Venus Laowa 100mm f/2.8 Manual Aperture 2x Ultra Macro APO Lens for Pentax K, Bundle with ProOptic 67mm Filter Kit, Cleaning Kit, Lens Cap Tether

2024-05-08T13:02:22

Perfect for pro and non-pro, photo and video projects. Lens price is affordable with great results. I'm using my Canon EOS 6D Mark II and an iPad as an external monitor. As you can see on the iPad the magnification power is great.

Hector C.

2023-07-21T08:16:34

It's a very sharp lens. Still practicing and getting better at focus stacking.

JON H.

2023-05-07T08:42:15

There are so many good things about this lens, the feel is of a super sturdy canon like lens, soft focus ring and has given me some great results.

JOSE L.

2023-05-02T09:35:37

Bought this for my husband who had been wanting this particular lens for some time - he's thrilled with it! He hasn't found anything he dislikes about it so far. This is his first real macro lens and his "test shots" have shown gorgeous clarity and magnification. Also, once you take it out of the box you can instantly see and feel that it's quality equipment! I'm definitely going to be looking to this brand for other equipment in the future for both of us.

KELLI G.

2023-03-10T13:54:33

I would like to first say that I had a pretty awful first and last experience with Adorama. I received a lens that was open box and didn't even have the lens cover on. The lens also made a rattling noise inside when I rotated it however this appears to be normal on the F mount version, I'm assuming due to the aperture coupling which works great btw. I promptly returned the lens to Adorama since it was clearly an open box product and I was also concerned at the time that it was defective due to the noise. They received the return on 2/23, however I did not receive my refund until 3/6 or 11 days, and nobody at customer service could tell me why because they're a call center in India. I ordered directly from the manufacturer for a replacement and had it within 48 hours with proper, original packaging and even saved nearly $90 between tax and a 10% discount I found on YT. I highly recommend this lens, I just cannot recommend you buy it from Adorama after my experience. Now that I've described my very poor experience with Adorama I'll move on to the lens review. I have the Nikon F mount version and the aperture coupling is great, it keeps your aperture open while focusing and also lets your camera meter for proper exposure once set up in the menu assuming your camera is compatible. It's extremely sharp for everything I've tried it on and I haven't found much about it that I don't like. I do wish that the indexing mark to line the lens up to mount on the camera was on the side of the lens rather than the face of the mount but that's just working at finding something to complain about. I wouldn't think twice about recommending this lens to anyone with an interest in macro photography and I think it's amazing, especially considering the cost.

James W.

2022-10-25T01:09:10

I love this lens. It?s got a very sturdy build, and easy to use. The macro end of focus is very clear and detailed. It?s a manual aperture and manual focus lens, but works with canon R?s by selecting ?release shutter without lens? from the menu. It?s perfect for shooting small bugs and insects, as well as larger subjects. It?s actually really nice having the aperture controlled from a ring on the lens instead of in camera. Great lens, fast shipping, highly recommended!

Bryan L.

2022-07-13T08:38:28

Love this lens! This is my first venture into macro lenses and I?m blown away. I was comparing images while on a shoot with my friend using his Sigma 105mm 1:1 and this lens impressed us both. He initially gave me grief for buying an all manual lens, but once he saw the images he quickly changed his tune. AF might make things easier in many situations but when working at 2:1 macro with such a razor thin focal plane, I?d rather have absolute control over what?s in focus.

John M.

2022-07-01T14:00:31

I've ended up owning both the automatic aperture and manual aperture versions of this lens. Both are optically excellent and I'm enjoying the 2:1 capability in a versatile lens that is easy to use. I've been using this lens primarily for plant photographs, ranging from pictures of a whole shrub to handheld focus stacking for very small flowers & other plant parts. Contrary to my expectation, though, I find myself preferring the manual aperture lens. This is primarily because the automatic aperture is not particularly accurate, yielding slightly different exposures in a focus stack. I can work around this, but it's annoying. The manual aperture, on the other hand, turns out to be easier to use than I expected. Figuring out where the focus plane is when the lens is stopped down takes a bit more care and practice if (like me) you're only used to focusing with lenses wide open. I've screwed up a couple of pictures that way, but after a few days with the lens I think I've gotten over the learning curve. I do wish there was a tactile indication of where you are in the f-stop range, though.

PATRICK A.

2022-07-01T13:55:53

I've ended up owning both the automatic aperture and manual aperture versions of this lens. Both are optically excellent and I'm enjoying the 2:1 capability in a versatile lens that is easy to use. I've been using this lens primarily for plant photographs, ranging from pictures of a whole shrub to handheld focus stacking for very small flowers & other plant parts. Contrary to my expectation, though, I find myself preferring the manual aperture lens. This is primarily because the automatic aperture is not particularly accurate. For single exposures, I don't get exactly the aperture I intended, but I also don't care whether a picture ends up being f9.2 or f10, or whatever the discrepancy ends up being. For me, this is not quite ideal in principle but irrelevant in practice. For focus stacking, though, it means that the pictures in the stack are all slightly differently exposed. I've been manually adjusting the exposures to match before running the stack through Zerene Stacker. This seems to work well enough, but it's an extra tedious step for a kind of photography that is already on the tedious end of the spectrum.

