Thanks so much @Derrick Mickle 😃 Really do appreciate the feedback and continued support👍👍👍

Thanks @user-gc1ho1wt1h 😃 Greatly appreciate the feedback and happy to hear you found it helpful👍👍👍

@Richard O, admittedly it has been quite a while - it's difficult to produce this pieces while balancing a full-time job, family, and other production projects... that said there are a few more in the pine line 👍👍👍

Well said @Karen McBride 😃 Macro photos will always benefit from more time spent composing 👍👍👍

Woah @nischol bedesi, that's fantastic to hear 😃 Super appreciate the support👍👍👍

Can I ask, why you went 100 and not the 90? I'm deliberating between the two for my sony?

Thanks @RichardBirchett 😃 Greatly appreciate the feedback and happy to hear you found it helpful👍👍👍

@Tasneem Ahsanullah admittedly I am often uber slow in responding to these comments, but hopefully this will timely in your decision making. The Canon EF 100mm remains my primary and favourite macro lens. It is incredibly versatile and makes macro photography fun and not overly stressful. Plus, having image stabilization is life changing/mandatory when capturing macro video. That said Laowa lenses are sharper and the increased manucaption is super fun to play with, but Increasing the magnification to 2X requires so much more thought from a technical perspective. If I were to have only one macro lens in my bag it would still be the Canon EF 100mm 👍👍👍

Thanks @SoundPeke 😃 Greatly appreciate the feedback and happy to hear you found it helpful👍👍👍

@@neilfisher Funny thing is, recently bought the 90mm and canceled it the next day as I found out my Sony 135mm GM can do a touch of macro.

true

Thanks @MattGriffo 😃 Greatly appreciate the feedback and happy to hear you found it helpful👍👍👍

Thanks so much @Marshal Hedin👍 Very much appreciate the feedback😃😃😃

Thanks @Louis-Philippe Tessier 😃 Greatly appreciate the feedback👍👍👍

The point made was that autofocus isn't used frequently at high magnifications. At no point was any other genre of photography discussed. You're correct, in that this is not a versatile or flexible lens. It's marketed squarely at photographers using it for its macro abilities. That said, I was quite successful in using the Laowa 90mm to photograph kids and pets terrorizing the house. Like yourself, my Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 is still my most frequently used macro lens, as it is versatile and reliable, but like the Nikkor 105mm, its sharpness falls noticeably short of the Laowa 90mm and 100mm. Just remember that not everyone has the option to pay more to get more.

@@neilfisher I own the Laowa 100 and of course the Z mount 105. Sharpness? I beg to differ.

Many thanks @stuff we do👍 Appreciate the feedback😃😃😃

Thanks - about to buy an R5 (and this lens).

Does focus peaking work with this lens?

Many thanks @@davidlozano5984👍 Appreciate the feedback😃😃😃

Thanks @julian loboguerrero 😃 Greatly appreciate the feedback👍👍👍

Many thanks @Suikhua Thang👍 Appreciate the feedback😃😃😃

Thanks @tennychan2187 😃 Greatly appreciate the feedback👍👍👍

Thanks @Jorre 😃 Greatly appreciate the feedback👍👍👍

@Watcheye yes, the depth of field will become smaller when increasing the magnification - and this is the case for any lens.

Many thanks @@TheKimNeeper👍 Appreciate the feedback😃 Yes, it turns out that many manufacturers provide the ability to set focal lengths for manual lenses... I just missed the memo 😂😂😂

Many thanks @colton cyr👍 Appreciate the feedback😃 Honestly, considering the significant size and weight saved by having the 90mm f/2.8 with a native RF mount on my RF bodies, I don't view the 85mm f/5.6 as that attractive. That said, if you would be having to adapt the 90mm f/2.8 to your body, then the 85mm f/5.6 should still be considered. Hope this helps 👍👍👍

@stuff we do, this is very interesting and something I wasn't at all aware of. Have used Canon and Nikon quite a bit, but definitely have a great deal of Sony. Thanks for the heads up 👍👍👍

@@neilfisher focal length can also be indicated for nikon z.

