A Look At The Laowa 50mm f/2.8 2:1 Macro Lens For Micro Four Thirds Cameras

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A Look At The Laowa 50mm f/2.8 2:1 Macro Lens For Micro Four Thirds Cameras

Рет қаралды 22,872

Күн бұрын

There's always been confusion between close-focus and macro lenses. This Laowa 50mm f/2.8 Macro Lens causes no such confusion. 2:1, double life size on the sensor is pretty uncompromising. So is its sharpness. It's unusual in that it has electrical contacts so that it communicates with the camera like any other Micro Four Thirds lens but is manual focus.
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Пікірлер: 124

@Stone1108 2 жыл бұрын

David, if you’re looking down on us, you’re humour still makes me laugh, that’s priceless, thanks, your still giving to so many. Might buy this lens by the way. great review, as always. 🤝

@ScrattleGG 4 жыл бұрын

I applaud you. You can keep attention for the entire video without music or screaming. It's absolutely the essential information delivered well phrased with a bit of wit in-between

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks! There are some good reviewer out there but some are just so...in your face!

@philbrown8181 4 жыл бұрын

Great review as always, concise and informative with, as normal, your gentle humour. This one goes up to two as well, you hussy. Thank you for making and posting, it's always a genuine delight to hear from you David.

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Phil, glad you feel that way.

@SpaghettiPaparazzi 4 жыл бұрын

Yes, "it's 1 louder!" thank you 😊 for another proper review!.

@lowbudgetproduction 4 жыл бұрын

"It's one closer"

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

😀 thank you!

@photobillyexplores 4 жыл бұрын

Another very easy to watch informative video with that touch of comedy 👌 10 out of 10

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

@rudolfabelin383 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you David! An astonishing ability to view into the future that my interest for this lens would rise even though you now are working for higher spheres. Thanks in retrospect David! I will always come back to your videos!

@datapro007 4 жыл бұрын

I always learn something watching your videos Dave. Great review, thank you.

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

Glad to hear it! Thanks.

@chadwelch3579 2 жыл бұрын

Love your review style. You've convinced me too.

@clintjohnson5914 3 жыл бұрын

If I'm honest, I have been making due with the close focusing (not true macro) of the 12-50 Olympus'"dog thingy"... after you brought it up again on your year in review video I have spent the lock down putting it to the test.... It actually does a great job for most of my close-up needs..This Laowa lens may make me look twice at getting a true macro/portrait combo lens..I did dig out my Minolta 100mm 2.8 macro and an adapter and tried that too..Very large and heavy coupled with a GX-8,,,but it reminded me of how much I used to enjoy the real macro dimension...Thanks again for posting this.

@DavidThorpeMFT 3 жыл бұрын

Hi Clint - I had a 100mm f/2.8 Sigma macro which I used for a long time with an adapter. It was excellent but a bit clumsy in use and while the focal length was handy for some things, it was a bit too long for others. Macro's lovely , isn't it? I've just been out this morning to take pix of dew covered spider webs, indescribably beautiful. Thinking about it, I hardy ever use full 1:1 macro - the 12-50 does very nicely.

@johnwest6141 3 жыл бұрын

Many thanks for a very helpful video David. I am still a relative beginner and I am just getting started with macro photography. I got a Canon 60D when I retired a few years ago and, more recently, I bought a Panasonic Lumix GX80 for travel. I find this easier for macro photography because of focus peaking. I have been using a cheap 2:1 macro lens, that I bought for my Canon 60D, on my GX80 with an adapter. This is quite cumbersome so I was thinking of replacing it with the Laowa 50mm MFT macro lens. However, in the end I went for the Olympus 60mm macro lens because I thought autofocus would be useful for close ups of flowers and butterflies etc. when full 1:1 macro magnification was not required. Also, the Olympus has a greater working distance (approx. 8 cm at 1:1) than the Laowa (5.6 cm at 1:1) and I thought this would be helpful when photographing insects that are easily scared away. I was also disappointed that the Laowa 50mm lens seems more expensive in the UK (£409) than the USA price that I saw advertised earlier ($399 excluding sales tax). Incidentally, when you say you say you prefer a “shorter throw” for manual focusing, is this the amount you have to turn the focus ring?

