Zhongyi (Mitakon) Super Macro Lens (1 - 5x)

[Danny Burk]

Micael tried the illuminator and it broke on his first attempt, so his test results have nothing to do with the lack of flocking of the illuminator.

Still, the lack of flocking in the illuminator (and the fact that it broke on first use) says a lot about the lack of care taken in the design and construction of this lens.

The Laowa 2.5x-5x is in a completely different league. It is fast becoming one of my favorite lenses.

Lou, have you compared the Laowa 2.5-5x to Canon 65 1-5x? I've seen mixed reports, i.e. around the same quality at higher mags, or the Laowa being slightly better. Any thoughts?

[Lou Jost]

I don't have the Canon, so I did not compare. As you mention, there are comparisons online, and they generally say the optics are close or that the Laowa is better.

Example:
http://gilwizen.com/laowa-25mm-ultra-macro-lens-review/

The small narrow front of the Laowa is a huge advantage to me, because I have to shoot flowers whose plants get in the way. When dong a field stack you can't have the lens crashing into the plant.

[RobertOToole]

Micael tried the illuminator and it broke on his first attempt, so his test results have nothing to do with the lack of flocking of the illuminator.

Still, the lack of flocking in the illuminator (and the fact that it broke on first use) says a lot about the lack of care taken in the design and construction of this lens.

The Laowa 2.5x-5x is in a completely different league. It is fast becoming one of my favorite lenses.

Lou, have you compared the Laowa 2.5-5x to Canon 65 1-5x? I've seen mixed reports, i.e. around the same quality at higher mags, or the Laowa being slightly better. Any thoughts?

Hey Guys,

If anyone has a Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro laying around and wouldn't mind lending it for a test message me and let me know, I have a Canon MP-E 65 on the shelf that I can compare it with anytime.

Also I'm looking for a Venus Optics Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2X APO Ultra for a 1x testing I'm planning on starting soon, so if you know anyone?

Best,

Robert

[Macro_Cosmos]

Micael tried the illuminator and it broke on his first attempt, so his test results have nothing to do with the lack of flocking of the illuminator.

Still, the lack of flocking in the illuminator (and the fact that it broke on first use) says a lot about the lack of care taken in the design and construction of this lens.

The Laowa 2.5x-5x is in a completely different league. It is fast becoming one of my favorite lenses.

Oh sorry, wasn't being specific enough.
I was referring to Christopher Frost's "review".
(I put it kindly, he's obviously not at all knowledgeable to review such a lens, his other reviews of conventional lenses are excellent).

The NR person was responding to my post saying the lens is bad according to a review. (I'm pretty straightforward on that website) The person did bring up a sound point. However upon more thinking, I didn't buy it. Sure there's haziness and it could negatively impact contrast; the overall resolution and sharpness just isn't there, it's clear from the scratches on the coin.

Either way, I hope ZY fix it.

BTW, I did consider asking for a loaner to review, I would have put it against the Laowa 2.5-5x, the two Printing-Nikkor/Rayfact lenses I have, 5x Mit, and the inexpensive 3,3 lomo. That would have been horrifying. I would expect the lens to perform similarly to the Laowa and pale in comparison to the primes/objectives.

A friend got a copy as well and upon talking to him, I learned that ZY wants to "review the review" prior to it being posted. Not sure if this only applies to Chinese reviewers, as Michael obviously didn't like the image quality of the lens. Either way, that was an instant no in my book. If manufactures respect my time and work, then they should also respect my integrity. This rubs me wrong way, eeeek.

[Macro_Cosmos]

If anyone has a Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro laying around and wouldn't mind lending it for a test message me and let me know, I have a Canon MP-E 65 on the shelf that I can compare it with anytime.

Ehhh, I should have sent mine! I even said several months ago that I'm happy to send mine out. My brains got stuffed.

Hopefully someone local is happy to lend a copy. International post is not cheap.

[RobertOToole]

If anyone has a Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro laying around and wouldn't mind lending it for a test message me and let me know, I have a Canon MP-E 65 on the shelf that I can compare it with anytime.

Ehhh, I should have sent mine! I even said several months ago that I'm happy to send mine out. My brains got stuffed.

Hopefully someone local is happy to lend a copy. International post is not cheap.

Same for both of us!

Why didn't we think of that!

[Lou Jost]

"I would expect the lens to perform similarly to the Laowa and pale in comparison to the primes/objectives."

Based on the reviews, I would say that it does not perform similarly to the Laowa; the Laowa is contrasty and sharp. I remember that you were not too excited about yours, which is understandable since you are comparing it to wonderful Printing Nikkors narrowly optimized for particular magnifications. But compared to more ordinary optics, it is hard to find something at 3-4x that is as sharp as the Laowa on full frame edge-to-edge. On MFT I would not be so excited about it. But on FF it really shines.

