Review on 🔍 Venus Optics Laowa 25mm f/2.8 Nikon F Mount: Ultra-Macro Lens with 2.5-5X Magnification for Stunning Close-ups by Jenn Simmons

Regarding the Venus Optics Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro Lens: The first thing that struck me is that there are no electronic contacts at the base of the lens, so the lens doesn't come with the camera can communicate . general! This is a really cheap lens. The next thing that struck me (as a professional photographer) is that in order to shoot at noon in bright sunlight at f/11 at 1/250, you need to set the ISO to 1600. What this tells me is that the apertures marked on the lens are nowhere near realistic. If it really was f/11, my daylight ISO would have to be around 160, not 1600! So you either need significantly more light than the midday sun, or you end up with grainy shots in all your shots. Also, this lens is an ultra-close macro lens, so close that if you were to photograph a wasp, it wouldn't even fit in the frame at the widest zoom level. That might be fine if you only want super small things, but you have to understand that this is almost a microlens. Because it's such a close-up, your depth of field at f/16 is only the thickness of a grain or salt. That's to be expected from a super macro lens like this, but then again it's going to be too small and complex for most people to work with. The two biggest problems are listed above, but I'll repeat them again: the f-numbers on the lens are wrong and exaggerated to give the impression that it has good low-light performance, but that's definitely not the case! They could have turned on the nice little LED ring light they made for this lens, but they didn't and I can't find where to buy one. But that could be very useful for every shot with this lens. f/2.8 is more like f/11 and f/16 is actually about f/128 and since there are no electronic contacts you can't see things through the lens' maximum aperture, you have to look through something small. aperture you have chosen. So the low-light capabilities really suck - you could say the lens only works in broad daylight. Another thing that annoys is the lack of vibration reduction, like I said this is a cheap lens. I will say that the optics (if you get ISO above 1600) are capable of delivering some well focused images, although the depth of field is very shallow even at the smallest apertures. An imperfect lens, but still useful if you know enough about photography to work with its limited functionality. I've included a close-up of part of the small feather taken at the widest zoom so you can get closer, but you can't go further. It focuses to a maximum of two or three inches. So now you know what this lens is all about. I think I've covered all the information you need to know if this lens is right for you.