Venus Laowa 65mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO Lens for Fujifilm X

2024-03-11T03:11:04

I'm very satisfied , great lens with excellent value for money. Using it on my nikon z50, makes a very stable combo. Very sharp images. 10/10. Super fast shopping

Erez K.

2023-06-22T08:13:38

I originally bought a 7Artisans inexpensive macro lens for digitizing slides and prints, but the lens kept creeping on the copy stand, losing precise focus. After reading reviews, I opted for the Venus lens mounted on the Fuji X-T2, and have been very happy with the build quality of the lens and the sharpness of the images. I haven't had a chance to use it for nature macro work (flowers, insects) but expect it will perform well. A solid buy for those without the budget for the Fujifilm macro lenses.

PATRICK G.

2022-06-15T19:41:08

I also own the Laowa 100mm 2X macro lens. Both of these lenses are very sharp and well corrected. They're both great macro lenses, and the fact that they can do 2:1 macros is icing on the cake.

David B.

2022-01-18T14:00:48

I recently received the Venus Optics Laowa 65mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO lens for the Fujifilm X mount just in time for a trip. After using it extensively for over a month, I recommend it without hesitation as an absolute bargain purchase for Fujifilm shooters with a simply phenomenal performance to price ratio. Far from being a macro-specific tool, this lens is well-designed as an extremely flexible general purpose walkabout lens that can outclass lenses several times its price with its optical performance. Recently I have been enjoying using manual focus lenses on my Fujifilm X-T4, which offer a different and more tactile shooting experience compared to the autofocus Fujinon lenses. Manual lenses have smoother focus rings compared to focus-by-wire electronic designs, and often have helpful hyperfocal distance markings to enable zone focusing. The mirrorless design of the Fujifilm system enables easy manual focusing, with tools like zoomed in views and focus peaking (highlighting in-focus regions in a chosen color), so manual focusing can often rival autofocus in both speed and accuracy with a bit of practice. The X-T4 also has in-body image stabilization (IBIS) that can be configured manually by setting the focal length of the lens and a detailed name that will be recorded in the image EXIF data as the lens name for easy sorting later. A fully manual lens like this one that has no electronic contacts only has two significant drawbacks compared to electronically-enabled lenses: 1) The IBIS can only use 3-axis stabilization, rather than its full 5-axis ability, since the camera does not have information about the focus distance; and, 2) The recorded EXIF data will be missing the used aperture settings so you will have to remember or take notes manually if that information is important to you. This Laowa lens came highly recommended to me due to its remarkable optical performance, including best-in-class levels of sharpness across the frame and a near lack of chromatic aberration (purple and green fringing at high-contrast edges) due to the apochromatic design (focusing 3 colors of the visible spectrum to the same focal plane rather than the usual 2). After using the lens in a variety of challenging scenarios, I can verify that its optical performance is simply spectacular. Since I also dabble in macro photography, I was also attracted to the exceptional close focus abilities of the Laowa lens, which can reach up to a remarkable 2x image magnification on the camera sensor while still being able to focus to infinity as a general purpose lens. The main competing Fujifilm macro lens is the 80mm f/2.8 macro, which does have in-lens optical image stabilization (OIS), but which is also much larger and heavier and can only achieve 1x magnification on the sensor. After using both in similar shooting scenarios, I can confirm that the Laowa lens is easily as sharp as the Fujinon 80mm and has a similar working distance from the front of the lens for shared magnification ratios, but the Laowa has slightly less chromatic aberration and smoother out-of-focus regions while being much more compact and thus easier to wield in the field. Using the camera IBIS with the Laowa is not quite as good as using the in-lens stabilization of the Fujinon, especially at closer focus, but it is good enough to get sharp shots handheld even at 2x magnification with good technique (or fast flash). Given the advantages in price, weight, size, and out-of-focus smoothness (bokeh), I would choose the Laowa over the Fujinon 80mm if I had to pick one. The 65mm focal length of the Laowa has the same field of view as a 99mm lens on a full-frame sensor, so is a natural focal length for both portrait work and macro work. It is slightly less long than the Fujinon 80mm macro, so is also a bit more useful for indoor portrait settings that have less room to back up. Note that 65mm is a flexible focal length for nature and detail-oriented landscape shots as well. In fact, given the corner-to-corner brilliant sharpness of the Laowa lens, I have found it to perform exceptionally well for just about any photographic scenario I throw at it. I imagine that for many shooters it could easily serve as a single-lens solution that remains permanently glued onto the camera. The f/2.8 aperture is even bright enough for many lower-light shooting scenarios, though not as bright as the f/2 "Fujicron" primes or the various f/1.4 or f/1.2 Fujinon or manual prime options if performance in extremely dim light is needed. In my opinion, the only lenses in the Fujifilm lineup that rival the Laowa 65mm f/2.8 in sharpness and microcontrast are the Fujinon 80mm f/2.8 macro, 90mm f/2, 50mm f/2, or 18mm f/1.4 primes, but none of those have an apochromatic design and all are more expensive. (Note, I have not used the latest 33mm f/1.4 or 23mm f/1.4 releases, but they may also compete.) Overall, I think it the Laowa 65mm f/2.8 lens is a hidden gem and a bargain.

