Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2x

£589/$449 Capture detail at up to twice life-size

A remarkable manual-focus macro lens

This remarkable lens from Venus Optics (sold as the Laowa 100mm f/2.8 CA-Dreamer Macro

2x in some countries) gives twice the maximum magnification of most macro lenses. The original was made for full-frame DSLRs, and is available in Canon EF and Nikon F mounts; but a more recent mirrorless version was produced for Sony FE-mount mirrorless cameras, and is now also available for Canon R-series and Nikon Z-series bodies. The DSLRformat lenses are physically a bit shorter and have a reduced diaphragm blade count of nine and seven, for Canon and Nikon mounts respectively. All of the mirrorless format lenses have 13 diaphragm blades, producing a very well-rounded aperture when stopping down. We tested the Canon RF version.

Apart from the Canon EF version, this lens is a fully manual affair with no electronics whatsoever. As well as having to focus the lens manually, you have to set the aperture using the lens’s physical aperture ring. You might also need to adjust a camera menu setting to enable the shutter to operate ‘with no lens attached’.

Highly accurate focusing is a prerequisite for macro photography. Despite the lack of electronics, focus peaking and enlarged preview are naturally still available in mirrorless cameras.

Performance

Sharpness is superb right across the image frame from corner to corner, even when shooting wide-open. Naturally, due to the minimal depth of field in extreme close-up shooting, sharpness at the narrow end of the aperture range is a more important consideration for macro lenses: it holds up very well right down to f/16 and only really drops off at f/22. Even here, though, sharpness remains very impressive and the Laowa is able to capture very fine detail when using its narrowest aperture in close-range shooting.

1 The focus ring has a rotational travel of just over a quarter of a turn in total. Most of this is dedicated to the close focus range between 0.25 and 0.5 metres, enabling fine and precise adjustments for close-ups. 2 The aperture ring operates smoothly, with barely perceptible click steps at each full f-stop. The 13-blade diaphragm narrows in a continuous manner as you rotate the ring. 3 The build quality feels pretty solid and robust, but the lens doesn’t feature weather-seals.