@DavidThorpeMFT 3 жыл бұрын

Yes, I mean the amount of ring turning necessary. The Olympus 60mm is one of my most used lenses, most of the 'product' shots in my videos are done on it. It is sharp, doesn't distort and has, as you say a good working distance. And the AF is there for when it is useful. The Laowa is more specialist - for what you are doing the Olympus is the better choice without a doubt.

@johnwest6141 3 жыл бұрын

@@DavidThorpeMFT Thanks David.

@MichaelGerrard 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for this review David. This is an impressive lens. It is the first time in many years that the 60mm has had a real fight on its hands! I already have the 60mm, I wonder if I can justify getting this one? ;-) M43 is a rich system, we have so many choices.

@peterlemke3468 4 жыл бұрын

You know you can lol.

@hauke3644 4 жыл бұрын

The thought came through my mind, too. But on very small subjects I often like to do focus stacking, so that I can have the depth of field exactly like I want it. But for that I need AF and will stick with the M.Zuiko 60mm, which is a very nice lens anyway. And the Laowa will even not replace my loved Zuiko Digital 50mm/f2, which is more versatile due to it's large aperture and nice bokeh. Both Olympus lenses "only" allow 1:1, but that's close enough for my needs.

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

Yes, these are quite specialist lenses, really. It's nice that Micro Four Thirds is getting them for those that want them.

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

My experience of justifying things is that I will if I want to 😂

@rjkral 3 жыл бұрын

David Thorpe put that on a mug or t-shirt and sell it!!

@himwo. 4 жыл бұрын

Sounds like a fun lens! I've adapted my old Minolta AF bayonet Sigma 70-210 F4-5.6 to my GX80, the same things you said hold true there as well - put it on a tripod, don't ever touch the shutter, use the cameras WiFi+your phone instead..

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

Tricky, isn't it. In my house the floorboards are a bit creaky. If I set the focus and walk away, at 2:1 my tip-toe steps are still enough to alter the focus. What is nice is that with the camera tethered or connected to the app, you can alter the focus manually because it has those contacts.

@impatrickt 4 жыл бұрын

1:35 when the shrooms kick in

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

Just an old hippie, me😮

@tobiasdavid3096 4 жыл бұрын

Always love your humour. Thanks for the video and the work you put in it.

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Tobias. Nice of you to take the trouble to tell me.

@Kelkschiz 4 жыл бұрын

"...if you photograph your partner and wish to live." lol

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

😀

@brianb6603 4 жыл бұрын

Excellent as usual!!! Nice review of an interesting lens...

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Brian.

@saintsi6997 4 жыл бұрын

solid

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

@willjohnsnow 3 жыл бұрын

David - a great review as always, but even better news - now you can review their new 2.5-5x ultra macro! 😁 I see it doesn't come natively with an MFT but rather a converter for the Nikon/Canon mounts, would be interesting to see how well this works. No need to do anything flashy, just the usual jumping spider from a tropical rainforest, the odd brochesia nano-chameleon from Madagascar ... maybe even the fairy wasp which measures in at a whopping 0.139mm - you know, just the usual run-of-the-mill test subjects...

@MrHasherd 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for your videos David and best wishes.

@tonypower9315 4 жыл бұрын

Cool, been a while sir. I already have the Olympus as it was the best option to date so I won’t be shelling out again for another. But it looks very good. They seem to be rapidly growing their reputation Lowa. Wish they would make some good cheap fixed primes at the right price.

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

Yes, they do some good primes for FF, I believe. So they might extend the range, maybe.

@OscarAbarcaChinchilla 4 жыл бұрын

Tony Power the 17mm f1.8 is very good in my opinion.

@tonypower9315 4 жыл бұрын

Oscar Abarca Chinchilla thank you will look it up..

@garryneil753 4 жыл бұрын

I’m very tempted by this lens because of the magnification and reasonable price.I do have rail.

