Laowa 65mm f/2.8 2X Macro APO Lens for APS-C Announced

News

by Jakub HanJanuary 27^th, 2020

Venus Optics released new Laowa 65mm f/2.8 2X Macro APO lens with 2:1 magnification. This fully manual lens is designed for cameras with APS-C sensors and it comes in three different versions – for Sony E, FUJIFILM X, and Canon EF-M lens mount. The lens is available now for around $399/€400.

Laowa 65mm 2X Macro lens. Image credit: Jonas Rask

The chinese lens manufacturer Venus Optics is known mostly for unique fully manual prime lenses. One of their most unique lenses is the 24mm f/14 Macro Probe Lens (you can take a look at our review here). Venus Optics recently released another new lens with macro feature – Laowa 65mm f/2.8 2X Macro APO. What are its features and specs?

Laowa 65mm f/2.8 2X Macro APO Lens

Laowa 65mm 2X Macro lenses mounted on cameras. Source: Laowa

This lens is the first macro lens that Venus Optics designed specifically for mirrorless cameras with APS-C sensors and they say it is the only APS-C mirrorless lens in the market that is capable of achieving a 2:1 magnification. Its 9-bladed aperture can be manually set between f/2.8 and f/22. The lens comes with FUJIFILM X, Sony E & Canon EOS-M lens mounts.

Laowa 65mm 2X Macro lens. Source: Laowa

The full-frame equivalent focal length of this lens is approximately 100mm, which generally seems like a good choice for macro lens as many other manufacturers produce macro lenses with this focal length. The Laowa 65mm 2X Macro lens can focus from 2:1 all the way to infinity so it can also be used for standard shooting, like for instance portraits. The 2:1 maximum magnification ratio along with a minimum focusing distance of 6.7” (17cm) makes it a really capable macro lens.

Laowa 65mm 2X Macro lens sample image. Credit: Christopher Frost

The lens incorporates a 14 elements in 10 groups design with 3 extra-low dispersion glasses to minimize chromatic aberrations across the frame. It has inherited the APO design from Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2X Macro lens. As Venus Optics state, the new Laowa 65mm 2X Macro lens is designed to remove both LaCA (lateral chromatic aberration) and LoCA (longitudinal chromatic aberration – bokeh fringing) to an invisible level.

Laowa 65mm 2X Macro lens sample image. Credit: Micael Widell

The Laowa 65mm 2X Macro lens features an internal focus design so that the overall lens length is maintained during focusing. Its body features metal construction, but Venus Optics maintained lightweight and compact design. The lens weighs 11.8oz (335g) and it is 100mm long with a diameter of 57mm.

Laowa 65mm 2X Macro lens sample image. Credit: Christopher Frost

Lens Technical Specifications

• Focal Length: 65mm
• Aperture: f/2.8 – f22
• Angle of view: 24.4°
• Lens Structure: 14 elements in 10 groups (3 extra-low dispersion glass)
• Aperture Blades: 9
• Min. Focusing Distance: 17cm
• Max. Magnification: 2x
• Focus mode: Manual Focus
• Dimensions: φ57mm*100mm
• Filter Thread: φ52mm
• Weight: 335g
• Format Compatibility: APS-C
• Mounts: Sony E / Fuji-X / Canon-M

Laowa 65mm 2X Macro lens construction. Source: Laowa

Laowa 65mm 2X Macro lens MTF charts. Source: Laowa

Price and Availability

Laowa 65mm 2X Macro lenses mounted on cameras. Source: Laowa

The Laowa 65mm f/2.8 2X Macro APO lens is available now. The pricing has been set to around $399 in the US and around €400 in Europe. Purchase links are included below our article.

What do you think of the new Laowa 65mm 2X Macro lens? Do you use macro lenses for your video work? Let us know in the comments below the article.