@Damian Hadam it's not that there's really anything wrong with the focus ring. It is easy to rotate, but not too easy. That said, it can be rotated unintentionally if grab you the lens anywhere other 1.5 centimetres of non-focus ring towards the front of the barrel.

Yes, @Auld Reekie Biker as this lens has no electronic communication with any camera body - the aperture value will always be missing from EXIF data 👍

@skuzzy99 I ofter shoot with the Canon MP-E 65mm and completely understand how high magnifications can be a bit much for a handheld shooting style. The Laowa 90mm would do well on an APSC sensor, as it would retain the 20 cm minimum focusing distance, but effectively put more pixels on the subject. That said, the 90mm still requires a bit of time to compose, focus properly, and set up any necessary off-camera lighting - not quite as fast and "fun" to shoot with as 100mm 1:1 macro lens with auto focus. Hopefully this helps 👍👍👍

@Steve Kunder you'll only be without the aperture in a photo's EXIF data. Everything else will still be there. I recorded the aperture of the shots featured in this video with ol' school pen and paper - knowing that they'd be shown with EXIF data 👍 Hope this helps.

@Tenny Chan I use a number of Canon 600ex's, usually two and sometimes three. E-TTL works well, however if I end up shooting manual it's somewhere between 1/8 and 1/32 - but that depends on plenty of variables such as magnification, subject speed, and ambient light level to name a few.

@Peter Heaps, that's a tough one - the 90mm is nearly double to weight of the 85mm, with the latter having a 4 centimetre shorter minimum focusing distance. If you're currently happy with your 85mm and don't have need for a slightly longer working distance or the couple extra stops of aperture - I don't see a real reason to move to the 90mm. Just my two cents 👍👍👍

@@neilfisher Many thanks! Will stay with what I have for the moment.. Cheers. Peter.

You can fix that in the camera's menu (a setting regarding preview rendering, I believe.

Good question @Matt DP 👍 The only information missing from the EXIF is the aperture, which I wrote down for each shot - knowing that it would be used in this video 😃

@@neilfisher Thank you. I can live with it if only the aperture information is missing.

@Tuvzii you didn't miss it as it wasn't mentioned, but since you asked - everything was captured with a Canon R5 👍

@Alfredo Unda yes, as your Sony A6000 features an E-mount, it is compatible with this lens 👍👍👍

@@neilfisher Thanks Neil!! Please, keep the good work..

@António Caiado, I have not had any experience using the Laowa 85mm and can't comment on whether which is sharper.

I have no experience with the 90mm but consider my Laowa 85mm f/5.6 the sharpest lens I have used but it is only as good as the accuracy of your manual focus. Focus peaking really works! The 90mm could be equal and is light for an f/2.8 but I never shoot wider than f/5.6 due to depth of field at beyond 1:1 and appreciate the smaller diameter making it easier to avoid shadowing the subject.

@jdpattok4357, yuppers I certainly did discount AF. When shooting at 1:1 magnification or higher, autofocus is useless. Sure, automated focus bracketing is cool but the cost savings by going with a MF lens should give you budget to grab a focusing rail. This is just personal preference: if a camera feature didn't exist two decades ago, I've learned how to accomplished the desired finish product without it. Having a car that can park itself is nice, but I'd rather park it myself as I know how to do so.

@@neilfisher Gotcha, yeah I figure the initial focus would be done manually either way. It's for focus stacks with 30, 40, 50+ images that it seems a focusing rail would be extremely tedious, and the auto bracketing would be a game changer. My experience is with wildlife, though, so that's purely speculation on my part. Thanks for the input. Great video by the way!

