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I'm always one to love to see third parties do things differently than the OEMs, and one area that they indeed have done things differently of late is the high magnification macro lenses. This used to be Canon's foray, with the semi-legendary Canon MP-E 65mm F/2.8 1- 5x Macro lens that took you places you have never seen before.
But those days are behind us, as is that lens, because it's discontinued now. Canon has yet to come out with a high-magnification macro lens for the RF mount, but vendors such as Zhong Yi Optics have stepped up.
Zhong Yi Optics has just announced the Mitakon 55mm f/2.8 1-5X Macro Lens, and it's available for a variety of mounts, including Canon EF and Canon RF.
Lenses like this are usually manual focus, so having the lens manual focus and manual aperture isn't the worst thing in the world – and you're not missing much.
One of the incredible features of this lens is that it will function on medium format camera bodies, which means that the lens is projecting an image circle big enough for medium format cameras. This is on top of support for almost every full-frame mount in existence.
Zhong Yi Optics claims that the optical formula used in conjunction with the coatings minimizes chromatic aberrations and provides for razor-sharp images across all focus distances. The lens has a 9-bladed aperture to give nice, rounded bokeh balls. The price of this lens is an impressive $399.
A nifty feature of this lens is that it also includes a USB-powered ring light to attach to the end of the lens, and this provides some illumination when you have the lens fully extended for 5x magnification, and the image is quite dim.
There is, unfortunately, a surprising lack of details on the specifications, especially the element layout and coatings. I hope we see further details shortly.
For more information, visit Zhong Yi Optics.
Specifications
| Lens | Mitakon 55mm f/2.8 1-5X Macro |
| Focal Length | 55mm |
| Aperture | f/2.8 |
| Format Compatibility | Full Frame (Cover Medium Format, No Vignetting) |
| Magnification | 1- 5X |
| Angle of View | 1X: 13.7° | 5X: 5.6° |
| Min. Focusing Distance | 1X: 279mm | 5X: 272mm |
| Min. Working Distance | 1X: 150mm | 2X: 97mm | 3X: 79mm | 4X: 71mm | 5X: 65mm |
| Elements / Groups | 13 Elements in 8 Groups |
| Diaphragm Blades | 9 |
| Focusing System | Manual Focus |
| Filter Thread | ø 58mm |
| Dimensions | 1X: ø 67mm*87mm | 5X: ø 67mm*162mm |
| Weight | 690g |
| Mount Options | E, RF, EF, Z, F, GFX, X, L Mount, XCD |
Sample Photos
Also: it looks like all "sample" images are focus stacks.
- YouTube
Generally very positive, especially at the price - with the caveat that it is 'more suited to studio and field use' - which makes sense at this extreme magnification. Other comments that it can have low contrast (although 'fixable' in post), and I'm not sure how that compares with the old MP-E 65mm.
The useful attachable ring-light seems to require an external power source, although frankly if you're already toting around a tripod and rail, a little power bank isn't going to kill you. It presents as very sturdy and well made.
He mentions the MP-E 65mm (being 3 times the price), but my understanding was that that lens had been disontinued for some time now? Maybe there are still new copies available in some stores?