Laowa 65mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO Review

Hot on the heels of the EOS-M's Sigma triple lens review, we have found another review that is of interest to those using the EOS-M platform. I'm personally intrigued about this lens, even more after reading OpticalLimits' review on it.

It just looks like a fun lens to have. While the EF-S 60mm Macro is a great lens, I've not had the best of luck using that lens, especially with near macro distances on the EOS-M cameras in the past. This Laowa lens returns back to time and resorts to manual focus, which may or may not be your thing with macro photography.

This lens according to the tests that Optical Limits have performed on it certainly seems to live up to it's name of "APO" with minimal chromatic aberrations at any aperture. The LoCA and the CA chart is just insane.

I think this would make an excellent product photography lens, where you don't really need Macro or AF, but a small MFD is useful, and it being an APO is just perfect for product images.

OpticalLimits tested this lens on a Fuji camera, but the lens will behave the same on a Canon EOS-M mirrorless. In other words, it's a great lens.

OpticalLimits concludes;

The Laowa 65mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO is a stunning performer with just a few minor weaknesses. Its biggest value proposition is the excellent resolution. At f/2.8, the center is tack sharp with you a hint of softness at the image corners. However, at f/5.6, the quality is as good as it gets! Lateral CAs, as well as distortions, are non-existent. There's a tad of vignetting at fully open aperture but it's by no means disturbing and it can be reduced by stopping down. The quality of the bokeh is good. The foreground blur is very smooth whereas the background blur could be better. Out of focus highlights are nicely rendered at f/2.8 but you can spot that the lens doesn't feature curved aperture blades at smaller aperture settings. A big plus in our book is the lack of axial CAs which is already a massive achievement alone but even more so at a price point of just 399USD/479EUR. It is a true APO lens indeed.

You can preorder this lens from our preferred vendor, B&H PhotoVideo for what I think is a ridiculously low price for an APO lens at $399 USD.