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

It's certain that a rail is the way to handle these big magnifications. At 1:1 too, really.

@rjkral 3 жыл бұрын

NOWHERE ELSE ON THE ENTIRE INTERNET can you hear someone say both “This one goes up to TWO! And refer to the Queen as a Hussy!! 😂😂 Great review, astonishing lens and photography!!

@DavidThorpeMFT 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much, Robert. I am glad you laughed at my hussy remark , though that is also the reason I write this from a cold and draughty cell in the Tower of London 😁

@ricardorgomez 4 жыл бұрын

It's great that you showcase some of the lesser known brands. I mean, there is some really good stuff out there! But, I really come on here to learn how to be funny and clever. I fail miserably. 😜

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

Yes, loads of good stuff around. As for being funny and clever, I'd like that too.🙂

@andrear9500 4 жыл бұрын

Really good performance compared to the Olympus. I own the Meike 85mm 1.5 macro which is a bit bigger, well built and with a bit longer working distance. I am very happy but the laowa looks very strong indeed

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

Yes, very tough construction not unlike the Nikkor film lenses .

@CrisisGarden 4 жыл бұрын

Ha ha! I’ve just returned from a holiday in Greece where I was given endless amounts of grief by my partner due to the sharpness of the Panasonic 50mm f1.7. Should have tried manual focus.. We’re all so critical of portraits of ourselves... sorry for digression, great review and an interesting lens...

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

Nothing new under the sun. Back in the 80s, using my Hasselblad, I'd use a soft focus filter sometimes when doing portraits. The 150mm f/4 Sonnar was merciless!

@marilouthomas8055 Ай бұрын

Can someone tell me if the in-built focus stacking will work with Laowa?

@catrionathomson8981 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for a great review David. I now understand why macro lenses are good for wide field astrophotography and that is the flatness of the image. Like yourself I prefer closer so putting these two things together perhaps Olympus or Meike or Panasonic could produce a 12mm f2.8 (or even 3.5 to keep the weight down)!macro lens with a focusing distance of 0.95m. Wouldn’t that be innovative? And wouldn’t that be a lens to own for the macro and astro junkies. I bet it’d sell. Ps if you’re worried about portraiture sharpness keep using the 60mm as it is guaranteed to go soft!

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

I'm going to tell Olympus what you said, Catriona! Your lens, just keep waiting, It'll probably happen.

@spacekatze3958 4 жыл бұрын

Have to get this lens! It looks really nice!

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

It is!

@gordon4385 4 жыл бұрын

Sounds like a great lens. I had been thinking about the oly 60mm, but if the laowa were cheaper it would have been an easier decision. From what I can tell, theyre pretty much the same price.

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

Yes, pretty similar. A straight choice, really. For non macro, portrait etc I prefer the 50mm focal length but it's not a big thing.

@JonPYbanez 3 жыл бұрын

excellent review. keep up the great work.

@DavidThorpeMFT 3 жыл бұрын

Glad you liked it, Jon!

@williampegram 3 жыл бұрын

Great info as always, the entertainment is the icing ;-)

@DavidThorpeMFT 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks, William!

@yourtallness 4 жыл бұрын

Interesting lens, though Christopher Frost found it to have rather extreme pincussion distortion at non-macro ranges.

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

I didn't see that but I didn't use it for anything critical at non-macro ranges. Landscapes and portraits I found it very good.

@soundknight 4 жыл бұрын

I was going this would be your next protect

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

Glad to be of service, Brian!

@oscarlopez2052 3 жыл бұрын

I need your help I have an Olympus em5 mark ll and I want to scan my 35mm negatives I would like to know what magnification I need in a macro lens to fill the entire censor of the micro 4/3, you recommend a dedicated macro lens or some extension tubes with a 50mm lens, would I get good quality with extension tubes? thanks for your help

@JerryWilliam63 2 жыл бұрын

There abouts .5x, a dedicated macro lenses will generally give better results, however, extension tubes get the job done; try a 14mm extension on a 25mm should get you there.

