Laowa’s 90mm f/2.8 Ultra Macro Brings 4x Magnification to Micro Four Thirds

5 days ago 12

A black camera lens with blue accents and white and red markings sits on a dark surface, angled slightly, showing detailed text and measurement indicators on its barrel.

Laowa has brought its popular and powerful 90mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO lens to Micro Four Thirds, giving OM System and Panasonic camera owners a compelling new choice to get up close and personal with their photographic subjects.

The Laowa 90mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO lens was originally released in 2022 for full-frame cameras, including Canon EOS R, Nikon Z, Sony E, and L-Mount bodies. At that time, it was Laowa’s eighth 2:1 magnification macro lens. Laowa loves macro lenses, and makes a lot of very good ones.

While a 2:1 magnification on a full-frame camera is already very powerful, given the smaller image sensors of Micro Four Thirds cameras and the resulting crop factor, the Laowa 90mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO lens is effectively a 4:1, or 4x, macro lens. As Venus Optics, maker of Laowa lenses, notes, this enables photographers to capture microscopic details and textures that are “often invisible to the naked eye,” which is good news for nature and scientific photographers.

A black Panasonic Lumix camera with a large lens is placed on a dark, matte surface with a neutral background.

A black Laowa camera lens with blue accents stands upright against a plain dark background, showing focus and aperture markings on its barrel.

Launching the Laowa 90mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO on Micro Four Thirds makes a ton of sense. Many macro photographers love Micro Four Thirds cameras, especially those from OM System (Olympus), thanks to their rugged, compact designs and macro-friendly features like focus stacking and powerful in-body image stabilization. Here at PetaPixel, we routinely feature the work of macro photographers, and many use OM System cameras.

While the lens has a new mount, the rest of the Laowa 90mm f/2.8 macro lens is unchanged. It has 13 elements arranged across 10 groups and features an apochromatic (APO) design to suppress longitudinal and lateral chromatic aberrations, promising cleaner, sharper shots. It has a nine-bladed aperture diaphragm, a precise manual focus ring, and a weight of just 540 grams (19 ounces). The lens employs an internal focusing design, meaning its length doesn’t change when focusing.

A close-up of a black camera lens with white and red markings indicating aperture and focus distances, set against a dark background. The lens mount and detailed engraving are clearly visible.

Venus Optics notes that the new Micro Four Thirds version of the lens features electronic contacts for seamless aperture control through the camera body and complete EXIF communication.

Pricing and Availability

The Laowa 90mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO for Micro Four Thirds will be available in late February for $499, the same price as the other mounts.

Sample Images

A lizard with textured brown skin peeks through green leaves, partially hidden by the surrounding foliage. The lizard’s head and one eye are clearly visible as it observes its environment.

A close-up of a small insect perched on a green plant with seeds, surrounded by thin stems and a dark, blurred background. The insect has long antennae and transparent wings.

A close-up of a housefly perched on thin, green stems with a blurred green background, highlighting the fly's detailed wings and eyes.

Close-up of several colorful, striped insect nymphs clustered around white eggs on a thin plant stem, with a blurred green background.

Close-up of a green grasshopper perched on a leaf, with its face and antennae in sharp focus and a blurred green background.

A bright red and black insect with long legs and antennae stands on a large green leaf. The insect's body is mostly red with black markings near its rear and black legs.

A close-up of a large brown spider clinging to a rocky surface, surrounded by small green ferns, with its legs spread out and its face prominently visible.

A close-up of a shiny blue beetle with red accents walking on the edge of a green leaf, with a blurred green background.

A small, brightly colored beetle with orange, black, and green markings sits on a green leaf next to a large, round hole it has chewed.

A close-up of a brown praying mantis standing on a green leaf, with its front legs raised and a dark blurred background.

Two insects sit on a green leaf—one is brightly colored with yellow and black markings, while the other is brown and camouflaged, both facing in different directions. The leaf has small holes along its edge.

A close-up of red ants on rough tree bark working together to carry a centipede, showcasing teamwork and detail in the insects and textured surface.

Close-up of a red ant climbing a rough vertical surface, carrying a black ant and dry plant material in its mandibles. The background is blurred, highlighting the details of the ants and the textured wall.

A close-up of an orange ant-mimicking spider with large mandibles on a green leaf, partially covered by a thin layer of silk.

A colorful lanternfly with a long red snout, white spots, and green wings with yellow and white markings clings to the rough bark of a tree.

A small brown and gray frog with a distinct orange stripe runs from its nose to its sides, perched on a rocky surface with a blurred yellow-green leaf in the background.

A close-up of a brown frog peeking over a blurry rock in the foreground, with only its eyes and upper face clearly visible against a dark background.

A small black beetle is perched on the yellow and orange center of a white daisy-like flower, with white petals radiating outward and a blurred green background.

A bee collects nectar from the yellow center of a white-petaled flower, while a small bug sits on another similar flower below, set against a blurred green background.

Two brown beetles with textured shells are crawling on a fuzzy green plant pod. The background is blurred, highlighting the insects and the fine hairs on the plant.

A black and white butterfly with open wings perched on a green, curved plant stem against a soft, blurred background.

A brown, spiky caterpillar camouflaged against a green stem, with a blurred leaf in the background. The caterpillar’s body has rough, textured patches and small spines along its back.

A close-up of a grasshopper with brown, yellow, and orange markings perched on a partially dried, green leaf. Blurred green foliage is visible in the foreground.

A green praying mantis perched on a white flower with a yellow center, set against a dark, blurred background. The mantis faces the camera, highlighting its detailed head and front legs.

A green praying mantis perched on a white daisy-like flower with a yellow center, surrounded by flower buds, against a blurred green background.

A black and orange insect with long antennae stands on a green leaf, surrounded by blurred foliage in the background.

A close-up photo of a brown garden snail with its tentacles extended, crawling on orange soil. The texture of the snail’s shell and body is clearly visible.

A slender green insect hangs upside down beneath a pointed leaf, blending in with its surroundings. The insect's long antennae and legs are clearly visible against a blurred, dark green background.

A praying mantis camouflaged among green leaves, hanging upside down with its legs tucked in and head visible, blending in with the surrounding foliage.

A green praying mantis is camouflaged on a large green leaf, blending in with its surroundings. The background is dark, highlighting the mantis and the leaf veins.