who has the new Laowa 90mm/2,8 2:1 Macro?

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lothman
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who has the new Laowa 90mm/2,8 2:1 Macro?

Post by lothman »

Hi all,
I have the Laowa 100mm/2,8 Macro and it impresses me even at a high resolution Sony A7Riv. I had some issues with focus creeping and grease on the inwards of the lens but got a replacement lens and now everything is fine. Now I had a had a look on some YouTube videos of the new 90mm/2,8 lens or see Dustin Abbotts review:
https://dustinabbott.net/2022/06/laowa- ... ro-review/

The bulky housing and the "open" design closed by a front filter are overcome with the new 90mm version. So I am think about switching from the 100mm to the 90mm.

Has anybody done same stacks with the new Laowa 90mm on a high resolution camera at 2:1? can the new lens keep up with the older 100mm version?

regards
Lothar

clarnibass
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Re: who has the new Laowa 90mm/2,8 2:1 Macro?

Post by clarnibass »

I was considering the same thing. At least in theory because the 90mm isn't available anywhere.
I also had the "creep" issue and replaced it (I think I checked four of them, only one without the creep).
I like how the 100mm is a little narrower... but it's not that narrow. Though I believe him it's only 2mm so I guess it's an illusion from being much longer.
I hope it doesn't have the creep issue since it would be harder to tell from the outside if the front part doesn't move.
Being so big is the main (or maybe only) thing I don't like about the 100mm.
I would be interested to know exact working distance from the actual end of the lens at 1x and 2x.

Lou Jost
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Re: who has the new Laowa 90mm/2,8 2:1 Macro?

Post by Lou Jost »

I would be interested to know exact working distance from the actual end of the lens at 1x and 2x.
The review mentioned in lothman's post sort of answers your question for 2x. The working distance is less than 7cm at 2x.

lothman
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Re: who has the new Laowa 90mm/2,8 2:1 Macro?

Post by lothman »

Yesterday I received a 90mm Laowa lens and compared it to my 100mm version.

The wafer was shot on a sony A7riv at 2:1 magnification, f 2.8, 30µm steps, Zerene pmax, PS Autolevel. I think both lenses are equal good- what do you think?

90mm Laowa

100mm Laowa

Photomic
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Re: who has the new Laowa 90mm/2,8 2:1 Macro?

Post by Photomic »

Looking the corners just by eye, 100mm looks tad better to me?
Nothing beats an experiment

lothman
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Re: who has the new Laowa 90mm/2,8 2:1 Macro?

Post by lothman »

Photomic wrote:
Sun Nov 13, 2022 10:12 am
Looking the corners just by eye, 100mm looks tad better to me?
:wink: if anybody from Europe is interested in the 100mm lens, please let me know

lothman
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Re: who has the new Laowa 90mm/2,8 2:1 Macro?

Post by lothman »

this lens seems to draw only little interest, another stack:
poppy seeds 2:1

chris_ma
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Re: who has the new Laowa 90mm/2,8 2:1 Macro?

Post by chris_ma »

looks great to my eyes. very similar to the 100mm and in some regards even a tad better.

I find it interesting that they released two lenses which are so similar, in a way the main difference seems to be the handling.

anyway, thanks for sharing your experiences, and also the poppy seed image!
chris

RobertOToole
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Re: who has the new Laowa 90mm/2,8 2:1 Macro?

Post by RobertOToole »

Lou Jost wrote:
Thu Jun 30, 2022 9:49 pm
I would be interested to know exact working distance from the actual end of the lens at 1x and 2x.
The review mentioned in lothman's post sort of answers your question for 2x. The working distance is less than 7cm at 2x.
Hi Lou,

The new 90mm Laowa is probably something like a 45mm FL at 1:1. The excellent Laowa 100/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO lens is 68mm at 1:1 and 56mm at 2x. Thats not so bad, the Canon RF100mm F2.8 L MACRO IS USM is 36mm at 1.4:1! #-o

https://www.photonstophotos.net/General ... ple01P.txt

You can find a lot of interesting lens specs like this on Bill Claff's site, he has over 1000 lenses now in the database:

https://www.photonstophotos.net/General ... nchHub.htm

Best,

Robert

Lou Jost
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Re: who has the new Laowa 90mm/2,8 2:1 Macro?