@juankamilo 3 жыл бұрын

Baded on the x2 width at 8.3mm, would you say this lens works for digitizing 35mm neagtives?

@JerryWilliam63 2 жыл бұрын

Unfortunately he is not with us any longer to answer. But maybe I can help. Yes is can be done, however bear this in mind. At 2x, to digitize 35mm film, you would need 25 exposures in a 5x5 matrix, stitch them together in the software of your choosing, the end result would be a rather large +120 Mpix file. but, this is also really hard, as David pointed out, depth of field is non-existent, critical focus is everything and consistency in focus is next to impossible, even on a copy stand.

@cyrillusventus1 4 жыл бұрын

i have this lens :) so good for my G9

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

Yes, a good combination with the big EVF.

@erikvalkman9640 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you David for another educating and entertaining video! I do have one question: regarding focus stacking wouldn't the Olympus lens be much easier to use (in combination with the right camera of course)?

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

Yes, it would. Stacking can be done in camera with the Olympus lens. For exacting work you can get better results by doing it in Photoshop but it's nice to have the in-camera option.

@bjnslc 4 жыл бұрын

I use the Panasonic post-focus and in-camera stacking to get 6K handheld stacks with my Panasonic G9 and the Olympus 60mm. That's handy for social media jpegs, but not the workflow to get the best image quality. Focus bracketing can also be used for handheld stacking post-process, but at the slower frame rate it's more difficult get a good stack. Of course the best results are with camera support and a stationary subject, but in that case manual focus, or better, shifting the camera with a focusing rail work best.

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

@@bjnslc Thanks for the info! It's a tricky business and requires practise whichever way you do it, that's for sure.

@gmaas1418 4 жыл бұрын

Does not the 60mm Olympus support focus bracketing&stacking, where the Laowa can never do this?

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

That's right. In reality at these extremes of magnification for focus stacking you'd need a focusing rail, plenty of images and dedicated software or Photoshop.

@emudojo 4 жыл бұрын

How is the focus throw for portraits?, Also vs The olympus do you lose more stops of light as you zoom in? At the same apperture?

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

The focus throw for portraits is quite tight, which I like. I find peaking invaluable and for focusing on eyes it latches on to the eyelashes very easily. Yes, the loss of effective aperture is an optical factor so going from 1:1 to 2:1 will change the effective aperture the same amount for any lens. At 1:1 an f/2.8 lens is effectively f/5.6.

@stefanschmid495 3 жыл бұрын

very good video as always from you, thanks. I got a mft camera for two years and now I would like to digitize some of my old negatives which I made as a teanager decades ago with my Nikon FM. Would recommend the Laowa 50mm for this purpose or is there another reasonabely priced option (f.e. Meike 85mm)? Any recommendation?

@DavidThorpeMFT 3 жыл бұрын

I think a ":1 macro like this is not necessary for what you want, Stefan. A normal 1:1 will be more than enough and will enable you to crop the neg if you wish. Given that your camera will need to be on a tripod and you will want to be stopped down to f/5.6 or so, any macro lens will do what you want. Alternatively think of using some extension tubes with a lens you already have.

@stefanschmid495 3 жыл бұрын

Ok thank you very much.

@cescobianchi 3 жыл бұрын

thanks for the video! could this lens fit on panasonic GH5 for photographing jewelry (diamond rings etc.) in a lightbox? or is another type of lens recommended? thanks so much!

@DavidThorpeMFT 3 жыл бұрын

Yes, it would be fine on a GH5 (or any Micro Four Thirds body, in fact). I don't think you'd need 2:1, though. Any 1:1 macro would do the job for jewellery, filling the frame with an item justv17mm across. You'd need 45mm or more focal length so that you could light the jewellery properly.

@northlandspotter883 3 жыл бұрын

David, I'm looking to get my first macro lens for Model Railroad photography, and have both an EM1ii and a G9 at my disposal. If you could only have one MFT macro in your bag, what would it be? What would give me the most headroom to learn?

@DavidThorpeMFT 3 жыл бұрын

I'd have to say the Olympus 60mm. It'll work great with both bodies and has along enough focal length to allow you to light the close-ups. It's my basic lens for bread and butter work, most of what I do.