Solid question @Bradimus1981. There's a not a great difference in how a macro lens is used when shooting photos or video. Most cinematographers shooting macro will use a dedicated motion control system with focus and iris motors, which really puts the importance on image quality.

@@neilfisher Well, what I will be photographing is stationary. The ant formicarium will have moving ants inside, but I just need something that can zoom in on a small area and record video well. lol

@Helen Kozlowski I have used the Laowa EF 100mm on an R5 with an adapter. Moving to the Laowa 90mm, there wouldn't be any noticeable change in optical performance, and you'll give up a bit of working distance. However, having a seal/enclosed internal focusing system is a huge plus considering the environments I work in, and the weight and length saved by not using the EF - RF adapter is significant.

Many thanks @MrCMHUDDY 👍 Appreciate the feedback😃😃😃

@@neilfisher I got the lens on the basis of this and a couple of other excellent opinions. Thanks again Neil, keep up the good work. Craig.

@Boris B, yes the Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 is an incredible macro lens. However, the purpose of this video was to compare the Laowa 90mm to macro lenses of similar focal lengths. Additionally, the Canon MP-E 65mm is truly in a different class of macro lenses that are able to reach 5:1 magnification 👍👍👍

@Ray Sanders, certainly no reason not to 👍👍👍

@Luis A unfortunately, I've not had the opportunity to use the Laowa 65mm.

They sure do, but the engineering of the lens makes it significantly longer in length than the RF mount 90mm. If you are choosing between the RF 100mm and RF 90mm, I would vote for the 90mm - just feels better in the hand, lighter in weight, shorter in length, and it's just as sharp.

@@neilfisher aight sounds g

@Naomi Rivera what you're after doesn't really exist - simply due to physics. When the magnification of a lens increases, so to does the light fall off. You could use a macro lens to casually capture photos at magnifications above 1:1 very easily without the need for additional light. However, when at and beyond 1:1, the need for additional light is almost a necessity - especially if you're not utilizing long exposures paired with a tripod. The reduced depth of field and light fall off experienced at high magnifications demand additional light. Additionally, the lack of auto focus with this Laowa 90mm would not align with the casual shooting style you're after. This lens requires time to ensure your composition if properly focused. Hope this helps 👍👍👍

@@neilfisher Thank you for that! Macro is "new" to me so still lots to learn and figure out, lol. I am thinking a macro lens would teach me a lot of manual focus AND being PATIENT with manual focus as well, lol.

@alex ds you're not wrong, but it's also just as easy to focus stack using manual focus. Crank your camera's FPS as high as possible and hold down that shutter button while moving the focal plane across your subject 👍

@@neilfisher That is the technique I currently use and it is great. The only reason I would prefer using the FB feature is to virtually eliminate the possibility of missed frames as well as allow for much easier and quicker 2-5 shot stacks.

@el7460 yes, with 2:1 magnification, a human eye should fill a full frame sensor 😃😃😃

@colintraveller, nope. No filter included. That said, what I had was a review lens - and review lenses don't always include retail accessories and packaging. Interesting to hear you received one though 👍👍👍

@@neilfisher It was on the lense when i picked it up from the Shop though the box was untouched hadn't been previously opened . 67mm UV (0) MIJ , must have been left on by someone at the Laowa factory .

@TheTechHobbyist, 90mm gets my vote. It feels more modern and the open lens barrel design of the 100mm is a giant thumbs down.

Good question @JUNEORJUNE 😃😃😃 Better is subjective: Is the Laowa sharper, less costly, perfectly oriented for still photography? Yes. Does the Sony provide greater versatility and allow for easier capture of 1:1 magnification video? Yes. The better lens depends on your intended use case 👍

@@neilfisher mainly for macro photos

If you're mainly shooting macro photos, the Laowa might be a better option. The financial savings would allow you to invest in additional lighting - just an idea.

​@@neilfisherIs this laowa model weather-proof, which includes water droplets, dust etc)

It's what I have and I love it