Back in June, I was given the opportunity to test the new crazy lens by Laowa – the Laowa 24mm f/14 2:1 Relay Lens. It measures about 40cm in length and looks more like an endoscope rather than a traditional lens. While such relay lens designs are not entirely new with a few other examples in underwater macro photography, there are rarely any readily available options for terrestrial macro photography. I only managed to spend a few hours with it during an inter-tidal shoot, and compiled some clips in the intro video here:
ADVANTAGES AND FEATURES
ADVANTAGES AND FEATURES
When an early prototype of this lens was first revealed in Photokina 2016, many called it the weirdest lens ever. Many questioned the rationale for such a bizarre design but were intrigued nevertheless. Speaking as one who had dabbled with crazier lens configurations (next post – stay tuned!), I could understand some of the advantages of such a lens construction.
CHALLENGES
CHALLENGES
This is a highly specialised lens and by no means perfect. Its outlandish design comes with its own unique set of challenges.
EQUIPMENT USED
EQUIPMENT USED
All photos and videos in this series were shot with my Nikon D800, the Laowa 24mm f/14 2:1 Relay Lens, with 4x Nikon SB-R200, handheld. Check out my Macro Equipment page for more details on my usual setup.
CONCLUSION
This is a highly specialised lens and extremely challenging to use. When utilised properly, it will yield exceptionally unique images and videos. The image quality could be better, and the perspective could be wider. But at the time of this article, the engineers at Venus Optics are still refining the design for better performance. I’ve seen some variants of this prototype lens that had some really jaw-dropping features, but as those features were not finalised, I can’t share them here… yet! Meanwhile, we can only wait for this lens to be perfected for yet another world’s first from Venus Optics.
About the Author
Nicky Bay is a macro photographer based in Singapore. For more of his work, check out his Flickr, Instagram and Facebook. You can also subscribe to his YouTube channel and read his blog for more educational and fun stuff about macro photography. This article was also published here and shared with permission.