@keithwwalker 4 жыл бұрын

Of course the question with all Laowa m43 lenses, does it focus beyond infinity like thier 7.5mm?

@DavidThorpeMFT 3 жыл бұрын

Just about all my lenses focus past infinity. It's to make allowances for focus shift cased by extreme temperatures, I am told.

@keithwwalker 3 жыл бұрын

@@DavidThorpeMFT A little bit past infinity yes, too much past infinity is a bad thing.

@bryancranberyy2598 4 жыл бұрын

You forgot to add the Oly 60mm is weather sealed too

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the info, Bryan.

@garryneil753 4 жыл бұрын

Nice. I wish Olympus would have done a 2:1 autofocus before they went belly up.

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

They aren't belly up, yet, Gary! I can't see them doing a 2:1, maybe a bit too niche for them.

@garryneil753 4 жыл бұрын

David Thorpe I can’t see it either, but if they aren’t/weren’t niche, who is? You’re right they aren’t officially out of the camera biz yet, but It’s amazing that everyone seems to have forgotten the June news.

@videoguyla 4 жыл бұрын

New slogan "Chose Life over Focus"

@Paul_anderson_creative 4 жыл бұрын

Or 'Chose life over sharpness'....

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

😄

@unbroken1010 4 жыл бұрын

Did they make like a 35 or 30 mm macro 1 to 1 I saw a couple reviews it looks like a pretty wild lens

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

To my knowledge, they don't make such a lens. They have some pretty wild stuff, though!

@unbroken1010 4 жыл бұрын

@@DavidThorpeMFT yeah they made one I think 30 mm it weird and cool and macro

@diegoscopia 4 жыл бұрын

Would a 35mm/full frame 1:1 macro lens not give a 2:1 aspect ratio when adapted to m43 anyway? I'm always quite confused when it comes to this type of conversions, but If so, I guess it wouldn't be fair to say it's the first 2:1 macro lens as I've read in other sites.

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

No, 1:1 is life sized on the sensor so if you adapt it to Micro Four Thirds it remains life sized but the smaller sensor will only encompass half the object. If you wanted to get the same framing as the FF camera at 1:1 you'd need to be twice as far away, so the object would be at 1:2, or half life sized. Confusing hardly describes it, does it? 🙄

@larbueno 3 жыл бұрын

@@DavidThorpeMFT So David, if a FF 1:1 macro lens is adapted onto my Olympus or Panasonic m43 camera, the cropping of image circle effectively renders a FOV of 2:1...right? Another dandy review as ALWAYS from you.

@DavidThorpeMFT 3 жыл бұрын

@@larbueno Thanks, Larry! Things get messy at macro sizes! Basically 1:1 renders the same size image whatever format you are on. If you photograph a ruler with a macro lens for a FF camera , you will get 36mm of the ruler in frame and a 1 cm segment will be 1cm across on the sensor. If you photograph at 1:1 with an Micro Four Thirds camera, you will get 17mm of the ruler in shot but the 1cm segment remains 1cm across. If you want to get the same field of view as the FF camera, you need to get twice as far away. This will give you a view of 36mm of the ruler but since you are twice as far away it will be 1/2 life size.

@fredio54 4 жыл бұрын

1/10 for incorrect spinal tap reference. Though working in an 11 would have been tough, I'll give you that. :-D I have one of these on the way, looking forward to studying the surface finish of metals and woods that I've butchered with various tools in inappropriate ways :-D

@DavidThorpeMFT 4 жыл бұрын

As you say, working 11 in would have been difficult. I did try. But I spoke to my producer, Steven (Spielberg) and he said it was OK as it was so I went ahead. Good to have him around but I do wish he's start making his own KZfaq stuff. At the 40x and more mag you get on screen with this lens, I don't think anyone's finish would look good, would it?

@fredio54 4 жыл бұрын

@@DavidThorpeMFT I guess we'll soon see! I have some precision tools made in the US and Europe and Japan that I could look at, and some of my own lapped steel surfaces :-)