JUSTIN D.

2021-11-30T08:33:35

Great deal

ANN G.

2021-06-07T08:33:39

One of the best walk around macro lens you can own, Sharp small and light weight and focus is a breeze, has not come off my camera from the day I bought it, one of the most fun lens I ever had, oh yea talk about a beautiful pleasing bokeh it's got it., and OMG the Price from Adorama Is awesome!!!!!

BREEDLOVE J.

2021-05-24T11:00:18

This is a manual lens. That said, you should be shooting in manual mode while in macro mode anyway. I found this a well built and sharp lens. This was an easy choice for me. Fuji's offerings only offer a maximum of 1x magnification, while this lens offers 2x. This lens does lack the weather resistance and OIS possible with the one Fuji lens, the $400 vs $1200 price tag really made a difference.

WILLARD P.

2021-05-13T10:20:05

My first and only macro lens. I love it! The lens feels great. The focus ring is great. Macro photography is new to me so I feel like a kid in a candy store! Everything is new with the 2X macro! Great price for a great product!!

JONATHAN B.

2021-01-08T11:55:06

I was excited to get this. I ordered it directly from Laowa and had to wait quite a long time to get it. It does not get used often but when I do use it, it always is a great experience. BUT...about 8 months after owning it the focus ring (the big ring) has a lot of play in it now before the mechanics inside engage. So you can turn the dial about a 1/4 inch before anything actually happens. I sent out my lens today to go back to China. They said it could be 2 months before I see again which is not cool. I love that it's half the weight and price of the Fuji Macro...but I guess the quality is not quite Fuji level.

CHRISTOPHER S.

2020-10-14T13:53:34

I bought this lens as a casual manual shooter that shoots macro once in a while and was not going to use the lens for portraits because I have the Fuji 56 F1.2. Pros- Build quality: this is a mostly metal lens and you can feel it when you hold it. This is not a cheap lens. Image Quality: this lens is very sharp and the colors render beautifully. Little to no chromatic aberration and in the few cases there is, it’s easily fixable in post Size: this is small and light lens. That makes it a pleasure to carry around 2x Macro: This is not a 1:1 macro lens but a 2:1 macro lens so you can get extremely close to your subject and get a razor thin depth of field. Shows tons of detail. Cons- Ergonomics: the focusing ring is quite large on this small lens so if you have your hands on the lens to brace it, you’ll sometimes hit the focusing ring. A little more space would have been nice. Other- I thought the hood was loose but I didn’t turn it with enough force. It does snap on if you give it a little extra when you’re turning it. The focusing ring has just the right amount of resistance. For the money, this is a great macro lens to have if you don’t need autofocus.

ALVIN E.

2020-09-20T14:38:44

I love this lens - every bit as good as the reviews that sold me on it. Having been reliant on autofocus for so long, it's taken a little practice to get fully comfortable with the fully manual nature of this lens - you have to look at the aperture ring to set or verify your f-stop and rely on eyeballing or camera's "focus peaking" feature - after a little practice, it's pretty second nature. Solid build, sure feeling when turning the focus or aperture rings. I love having 2x macro - lets me get as up close and personal as one should even get, shooting hand-held in the field. Images are sharp, color is gorgeous, and extremely low if any C.A., nice bokeh. With the ~1.6x crop factor, this effectively is about a 105mm macro - and I've gotten some nice results trying out as a short telephoto and portrait lens. A bargain at this price. And nice that Laowa threw in a hood.

Jonathan L.

2020-09-04T08:10:53

Great super 2x macro. Very shallow DoF.

Roland F.

2020-08-04T09:27:19

excellent for macro photography

SHIPING W.

2020-07-23T12:48:43

Magnification is good. This is my first macro lens and my first manual lens, so there’s probably some user error, but I can’t control the bokeh. Once I get the hang of it, I’m sure it’ll be fine.

NEIL D.

2020-06-26T09:16:41

Very good macro lens for Fuji X mount

QI W.

2020-06-25T08:09:36

Sharp, compact, light. I wish the focus ring had a bit more throw to make really fine adjustments even easier.

Colin H.

2020-06-08T10:46:07

An outstanding lens. Compact, Excellent build quality, sharp, and 2x magnification! Must have for macro photography on mirrorless cameras.

NATHEN D.

2020-06-04T09:51:21

This lens is exactly what Laowa said it was and at the price, it can't be beaten. There is nothing not to like, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a manual macro lens at a reasonable price for their Fujifim X camera. Oh, by the way, I also recommend Adorama!

EMLYN J.

2020-04-17T14:15:36

Feels Light and Firm in handheld use. Manual focus is sensitive. Best to use a tripod for close-ups. Very good build quality.

Rohn B.