Post by Lou Jost »

Thank you Robert for that information, and for that excellent lens link. I always forget about the existence of that site! It is a treasure trove of information that is hard to get anywhere else.

RobertOToole
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Re: who has the new Laowa 90mm/2,8 2:1 Macro?

Post by RobertOToole »

Lou Jost wrote:
Mon Nov 21, 2022 7:13 am
Thank you Robert for that information, and for that excellent lens link. I always forget about the existence of that site! It is a treasure trove of information that is hard to get anywhere else.
Hi Lou,

I'm following a thread of his (DPreview) and he posts almost everyday with new uploads. Some of the info that he digs up are just huge finds.

Looks like Nikon has utilized other companies lens designs, like the AF-S Nikkor VR 4/500 that I owned as my main lens for years and years, looks like it was a Minolta design***! Also there are some new Nikkor Z lenses that are just Tamron or others, designs! Really good finds for the true lens design crazy people out there that this stuff it interesting, I'm one!

Bill Claff's external post on lens design Patents: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/66553339

I've found some really interesting patents for macro lenses on my own now, I'll share them when I find more time (you know these already lou).

Best,

Robert

*** my mistake, that is a Fujifilm design. Nikon AF-S Nikkor 400mm f/2.8G ED VR and Nikon AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/4G ED VR.

FotoChris
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Re: who has the new Laowa 90mm/2,8 2:1 Macro?

Post by FotoChris »

Has anyone tested this lens with extension tubes or an extender at 2,5-3x?

I'm kind of torn between this lens and the Minolta 5400...

lothman
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Re: who has the new Laowa 90mm/2,8 2:1 Macro?

Post by lothman »

FotoChris wrote:
Mon Apr 17, 2023 2:01 am
Has anyone tested this lens with extension tubes or an extender at 2,5-3x?

I'm kind of torn between this lens and the Minolta 5400...
I had the M5400 and since having the Laowas there is no regret having sold the M5400. The Minolta is excellent at magnification inth e range of 1,5-2 what it was designed for but looses performance on other areas. Mounting, using, focusing a Laowa macro lens is much easier/faster than with a M5400 lens. In the other thread I read you got the M5400 rather cheap, but usually these days you have to pay around 300€ for a Minolta scanner (+mount+bellows...), so the step to the Laowa lense, which is 99% as good, is small.

and for 2,5 to 3x you can get the Laowa 2,5-5x. With these two workhorses you can get excellent results in a very convenient manner.

FotoChris
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Re: who has the new Laowa 90mm/2,8 2:1 Macro?

Post by FotoChris »

Well.. I'm quite happy in the 1-2x range with a reversed EL Nikkor 63mm 2.8N and Minolta C.E. 50mm 2.8 (maybe even up to 2.5x?) and the Mitutoyo takes care of the 3,5-5x range - but I'd like to close the "gap" at 3x (at a rather high quality if possible) - and if I could cover everything from infinity up to 3x...well then that would be nice.

As you mentioned, if it's possible to do all that with one lens without too much fuss and keep it nice and tidy for shooting outside as well, that'd be even better.
So both the LAOWA 100mm 2x and 90mm 2x sound pretty good to me but I've never seen either of those used at more than 2x.

chris_ma
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Re: who has the new Laowa 90mm/2,8 2:1 Macro?

Post by chris_ma »

FotoChris wrote:
Mon Apr 17, 2023 11:37 am
and if I could cover everything from infinity up to 3x...well then that would be nice.
well, depends on your expectations - if you expect one lens to perform as good as the best lenses at each magnifications, then no dice.
if you can life with "good enough" quality then a Laowa 2x with a diopters or extension might be worth a try.
chris

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