Site Supporter Registered: June, 2022 Location: South Alabama Posts: 444
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 13, 2023 | Recommended | Price: $299.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Magnification, working distance, can be sharp | | Cons: | No aperture lever, zoom creep, cheap and goofy | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 5
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-1ii
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First thing first - I am not at all disappointed with this lens. I knew what I was getting when I ordered it, and all of the cons are either par for the course with a lens like this, or are mentioned A LOT in every review of the lens. Like to the point where I almost didn't buy it. That being said, you aren't going to take this out of the box and be like "wow, the craftsmanship on this thing is amazing and they really thought this out well!" - it seems kind of half baked. From what I saw online, they actually recalled this lens within a few weeks of release, and re-released it with a different front element.
Also, I have had this for about two weeks, but I'd say I've used it for probably 1-2 hours a day most days during that two weeks. I had some free time so I figured I'd go ahead and review it.
Just a few notes on how I use the lens, which is the type of use I am reviewing it for. I use liveview exclusively with this lens. I tried focusing through the viewfinder and it was basically impossible. I also use a flash. I don't think you could reasonably expect to hand hold this lens past 2X without a flash, and even then you'd need to get the shutter and ISO both really high. With the flash, I was able to hand hold to about 3X, and have been successful with 5X a few times, but bracing yourself (or better yet the camera) against something is pretty much essential beyond 3X and extremely helpful across the magnification range. I also tried a monopod a few times, which worked well, but I prefer to handhold it and brace.
As far as I can tell, this is basically a really long helicoid extension tube with a lens permanently attached to it. That doesn't bother me, but if you already have those things, you might not need this.
Pros:- About as much magnification as you can expect from a lens. There is not a ton of choice in K-mount for super macro, and this lens does an acceptable job of it.
- Working distance. At 5X, there is still enough room for pretty much any lighting setup you would use with a normal macro lens.
- Capable of taking very sharp photos. Very easy to take photos that are not sharp.
Cons:- No aperture lever. This is my number one complaint. You absolutely will need a light of some sort to focus this lens in anything other than bright sunlight. I have been using a Flashpoint (Godox) V1, which has a constant light you can turn on. The lens comes with some kind of dinky light but I left that in the box and have no idea how well it works. Do not expect to focus this lens through the viewfinder. Also do not expect focus peaking to consistently work on the rear screen.
- Zoom Creep. This thing freaking loves to creep all the way to 5X. Because of the high magnification, it can be very confusing if you don't notice.
- Internal reflections.
- The aperture markings on the barrel seem like they might be slightly wrong, I don't think this is really an f/2.8 lens
- Does not seem to be as sharp at 1X as other macro lenses.
- Cheap feeling. This does not feel like a piece of precision-crafted gear, it feels like something you'd make out of stuff from the hardware store.
Cons that are not really the lens's fault- Not very usable below f/4. I have almost exclusively used it at f/5.6 and f/8, and the diffraction softening is very noticable.
- Difficult to use. I shoot a freaking TON of macro photos. With an f/2.8 1:1 lens that has an aperture lever, I can usually get about 50% of still insect photos in focus. Depending on the lighting, I'd guess I get anywhere from 3%-10% in focus with this lens.
- If you see a cool bird, you can't take a picture of it unless it is less than a foot away.
- If you see a cool bug, sometimes you can't take a picture of that either. It can be very frustrating to focus.
- If you have a tendency to slightly jerk the camera a few millimeters when you take a photo, you are going to find out really quickly.
Conclusion
If you want high magnification, have steady hands, enjoy using a flash, have a camera with an articulating screen, and are not easily frustrated, you'll probably love it. Otherwise probably buy something else. I personally love it and if I were to throw it deep into the woods in a fit of frustration, I'd consider purchasing another one.
Sample photos
My album for this lens on flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/196206444@N06/albums/72177720312410214
My single in November album for this lens (still in progress): https://www.flickr.com/photos/196206444@N06/albums/72177720312389669
Some examples of the frustrating side of this lens. These are the worst images that I kept. There were at least 1000 that were way worse than these in the last two weeks.
Common Hentz Jumper - this was at 5x, f/5.6 and is an example of the result of not being gentle enough with the shutter button. You get slightly out of focus and slightly out of frame shots that were awesome in the viewfinder.
Ichneumonid Wasp - This is an example of why you have to use artificial light when focusing at higher magnifications. Looked in focus when taking the picture, but there wasn't enough light for focus peaking or for contrast on the eyes.
Some of my favorites with this lens:
Ichneumonid Wasp (Enicospilus purgatus)
Western (European) honey bee - this was taken with cross-polarized flash
Shark tooth - 28 image stack
Nut or Acorn Weevil
Fiery skipper
North American wheel bug | |
Pentaxian Registered: April, 2011 Location: Drome, France Posts: 305
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 15, 2023 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | huge working distance, ability to achieve 5:1 | | Cons: | lack of contrast, real aperture focusing, slower than supposed | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 7
Value: 7
Camera Used: K-3, K-1
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This special lens is able to shoot pictures from 1:1 to 5:1, which can be interesting. The working distance is huge: about 24cm @1:1, about 9cm @ 5:1.
There are some drawbacks: contrast is very low, so some post processing levels adjustments are mandatory ; there is no aperture automatism so you always focus at real aperture.
The lens has been redesigned because the first ones were not sharp at all, so each buyer(including me) had to send it back and we got a mark II lens a few weeks later. The first design looked faster than the second one (the front element was bigger), however the announced maximum aperture is officially F/2.8 on both versions. I compared my Mitakon to other macro lenses on the same subject under the same lighting, it seems that the Mitakon 85mm F/2.8 is in reality a F/8 or F/10 lens.
When you are used to this lens, it can produce very good photos, even handheld and in the field (of course you must use a flash).
I compared this lens to two macro lenses (Tamron 90mm Di (model 272E), Sigma 180mm F/3.5 macro). The Mitakon is better than the Tamron 90mm but the Sigma 180mm is the winner (and I found it surprising).
You can read a more detailed review here (in French).
Here are some photos taken with the Mitakon:
1. Moth at 1:1
2. Same moth at 5:1
3. Empis sp at about 2:1
4. Tiny diptera at about 3:1
All photos have been shot using a Laowa KX-800 macro flash
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