PATRICK A.

2022-06-17T09:00:38

I wanted to try my hand at macro photography.This lens takes sharp and clear images.Although it's a tad heavy on the camera,but I like the shots you get with it.

carlos w.

2022-06-07T08:16:42

Love the lens extremely sharp and beautiful color rendition very solid build quality the reason for the 3 star review is because of having to return because of sticky aperture and out of stock status so unknown when will be replaced.

TIMOTHY C.

2022-05-26T12:48:18

I am very pleased with my purchase.It came earlier than I expected.Not complaining.

carlos w.

2022-04-29T17:51:28

My first dedicated macro lens and I love it! Entering the world of macro photography has been an amazing experience with the Venus Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2x. Using a macro lens with manual focus takes some time to get used to, especially at close distances with such a narrow depth of field, but once you begin to get a feel for it, some fantastic images can be created. The 2x feature really sets this lens apart from some of the higher end manufacturers that only allow 1x magnification. A seemingly unknown world that's been right under your nose the entire time can be revealed with 2x macro lenses!

JERRY B.

2022-04-27T12:02:35

Very sharp lens a tF8

John M.

2022-04-19T11:57:28

A very sharp lens.

John M.

2022-03-21T19:29:36

I am using this lens on a Conon EOS R6 with ab EF to RF converter and am very impressed. I am able to let the camera deal with the aperture while I concentrate on composition and focus.

DENNIS C.

2021-12-22T10:06:08

It is a bit difficult for me to rate this product, or give it a fair review at this point because I haven't had much time to use it. Keep in mind that if you are looking for a macro lens and just starting out with macro this will be a difficult one because it is fully manual when you buy the RF version. It will not read the Aperture settings on the camera, no auto focus and the camera doesn't even register that it is attached to the camera. In fact you have to set the camera to release the shutter without a lens in the settings to get it to work. Also, it will not light up the preview when you have a dark scene because again, the camera does not know there is a lens attached. I have heard good things about the image quality and 2X magnification is a ground breaking feature to have. There is a pretty big learning curve though on this one since it is all manual. I am pretty sure I will keep it because it will allow me to get much smaller subjects.

HARRY S.

2021-11-09T20:28:05

Image quality is impeccable. Great for still insects. Don?t think you?ll get good bee photos though. Might just be me though. Autofocus would help in that regard. A lil soft at infinity though I feel like. Might just be me though.

JOSEPH T.

2021-07-26T04:25:07

Really nice lens. I?m still getting used to it. The quality of build is nice. So far I?m really happy with the purchase.

DONALD B.

2021-06-25T09:23:08

Solidly built lens. Great quality for a great price

Oliver N.

2021-06-07T11:19:43

Awesome lens!

RICHARD J.

2021-05-31T13:50:38

Will not work on my Canon R5

Jim C.

2021-05-24T08:33:06

This is a very nice product. Used it recently daily for a week. I?m now using multiple lens lines and developing ranges of focal lengths for the Sony F55 and the alpha series too. This is a great MANUAL lens.

TIMOTHY B.

2021-04-03T10:47:24

I have a few Venus Laowa lenses and like them. The lens is very sharp. No AF is not a problem for this macro lens as I'm using it with a RRS rail anyway. That also helps with the short throw of the focus ring. I haven't noticed it being especially difficult to get the focus right where I want it but I would still like to see something like 270 degrees of travel on the ring. Trying to focus stack without a macro-rail might be a little more challenging. The price to quality and image scale can't be beat.

ROY P.

2021-03-24T05:07:30

Love it. Can't wait for the weather to change and mother nature to awaken.

Ronald W.

2021-03-11T15:24:34

I had the Canon 100 Macro and its a great lens but always had to focus manually with it. I bought this Laowa 2x macro lens and to my surprise it comes close if not beats the canon in image plus a 2x magnification. I love this lens. and yes its a manual focus lens.

JOHN B.

2021-02-22T07:48:18

Excelente producto,lo recomiendo

REYNIER L.

2021-01-03T12:27:03

The product is very good

Indrani C.

2020-12-27T08:00:58

The optical quality of this lens is very high and has a flat field of focus, which is excellent for copy work, and has the 2:1 focus ratio that is nearly unique in macro lenses. I could see no significant CAs. The lens is internal focus, so there is no barrel extension or rotation. The price to is very reasonable for the optical quality, but you do give up autofocus and and VR. The There are some ergonomic annoyances. The focus ring is located near the front of the lens and is hard to distinguish from the barrel and the f/stop settings have only a faint detent (Ok if you are a cinematographer). The lens comes with a hood that is tricky to attach, and finally, if you are a Nikon user, it focuses opposite of Nikkors.

JEROME M.

2020-10-22T14:17:14

Affordable RF mount lens. Manual focus is great with Canon’s focus peaking. Wonderful contrast and sharpness. I use it for unique product photog images and fun macro stuff.

GRANT P.