p.1 #1 · Is this normal for the Laowa 65mm 2x Macro? Aperture focus shift.
I just acquired a new Laowa 65mm 2x Macro lens for my Fuji x-t5. I like to check my lenses before putting them through their paces to ensure I don't have any defects. My experience with the lens so far has shown me some sub par sharpness compared to my expectations.
I think the lens experiences focus shift when changing the aperture. Specifically, the plane of focus appears to move slightly closer to the lens when I stop it down. This is at "normal" distances of 1+ meters.
If I focus at f2.8, close the aperture and take a picture I get notably worse results than if I set my aperture first then focused.
I know that focus shift is possible when changing apertures, but I've never experienced it first hand before.
Even when focusing after adjusting aperture, the results are still slightly behind what I would have expected from the Optical Limits MTF charts. Comparing this with my Viltrox 75mm 1.2 it definitely is not as sharp nor has as much contrast. I expect, and would hope, that the Viltrox 75mm is the better lens for normal distances, but the difference is greater than I would have thought.
Still perfectly "sharp" and usable. But between my expectations and the focus shift quirk I was wondering if anyone else has a similar experience.
Feb 17, 2026 at 04:05 PM
AmbientMike Offline • • • • • • [X]
p.1 #2 · Is this normal for the Laowa 65mm 2x Macro? Aperture focus shift.
I've found 9 of my alts(!) that have a focus shift so far. So it's not uncommon to see.
I have an old 70-210 Tamron adaptall-2 purpose made 1:2 macro (vs their tele zooms that focus close) that adaptall-2.com claims isnt too good past 1:10 magnification and i agree. The Canon 65mm doesn't go to infinity so its not odd if it doesn't have top sharpness and contrast at infinity.
Another thing is that up really close its easy to move enough to change focus if you adjust the aperture. Although over a meter that might not be too bad if youre careful. Are you sure opticallimits tested couldn't find it just googling
p.1 #4 · Is this normal for the Laowa 65mm 2x Macro? Aperture focus shift.
Focus shift is NOT normal, it is exceptional, seen occasionally with exotic designs. Certainly not with macro lenses. Before EVF focussing was almost always done at full aperture on an slr and we didn't have problems. I've taken thousands of shots with Nikon macro lensesover the years, always focussed at full aperture and taken stopped down to at least f/8, often further. No problems. Your Laowa sounds faulty to me, if it displayed focus shift I'm sure the reviewers would mention it, it's fundamental to macro lens use. And it gets good reviews everywhere.
Zooms with a macro range are generally dismal at close work, including the Tamron 70-210 mentioned, I've had one for nearly 40 years, excellent (for it's day) at distance, the macro is a marketing dept nonsense.
Gerry
Feb 19, 2026 at 08:17 AM
AmbientMike Offline • • • • • • [X]
p.1 #5 · Is this normal for the Laowa 65mm 2x Macro? Aperture focus shift.
gyoung143 wrote:
Focus shift is NOT normal, it is exceptional, seen occasionally with exotic designs. Certainly not with macro lenses. Before EVF focussing was almost always done at full aperture on an slr and we didn't have problems. I've taken thousands of shots with Nikon macro lensesover the years, always focussed at full aperture and taken stopped down to at least f/8, often further. No problems. Your Laowa sounds faulty to me, if it displayed focus shift I'm sure the reviewers would mention it, it's fundamental to macro lens use. And it gets good reviews everywhere.
Zooms with a macro range are generally dismal at close work, including the Tamron 70-210 mentioned, I've had one for nearly 40 years, excellent (for it's day) at distance, the macro is a marketing dept nonsense.
Where to even start, for one my 50/1.8 nikkor AI has a slight focus shift (though it is inside 5.6 marks on the scale even at f/16, still sharper if i correct for it.) Trying to remember if my 90/2.8 Tamron has focus shift, neither of these exotic. Focus shift isn't rare, even in new lenses
And I am talking about the purpose built 70-210 (52A) adaptall-2 Tamron macro, not the extremely popular 80-210 that had good macro
p.1 #6 · Is this normal for the Laowa 65mm 2x Macro? Aperture focus shift.
I have this lens and an X-T5 and I finally had a chance to test it. In short, no this is not normal performance for that lens.
