In the macro photography World 1X Magnification is considered very good And what that means is practically if You have a sensor I drew it out here and You're taking a photo of a ladybug the Ladybug will be exactly the same size in Real life as it would if you place the Ladybug on your actual sensor but there Are lenses out there that get you even Closer than 1X magnification and this is The astore 25 mm f2. 8 2x to 5x meaning That it's going to get you to 5 times Magnification so the ladybug is going to Be five times larger on your sensor than It is in real life so these lenses are Pretty fun are there practical uses for Them well yes if you're an insect Photographer for sure but they are Challenging to use the thing about this One is that you don't have to spend too Much money to take on that challenge if You wanted to The Lens comes in a black Box inside there is a user manual a Quality control tag and silica gel and The lens itself plastic rear lens cap Metal slip-on style front lens cap and There you have it first impressions this Lens is unique it's unlike anything I'm Used to but it does closely resemble the Laa version of this lens which I have Seen in photos starting at the rear all Metal Mount no electronics no weather Ceiling I should mention this is a Fullframe lens even though you can use
It on a PSC that would make your macro Work even more challenging with the crop Factor on top there is a giant Astor Logo with lens specs and above it is the Focus ring which effectively doubles the Size of this lens in no time at all it's A very smooth Focus ring nicely damped With markings indicating you've reached Certain levels of magnification now a Few of these early models did have a bit Of focus creep I guess you can call it But my copy and I'm sure future ones Shouldn't have issues up next is the Aperture ring which clicks nicely from F2.8 to F-16 but it rotates this entire Third Barrel as it does so finally Around the front there is a dime size Front lens element and no writing here No filter threads either overall this is A well-built lens it's all metal and Glass and it feels substantial in weight And for the price I have to say I'm Impressed now the biggest issue with This lens is that it's not the easiest To use macro lenses on their own have Some challenges but when you add 2x to 5x to that it opens up another set of Challenges so part of this problem stems From trying to get stability so a tripod Is a necessity I'd say in most cases the Other part has to do with Focus which Does have to be done physically by Moving the lens forward and back which On a tripod at super close macro isn't
Very fun and then you have the other Problem of light there simply isn't Enough of it often times when you are This close and the lens blocks a big Portion of that light the last issue I Have to say is the depth of field which At these very close fields of view is Insanely shallow all that being said I Did manage to snap a couple of photos With this lens on my Sony a7c fullframe Camera and so here are some of them as I Talk about the Optics of this lens so The cool thing about macro lenses is That they allow you to see super close Detail in everyday items food insects Plants coins you name it and I will say That this lens is decently sharp I found It most sharp at 2X magnification as you Focus closer and closer to 5x the image Does tend to get softer due to Defraction that is pretty unavoidable With this type of magnification so it's Not really a flaw in the lens design Absolute sharpness I think is at 2x Magnification and F4 where you have Excellent contrast but you can still get Usable images getting closer if I were a Professional macro shooter I would own a Macro guide Rail and focus stack some 100 images and get jaw-dropping photos Of some crazy insect but I don't know How to shoot insects very well unless They are dead they tend to move around a Little bit too much for as challenging
As this lens was to shoot with it was Fun and it was simple there are no Inherently obvious or large Optical Flaws as macro lenses tend to be hard to Mess up how to focus areas look smooth Colors look accurate again I really Don't have any complaints and I think That most people looking at this lens Will also be looking at the laa version Which is a bit more expensive that lens Runs about $400 US whereas this Astro Hy Is currently on sale for 224 that's almost half the price even if The lawa offers maybe 5 to 10% better Optics for a super budget macro I don't Think you can go wrong with the Astro Hori and that is pretty much it for this Lens review I know it's short it's Simple but it's a simple lens to figure Out as well there's not much to talk About optically I'd say it's again Pretty good and it's very good at 2x Magnification really up to 3x and Getting into Fort starts getting a Little bit fuzzier but anyway let me Know what you guys think down in the Comments section below as always I Haven't done a giveaway for a while so I Figured might as well give this one away So if you want to get this lens for Yourself all you have to do is leave a Random comment down below and I will Pick a winner let's say in 3 days from Today uh and then I'll get this lens out
To you so thank you guys so much for all Of your likes all of your comments and Your support stay tuned for more have a Nice day bye by