[Macro_Cosmos]

"I would expect the lens to perform similarly to the Laowa and pale in comparison to the primes/objectives."

Based on the reviews, I would say that it does not perform similarly to the Laowa; the Laowa is contrasty and sharp. I remember that you were not too excited about yours, which is understandable since you are comparing it to wonderful Printing Nikkors narrowly optimized for particular magnifications. But compared to more ordinary optics, it is hard to find something at 3-4x that is as sharp as the Laowa on full frame edge-to-edge. On MFT I would not be so excited about it. But on FF it really shines.

Yeah I totally agree.

Despite Laowa's afterthought tripod foot (it's good quality and let's be fair, the tiny lens does not need a tripod collar!), it's pretty much one of the best out there for coverage and IQ. Oh, and it's $100 cheaper than the Zhongyi... there's also that.

Petapixel has a very opinionated review comparison featuring the ZY lens, it was posted above. The article brushes the Laowa off for not having 1-2x... which is what the Laowa 100mm is for, but anyway.

This is kind of like comparing CPUs and most are compared against the 9900k which is considered a "reference". We know a $200 CPU won't beat a $700+ one, but it's usually compared nonetheless. I consider the PNs a reference for 0.5x, 1x, and 2x. One day I'll get the 3.5x too... one day

I would love to try the ZY lens out, since it is said to be almost telecentric. When I showed little interest, I didn't really consider the telecentric aspect.

[ohdeeremee]

On the ZY website, the 85mm 1x-5x is starting to ship.
https://zyoptics.net/product/mitakon-cr ... per-macro/

UPDATE (20th Jan): We have just finished the re-engineering of this lens and started shipping the replacement to all orders placed BEFORE 16th Dec. For all new orders placed now, we will ship it in early/mid Feb.

IMPORTANT NOTIFICATION (16th Dec): We have recently found that the first shipment of our 85mm f/2.8 is not performing to our design specifications. We are now investigating the issue and its not available to order now. For all purchased customers, we have already sent out an email to the mailbox address you left in the order details. Please contact us via order@zyoptics.net if you have NOT received such email.

Should be interesting to see how well it does. I ordered one Dec 7 from B&H, been on backorder since.

Anyone have good/bad reports on this on, let me know...
Thanks
George

[RobertOToole]

On the ZY website, the 85mm 1x-5x is starting to ship.
https://zyoptics.net/product/mitakon-cr ... per-macro/

UPDATE (20th Jan): We have just finished the re-engineering of this lens and started shipping the replacement to all orders placed BEFORE 16th Dec. For all new orders placed now, we will ship it in early/mid Feb.

IMPORTANT NOTIFICATION (16th Dec): We have recently found that the first shipment of our 85mm f/2.8 is not performing to our design specifications. We are now investigating the issue and its not available to order now. For all purchased customers, we have already sent out an email to the mailbox address you left in the order details. Please contact us via order@zyoptics.net if you have NOT received such email.

Should be interesting to see how well it does. I ordered one Dec 7 from B&H, been on backorder since.

Anyone have good/bad reports on this on, let me know...
Thanks
George

You're brave.

From what I saw of the IQ in the first shipment, they had a MAJOR re-engineering job to do.

Hope it works out though, best of luck!

Best,

Robert

[Chris S.]

From what I saw of the IQ in the first shipment, they had a MAJOR re-engineering job to do.

A recent article at Petapixel, Back from the Drawing Board: Mitakon 85mm 1x-5x Macro Lens Redesigned, gives an early look. From the article, it's hard for me to tell if major re-engineering has been done or not; the front of the lens, at least, looks different.

--Chris S.

[mjkzz]

I got the Mk II, haven't had time to use it yet. But the front element is much smaller . . . maybe after Chinese New Year, I will try it out.

[Lou Jost]

From those tests, it looks like the new version is inferior to the Canon and Laowa, but with much longer working distance. Of the three, the Laowa is the sharpest, but of course it does not cover magnifications lower than 2.5x.

[Scarodactyl]

This has been pretty bizarre. I bet there is an interesting story to how the first version made it to release.

[RobertOToole]

This has been pretty bizarre. I bet there is an interesting story to how the first version made it to release.

I'll just leave this here for reference:

This is the 85mm super-macro before the re-design vs MP-E 65 at 5x, 100% view crop (both lenses stopped down)

(To be fair the MP-E was stopped down past optimum to match the aperture of the 85mm lens.)

and I though the MP-E was bad at 5x!



Just for reference, below is a100% crop with the Rogonar-S 4/35, a 4 element lens that I just picked up, stacked setup at 3.5x, wide open at f/4 (both the above lenses have been stopped down)