I attached the camera to a copy stand and took 2:1 and 1:1 macro images of a $20 bill at f2.8, f5.6 and f11 and did not find any focus shift at all when changing apertures. The focus peaking highlighted areas in the field never wavered in the center and just slightly increased at the edges since the flatness of the bill wasn't perfect. The imported images confirmed focus was good across apertures.
I also put the camera on a tripod and shot a tapestry from about 2m away with identical results.
For both macro and normal shooting the corners at f2.8 were a little soft on the T5, not surprisingly, but images looked good at smaller apertures, with plenty of detail and contrast. Very pleased with the sharpness of my copy, particularly for the low price I paid on sale a few years ago (<$300 I recall). Not quite as sharp as my Fuji 80mm macro, but quite good and much easier to manually focus and set a desired magnification based on barrel markings.
p.1 #7 · Is this normal for the Laowa 65mm 2x Macro? Aperture focus shift.
@wsheldon thanks for your input. It sounds like I may have an issue with my copy.
Here are some images I took with this lens as a test. I've cropped them in so demonstrate the issue. The first image was taken at f2.8 and critically focused. The second image was taken after stopping the lens down to f5.6 with NO change in focus. The third was refocusing after being stopped down to f5.6.
As you can see, the refocused shot is obviously the best. But take a close look between the f2.8 and f5.6 shots. The f2.8 is slightly sharper. Not only that, but notice the concrete book end and how is goes somewhat more out of focus in the f5.6 shot.
p.1 #8 · Is this normal for the Laowa 65mm 2x Macro? Aperture focus shift.
Talk about timing, I have the very same lens, primarly purchased for photo digitizing some of my old analog output, from 35mm up through 5x7. And ironically, also on an X-T5.
Last night, I took my first quick images of some 120 negatives, one a 38 year old Kodak VPS negative, and another a very recent Tri-X shot. For the Tri-X, the grain structure was clearly visible, which was expected, as Tri-X has a distinctive, gritty but sharp grain structure. Grain was much softer on the VPS color negative, which was also expected. Both were shot at f/8 after focusing wide open.
Will run some more tests this weekend, and compare to some of my more specialized optics, like a 55/1.9 Computar and 80mm f/4 APO-Rodagon N, which are specialized enlarging lenses.
p.1 #9 · Is this normal for the Laowa 65mm 2x Macro? Aperture focus shift.
Taperwing wrote:
Talk about timing, I have the very same lens, primarly purchased for photo digitizing some of my old analog output, from 35mm up through 5x7. And ironically, also on an X-T5.
Last night, I took my first quick images of some 120 negatives, one a 38 year old Kodak VPS negative, and another a very recent Tri-X shot. For the Tri-X, the grain structure was clearly visible, which was expected, as Tri-X has a distinctive, gritty but sharp grain structure. Grain was much softer on the VPS color negative, which was also expected. Both were shot at f/8 after focusing wide open.
Will run some more tests this weekend, and compare to some of my more specialized optics, like a 55/1.9 Computar and 80mm f/4 APO-Rodagon N, which are specialized enlarging lenses....Show more →
Very difficult to compare colour and B&W negs for 'grain'. The silver grains very visible in B&W of course, but there is no silver left in a colour image, it has been bleached out after formation of the colour image by dyes. 'Dye clumpimg' is less obtrusive generally.
p.1 #10 · Is this normal for the Laowa 65mm 2x Macro? Aperture focus shift.
cirwin2010 wrote:
@wsheldon@ thanks for your input. It sounds like I may have an issue with my copy.
Here are some images I took with this lens as a test. I've cropped them in so demonstrate the issue. The first image was taken at f2.8 and critically focused. The second image was taken after stopping the lens down to f5.6 with NO change in focus. The third was refocusing after being stopped down to f5.6.
As you can see, the refocused shot is obviously the best. But take a close look between the f2.8 and f5.6 shots. The f2.8 is slightly sharper. Not only that, but notice the concrete book end and how is goes somewhat more out of focus in the f5.6 shot. ...Show more →
Yeah I see that. Here are some of my test shots, one set from 2m and one at 1:1 on the copy stand. Note that I bumped the macro light on the table when setting the 1:1 macro shot to f11 so there's a modest change in lighting, but focus was fine.
I just tweaked WB in post for consistency but did not pump up contrast, clarity or sharpening (just used LR default).
I believe some of the left corner softness in the 1:1 photo at f2.8 was due to curvature, since I just pulled a bill out of my wallet and didn't tape it down. I may repeat with a flatter subject at 2:1 some time just to check that out.
