This is not so much a technical review as it is impressions of the two main 3rd party macro lens options for Fuji X. Compared to many of the posters frequenting this forum, I am a relative babe with rather limited (albeit enthusiastically earned) experience. Unlike many here who have taken the step of making a living out of this art form, I make my living elsewhere and belong to the camp of those photographing for (much) enjoyment and pleasure. Take of my opinion what you will.
I started with macro photography around a year ago, a few months after buying my first camera, a Fuji X-T4. At first I experimented with reversing the kit lens, then added extension tubes before enjoying macro photography enough to want to purchase a dedicated lens. I originally wanted the Laowa 65mm but it was out of stock everywhere and I found a Samyang 100mm f2.8 Macro from the classifieds here. My impression will compare how I feel about a newly purchased Laowa 65mm vs 6 months of almost exclusively shooting with the Samyang 100mm (macro or otherwise).
Dimensions and weight
The Samyang 100mm is a hefty 770g, 15cm, 67mm filter thread vs the Laowa's svelte 335g, 10cm, 52mm filter thread. You can actually feel the difference in heft when you carry both lenses. In and of itself the difference might not sound so bad but coupled with my usual setup (X-T4 @ 607g, Smallrig L-bracket @ 138g) with the occasional 85mm filter holder plus an assortment of filters, full size tripod among other things, it really adds up. I dread to think how adding a flash like the Godox V1 or 860iii once I eventually obtain one will do.
I am a young somewhat (not really) healthy man and even without the filters and tripod, carrying a (minimum) 1515g camera with the Samyang for hours can get tiring. Going to (minimum) 1080g with Laowa has made a huge difference, a 29% reduction in overall weight. I cant stress just how transformative it has been using such a light setup, I am able to go much longer than I previously could.
Focus and aperture rings
Both lenses are nicely dampened so no complaints there. The focus ring on the Samyang 100mm has very little range between 1m to infinity, very often I would miss focus by a hair because of some unintended touch or shake as I am taking a shot. It is very unforgiving and I reluctantly deleted many photos because of this. Note that I'm an avid user of focus peaking but there was no avoiding it, the best results were obtained either at macro distances or at infinity, middle distances suffered greatly. On the Laowa 65mm, the lens is demarcated at 1m, 3m and infinity with a far more generous range to boot. Shooting from a moving car no less, I nailed focus more consistently with closer subjects (eg. car plates up front) to distant tree lines or features not quite at infinity. In terms of macro focus, both lenses performed admirably.
On the aperture ring, here is perhaps the one ding against an otherwise outstanding Laowa 65mm. While the ring features a soft click, I often found myself inadvertently pushing it somewhere in the middle (i.e not quite to the next stop). Aside from the soft clicks at the full stops there are no intermediate clicks and I found the ring moves too easily for my liking. On the other hand the Samyang 100mm features satisfying clicks and are rock solid once locked in, should it be move for any reason you are greeted with a satisfying click to inform you of the fact and allow you to correct it.
Image Quality
As a beginner with very few reference points, I was always a little disappointed that my Samyang shots were somewhat on the softer side. I made sure to stop down in general (whether for macro or otherwise) but never quite felt the image pop out. This was especially true while taking shots of my family on days out, I could not shake the feeling that I was simply not a very good photographer. I could swear that I used focus peaking to its full effect, I had no problems using manual focus with Fuji's 18-55 f2.8-4 kit lens and obtained great results there on the rare occasions I used it. I resigned myself to being "crap" to put it bluntly and thought more practice will do me good in nailing the mythical tack sharp shot.
Then I got the Laowa 65mm.
Turns out I'm not as hopeless a photographer as I thought! Playing with the Laowa 65mm at multiple distances, f stops, moving and stationary subjects, I tried it all. One shot after the next, I was getting the image quality I see achieved by others on this forum. In addition to my general inexperience, I was so adamantly blaming myself for the soft shots on the Samyang 100mm that it never occurred to me to blame the lens for a change. In short, the Laowa 65mm is tack sharp in the centre of the image at f2.8 and at f4 the result is phenomenal across the entire image.
For the past 3 years, we have had a lovely painting on the wall in front of the couch (around 4 to 5m away). I developed a habit of randomly taking photos of it whenever I am sitting with the camera in my hand and thought I had a pretty good handle on how it looks. On using the Laowa 65mm I was genuinely stunned to discover a level of detail I had not known existed before. Laowa has simply created a lens with exceptional image quality, to have that in my hands at a fraction of the price of its competitors (across a number of mounts) is downright witchcraft.
Conclusion
I will forever be grateful for the time I spent with the Samyang 100mm. It introduced me to the macro photography world, arguably my favourite of all types of photography. Samyang whipped my technique into shape with its tight 1m to infinity focus ring range, weight and overall soft(er) results. Having tested my chops against the Samyang over months of practice, moving to the Laowa has been a revelation. The Laowa is a far more forgiving lens, has undeniably superior image quality in a smaller and lighter package and a drool worthy 2x magnification at effectively the same price point (if both compared as new) to the Samyang.
