nickybay

Laowa 85mm f/5.6 Review: The Smallest 2x Macro Packs a Big Punch

The new Venus Optics Laowa 85mm f/5.6 2x Macro lens is one of the smallest macro lenses that I’ve ever used for a full-frame sensor. It is even smaller than the Laowa 50mm f/2.8 2:1 for Micro Four Thirds, and that’s no mean feat!

Photographing Glowing Mushrooms in Singapore

Singapore is home to a number of bioluminescent fungi. Out of over 148,000 known species of fungi across the world, over 70 of them are known to exhibit bioluminescence.

The $399 Laowa 25mm Macro Lens vs the $1,050 Canon MP-E 65mm

In January 2018, I had the opportunity to test a pre-production version of Laowa's first lens in 2018, the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5x. It is a niche high magnification macro lens touted to be the answer or alternative to the Canon MP-E 65mm for non-Canon users (especially Nikon macro photographers).

A Review of the Olympus STF-8 Macro Twin Flash

Last year, Olympus Singapore loaned me a pre-launch unit of their new STF-8 Macro Twin Flash, together with their OM-D E-M1 and M.Zuiko Digital ED 60mm f/2.8 Macro for a test-run in the field. I've had the set for about a week -- it was easy to use and the results were pretty good, although it took some time for me to get used to focusing using the LCD.