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OM System firmware update leaks impending 90mm f/3.5 Macro lens announcement

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The expectation that OM System will release a long focal length (long for Micro Four Thirds, at least) macro lens has been around for a while now. A macro lens in the 90-105mm region popped up on the lens roadmap way back in September 2021, and development of a 90mm f/3.5 Macro was announced in a September 2022 roadmap update. Now, thanks to a firmware update for the E-M1 Mark II, E-M1 Mark III, E-M5 Mark III, E-M1X and OM-5 cameras, we know it’s on the way soon.

While OM System has not made an official release announcement about a new macro lens, the notes for the new camera firmware updates state that they’re pretty much only to ensure compatibility with the new M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 90mm F3.5 Macro IS PRO lens. B&H has been quick to jump on adding a listing on their site, although it reveals no details beyond those made during the development announcement.

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The new AstrHori 28mm f/13 2x Probe macro lens is half the price of Laowa’s 24mm f/14 Macro Probe lens

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Relatively new and unknown lens manufacturer, AstrHori, has announced a new 28mm f/13 2x Probe macro lens. It offers a waterproof design, allowing you to submerge the end into liquids while keeping your camera save above the water level, and comes in at about half the price of Laowa’s 24mm f/14 2x Macro Probe Lens.

The new AstrHori lens full frame and is available in a whole bunch of different mounts including Sony E, Leica L, Nikon Z, Nikon F, Fuji X, PL, Canon RF and Canon EF-M. Its working distance is a mere 10mm from the end of the lens, allowing you to get extremely close up to your subjects and it has a variable f/13-40 aperture.

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Ricoh launches newly designed HD Pentax-D FA Macro 100mm F2.8ED All Weather lens

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Ricoh has announced the new HD Pentax-D FA Macro 100mm f/2.8ED AW (All Weather) lens. This is the first Pentax macro lens to feature all-weather dustproof and weather-resistant construction. Ricoh says that when mounted to a weather-resistant Pentax DSLR, the new lens creates “a highly dependable, durable imaging system that performs superbly in demanding shooting conditions”.

The lens features a new optical design, although Ricoh says it’s almost as compact as its Pentax-D FA Macro 100mm f/2.8 WR predecessor. And as well as new insides, it also has a new exterior. The new design includes Pentax’s Quick-Shift Focus System. This enables photographers to instantly switch from auto to manual focus after the camera’s AF system locks on.

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Laowa announces new T2.9 Cine versions of its 65mm and 100mm 2x Ultra Macro APO lenses

This one might come as a surprise to some of you but guess who’s released two new macro lenses? I’ll give you a minute. I bet you’ll never get it… Oh. Yes, that’s correct, it’s Laowa! Well, technically they have and they haven’t. They’ve taken two of their popular full-frame and APS-C stills macro lenses and packaged them up into cinema housings. So, they’re sort of new, but also not.

Anyway, today, Venus Optics has officially announced the Laowa 65mm T2.9 2x Macro APO Cine for Super 35mm and the Laowa 100mm T2.8 2x Macro APO Cine for full-frame cameras. Both lenses come in an array of mount options and are optically identical to their stills counterparts, but with all the filming benefits of a cinema lens housing.

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Loawa has released another macro lens – the 58mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO for mirrorless cameras

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When it comes to macro lenses, the name that springs to mind most these days is Laowa, produced by Venus Optics. Now, they’ve added another new one to their lineup, the Laowa 58mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO designed specifically for mirrorless cameras. Like Laowa’s other lenses, it’s a manual focus lens, and this one comes in four full-frame flavours. Sony E, Canon RF, Nikon Z and Leica L mounts.

The new lens offers a 40.9° field of view on full-frame sensors and focuses all the way from 2:1 magnification to infinity, making it suitable for not just macro but also portraits or a general walkaround lens. It features an apochromatic (APO) design to suppress chromatic aberration as well as 3 ED and 3 Ultra-High Refractive Index lenses for maximum sharpness.

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Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro goes head-to-head against its EF mount predecessor – Is it really worth upgrading?

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Canon’s EF mount 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens has been one of the most respected macro lenses out there for years, for any camera system. Even amongst non-Canon photographers, it’s a lens that many of us have occasionally wished we could use. With Canon’s transition to mirrorless, though, EF is making way for RF, so Canon released an RF mount 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro, too.

It’s actually been out for a while now. It was announced last April, but this review from Gordon Lang looks at the more recent RF mount version side-by-side with the older EF mount version to see if the new one really lives up to its predecessor’s reputation and whether you should get the RF one for your Canon mirrorless camera or if you should stick with the EF mount lens and an adapter.

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Watch this satisfying time-lapse of pink oyster mushrooms growing

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We’ve shown time-lapses of mushroom growing antics before, and they just keep getting better and better. There’s not much more satisfying than a really good timelapse video so we couldn’t resist sharing this one from Jens at Another Perspective.

In this video, he uses just two cameras to create the video, although admittedly it looks like there are far more angles. He’s done a really nice job filming it.

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Laowa’s new 85mm f/5.6 2x Ultra Macro APO boasts to be the world’s smallest 2x full-frame macro lens

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Venus Optics has just announced their new Laowa 85mm f/5.6 2x Ultra Macro APO lens for full-frame mirrorless cameras. They claim that it’s the world’s lightest 2x macro lens for full-frame cameras. Measuring only 53 x 81mm and weighing in at a mere 269g for the Sony E mount version, that might indeed be the case.

The lens is coming to a number of mirrorless mounts, including Canon EF, Sony E, Nikon Z and Leica M – but not Leica L (Update: Scroll down to the bottom). It offers an 85mm focal length with a minimum focus distance of 16.3cm for a fairly decent working distance and the APO design, Laowa says, helps you shoot them with minimal chromatic aberration.

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Up Close with the Fujinon XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro Lens

One of my favorite ways to create more interesting photos is to get closer to the subject and fill the frame, eliminating or reducing background distractions. Often, I am unable to get as close as I would like to the subject due to the minimum focusing distance limit of the lens. This is where macro lenses, such as the Fujinon XF 80.. f/2.8 R LM OIS WR with their ability to focus when close to the subject, enter the picture (pardon the pun.)

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