Venus 60mm 2:1 macro lens!

orionmystery · Feb 7, 2015

Sharing a few images taken with this lens either a Canon 70D or 40D. Both full flash and natural light shots.

The good: Great to be able to go from infinity focus and all the way to 2:1 without having to add any tubes or teleconverter or diopter lens. No risk of exposing the sensor to dust. It's also cheaper than most other 1:1 macro lenses.

The bad: The lack of auto aperture makes full flash photography a challenge. I normally use F11 on my Canon. At my typical setting of F11, ISO200, 1/200, the viewfinder is very dim which makes focusing a challenge. Good focusing light needed.

But I think it's worth it. I am still working to improve on my current focusing light rig specially for this lens.

More thoughts and images here: Venus 60mm 2 1 macro lens Up Close with Nature

Full flash, night macro

Venus 60mm sample image_MG_6392 sample by Kurt (orionmystery.blogspot.com), on Flickr

Full flash, day macro

Venus 60mm IMG_5781 by Kurt (orionmystery.blogspot.com), on Flickr

Natural light, live view, timer, tripod. Nice bokeh

Venus 60mm IMG_5866 by Kurt (orionmystery.blogspot.com), on Flickr

Natural light, live view, timer, tripod.

Venus 60mm IMG_5827 by Kurt (orionmystery.blogspot.com), on Flickr

Natural light, handheld

Venus 60mm sample IMG_5703 by Kurt (orionmystery.blogspot.com), on Flickr

Full flash, night macro

Venus 60mm sample shot_MG_6366 sample by Kurt (orionmystery.blogspot.com), on Flickr

Full Flash, day macro, 2:1 magnification

Venus 60mm sample IMG_5755 by Kurt (orionmystery.blogspot.com), on Flickr

Ful flash, day macro, 2:1 magnification

Venus 60mm IMG_5888 by Kurt (orionmystery.blogspot.com), on Flickr

dxqcanada · Feb 7, 2015

Looks pretty good.
I had to look up that lens as I have not heard of it ...
VENUS 60mm f 2.8 Ultra-Macro Lens Venus Optics - Specialist in Macro Photography
Not expensive.

AKUK · Feb 7, 2015

Saw this on one of the big photography news sites the other day. Looks like excellent bang for buck. Still, for really small critters, you can't beat reverse mounting a 28mm lens and bunging some extension tubes behind it. With a standard set of extension tubes and reversed 28mm lens I think you get something like 9:1 ratio. That little ensemble will run you to about $50 lol. But in and of itself, the Venus looks pretty good. For skittish bugs though, the focal length will make life harder.

FITBMX · Feb 7, 2015

Great set, I really like the snake photo!

orionmystery · Feb 7, 2015

dxqcanada said:
Looks pretty good.
I had to look up that lens as I have not heard of it ...
VENUS 60mm f 2.8 Ultra-Macro Lens Venus Optics - Specialist in Macro Photography
Not expensive.

Thanks, Dennis. It's a good lens with great IQ for sure.

AKUK said:
Saw this on one of the big photography news sites the other day. Looks like excellent bang for buck. Still, for really small critters, you can't beat reverse mounting a 28mm lens and bunging some extension tubes behind it. With a standard set of extension tubes and reversed 28mm lens I think you get something like 9:1 ratio. That little ensemble will run you to about $50 lol. But in and of itself, the Venus looks pretty good. For skittish bugs though, the focal length will make life harder.

I think you're missing the point. The whole selling point of this lens is the versatility. It can go from infinity focus to 2X without requiring any add-on like tubes, teleconverter etc.

FITBMX said:
Great set, I really like the snake photo!

Thank you, Gallagher.

AKUK · Feb 8, 2015

No, I fully appreciate the fact that it's the first of its kind to achieve this ratio and still reach infinity focus, certainly making it more versatile as a macro and general purpose lens. Having said that, the fact it lacks a focus motor certainly limits its applications. Fine for macro work where manual focus is generally recommended and static people/objects. I certainly wouldn't want to try photographing moving subjects, like toddlers and young children with it though. Been there. Done that. Didn't get the T-shirt because I missed focus the vast majority of the time.

Up till now 1:1 ratio has been the maximum magnification with the same focusing range. The only lens I'm aware of that can go higher without the requirement for extension tubes, bellows or teleconverters, is the Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8, which gives 5:1 ratio but has a maximum working distance of 12.5", making it a highly specialized lens compared to other macros out there.

My point was that if people want to photograph very small critters like jumping spiders, ants and small flies, and don't have $400 to drop on a Venus, and normal macro lenses lack the magnification, then reverse mounting an old 28mm lens is a very cost effective solution. Just doing that alone gives you the same 2:1 ratio. If you add some $10 extension tubes, that ratio increases dramatically. I have the Micro-Nikkor 105mm VR f/2.8, which is absolutely fine for larger subject matter like flowers and bigger critters. I still reach for my Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 Ai-s when I want greater magnification. It's one of my favourite lenses because of its versatility. Great for landscapes, environmental portraiture and macro. It also close focuses down to 20cm when mounted normally, give you some really interesting perspectives.