendering pictures with excellent and outstanding image quality.
Here is some more information as provided by Venus Optics, regarding its Laowa 85mm f/5.6 2x Ultra Macro APO:
For 1:1 or higher magnification macro photography, the depth of field is extremely shallow. Usually, photographers need to stop down to f/8 or even narrower aperture. A maximum f/5.6 is not always used as it’s not able to cover the depth in many cases. A lens with f/5.6 can keep the usability of the lens and at the same time create a much smaller instrument for macro lovers.
This new 85mm lens can focus from infinity to 2x magnification along with a minimum focusing distance of 16.3cm/6.41”. Numerous details can be captured for tiny objects under 2X magnification. It would be much more flexible and versatile for photographers shooting in different circumstances.
The freshly designed 13 elements in 9 groups optical structure contains 3 extra-low dispersion elements which eliminates the color fringing at both in-focus and out-of-focus areas. Rendering stunning magnified pictures without chromatic aberration would be an extra convenience to photographers as it saves much time and effort on post-production.
The lens barrel does not extend in internal focusing design when changing focus. It avoids collision of the lens and the objects. It also helps reduce the chance of dust getting into the lens.
The Laowa 85mm f/5.6 2x Ultra Macro APO is currently available to order on the official website of Venus Optics (http://www.venuslens.net/) and their authorized resellers. Recommended retail price in the US (without tax) is $449 (Canon RF, Nikon Z, Sony FE) and $ 499 (Leica M). Pricing may vary in different countries. Shipping starts from early December onwards.
Venus Optics shared, as usual, a series of photographs taken by different photographers showing the lens in use. For this note we picked just three, from a photographer named Alberto, that show the versatility of the lens, which can go from regular macro to the world of 2:1 and all the way to landscape, while offering a lens that is also good for portrait.