5x Macro Photography

5x Macro Photography with the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro Lens – Watch on YouTube

In this article we’re exploring some subjects using the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro Lens. It’s an impressive lens that can get closer to subjects than anything we have used before… so let’s try some 5x super macro photography!

Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro Lens

The Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro Lens looks pretty unique. It’s form factor is thin and small, but it packs a massive punch in it’s magnification capabilities. It’s a manual lens with a satisfying build quality and smooth zoom motion. The manual aperture ring has a lovely smooth click as you turn it, which you will likely be doing a lot!

It’s defining feature is the ability to magnify subjects up to 5:1 magnification. That’s huge! Even the lower end 2.5x magnification is much closer than most macro lenses are capable of and the detail that is revealed is facinating.

How to photograph at high magnification

While the results are certainly very interesting, there’s a learning curve. This is not your average lens, and not even your average macro lens. All of the challenges of macro photography are magnified along with the subject.

The most notable challenge is movement. Every small movement is amplified into a much bigger motion in your image. Wind blowing your subject, a car driving past your house, even your own heart beat. They can all show up as big shaking motions in your composition. This can of course result in camera shake and blurry photos.

There are a couple of factors to counter movement at high magnification. The first is to make sure your camera is as stable as possible. While shooting hand held is possible, it’s much easier to set up on a sturdy tripod. Ideally with a ball head and a means of adjusting your camera forward and backwards, as this is the only way to focus this lens.

A focus stacking rail is ideal for focusing, and will be useful for stacking the shallow depth of field too, which we will cover in a moment.

Hand holding a lens like this is possible, but less than ideal. It’s hard to hold the camera steady enough to compose a shot properly and camera shake is a much bigger factor. If you’re less than steady, a high shutter speed is a must, but sacrifices might need to be made elsewhere to accomodate!

Lighting for 5x macro

Photography is all about light, and that is no more apparent than with a lens like this. The Laowa 25mm f/2.8 Lens requires artificial lighting. We usually wouldn’t make such a definitive statement as we know just how resourceful photographers can be, but without additional light, you will be relegated to only taking photos in direct sunlight.

Simply put, at these magnifications, it’s very difficult to get enough light into the camera for decent settings. This is especially apparent due to the narrow working distance of only a few centimetres that can easily cast shadows of the lens or camera across your subject.

Of course, we’re well-equipped with the Adaptalux Studio Lighting System, which is easily able to get light into that narrow space between the lens and the camera and powerful enough to provide usable settings, though as always, there is a balancing act.

Focus Stacking

It might be tempting to shoot on f2.8 to get the most light into your camera and up your shutter speed or lower your ISO. However, with this much magnification, shooting with your aperture wide open leaves nothing more than a sliver of your photo in focus. The depth of field is so narrow that it’s hard to tell what you’re looking at in some cases.

However, if you have followed our advice so far and found yourself a sturdy tripod, focus stacking rail and some powerful lighting… focus stacking is the way to go.

Creeping your focus through the scene and taking images as you go will be tedious, but being meticulous at this stage will wield amazing results when the images are processed.

If you’re thinking of trying super macro photography at high magnifications like the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro Lens can provide, then learning focus stacking techniques are a must. Trying to battle against your settings at f16 just to get enough of your scene in focus is tough going. It’s far more ideal to shoot at a mid range aperture like f5.6 or f8 and rely on focus stacking for the depth in your image.

We have tutorials dedicated to focus stacking and how to get started.

Have you tried 5x macro photography before? Do you use the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro Lens? Make sure to show off your work! Just head over to the Adaptalux Macro Photography Group and post your results!

Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more macro photography tutorials, ideas and inspiration!