If anyone finds a better alternative to the Laowa f2.8 2x Ultra Macro at its price point then I am all ears but I suspect this one will be traveling with me for quite some time.
Thanks for reading the musings of a beginner!
I started with macro photography around a year ago, a few months after buying my first camera, a Fuji X-T4. At first I experimented with reversing the kit lens, then added extension tubes before enjoying macro photography enough to want to purchase a dedicated lens. I originally wanted the Laowa 65mm but it was out of stock everywhere and I found a Samyang 100mm f2.8 Macro from the classifieds here. My impression will compare how I feel about a newly purchased Laowa 65mm vs 6 months of almost exclusively shooting with the Samyang 100mm (macro or otherwise).
Dimensions and weight
The Samyang 100mm is a hefty 770g, 15cm, 67mm filter thread vs the Laowa's svelte 335g, 10cm, 52mm filter thread. You can actually feel the difference in heft when you carry both lenses. In and of itself the difference might not sound so bad but coupled with my usual setup (X-T4 @ 607g, Smallrig L-bracket @ 138g) with the occasional 85mm filter holder plus an assortment of filters, full size tripod among other things, it really adds up. I dread to think how adding a flash like the Godox V1 or 860iii once I eventually obtain one will do.
I am a young somewhat (not really) healthy man and even without the filters and tripod, carrying a (minimum) 1515g camera with the Samyang for hours can get tiring. Going to (minimum) 1080g with Laowa has made a huge difference, a 29% reduction in overall weight. I cant stress just how transformative it has been using such a light setup, I am able to go much longer than I previously could.
Focus and aperture rings
Both lenses are nicely dampened so no complaints there. The focus ring on the Samyang 100mm has very little range between 1m to infinity, very often I would miss focus by a hair because of some unintended touch or shake as I am taking a shot. It is very unforgiving and I reluctantly deleted many photos because of this. Note that I'm an avid user of focus peaking but there was no avoiding it, the best results were obtained either at macro distances or at infinity, middle distances suffered greatly. On the Laowa 65mm, the lens is demarcated at 1m, 3m and infinity with a far more generous range to boot. Shooting from a moving car no less, I nailed focus more consistently with closer subjects (eg. car plates up front) to distant tree lines or features not quite at infinity. In terms of macro focus, both lenses performed admirably.
On the aperture ring, here is perhaps the one ding against an otherwise outstanding Laowa 65mm. While the ring features a soft click, I often found myself inadvertently pushing it somewhere in the middle (i.e not quite to the next stop). Aside from the soft clicks at the full stops there are no intermediate clicks and I found the ring moves too easily for my liking. On the other hand the Samyang 100mm features satisfying clicks and are rock solid once locked in, should it be move for any reason you are greeted with a satisfying click to inform you of the fact and allow you to correct it.
Image Quality
As a beginner with very few reference points, I was always a little disappointed that my Samyang shots were somewhat on the softer side. I made sure to stop down in general (whether for macro or otherwise) but never quite felt the image pop out. This was especially true while taking shots of my family on days out, I could not shake the feeling that I was simply not a very good photographer. I could swear that I used focus peaking to its full effect, I had no problems using manual focus with Fuji's 18-55 f2.8-4 kit lens and obtained great results there on the rare occasions I used it. I resigned myself to being "crap" to put it bluntly and thought more practice will do me good in nailing the mythical tack sharp shot.
Then I got the Laowa 65mm.
Turns out I'm not as hopeless a photographer as I thought! Playing with the Laowa 65mm at multiple distances, f stops, moving and stationary subjects, I tried it all. One shot after the next, I was getting the image quality I see achieved by others on this forum. In addition to my general inexperience, I was so adamantly blaming myself for the soft shots on the Samyang 100mm that it never occurred to me to blame the lens for a change. In short, the Laowa 65mm is tack sharp in the centre of the image at f2.8 and at f4 the result is phenomenal across the entire image.
For the past 3 years, we have had a lovely painting on the wall in front of the couch (around 4 to 5m away). I developed a habit of randomly taking photos of it whenever I am sitting with the camera in my hand and thought I had a pretty good handle on how it looks. On using the Laowa 65mm I was genuinely stunned to discover a level of detail I had not known existed before. Laowa has simply created a lens with exceptional image quality, to have that in my hands at a fraction of the price of its competitors (across a number of mounts) is downright witchcraft.
Conclusion
I will forever be grateful for the time I spent with the Samyang 100mm. It introduced me to the macro photography world, arguably my favourite of all types of photography. Samyang whipped my technique into shape with its tight 1m to infinity focus ring range, weight and overall soft(er) results. Having tested my chops against the Samyang over months of practice, moving to the Laowa has been a revelation. The Laowa is a far more forgiving lens, has undeniably superior image quality in a smaller and lighter package and a drool worthy 2x magnification at effectively the same price point (if both compared as new) to the Samyang.
If anyone finds a better alternative to the Laowa f2.8 2x Ultra Macro at its price point then I am all ears but I suspect this one will be traveling with me for quite some time.
Thanks for reading the musings of a beginner!
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