Venus Optics LAOWA FFII 90 mm f/2.8 CA-Dreamer Macro 2X review - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh

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Venus Optics LAOWA FFII 90 mm f/2.8 CA-Dreamer Macro 2X

17 February 2025

Maciej Latałło

7. Coma, astigmatism and bokeh

The Venus Optics Laowa FFII 90 mm f/2.8 CA-Dreamer Macro 2X doesn't correct coma in a perfect way and, at the same time, it does so noticeably weaker than the Tamron. It partially can explain why the Laowa fares weaker on the edge of the frame when it comes to the resolution. Of course you have to be aware of the fact that you still deal here with a medium level that is dangerously close to high values.

Center, f/2.8	Corner APS-C, f/2.8	Corner FF, f/2.8

Center, f/4.0	Corner APS-C, f/4.0	Corner FF, f/4.0

In order to present a complete picture of the situation in this category we decided to present crops taken from the upper left-hand corner of our photos of night sky. This time we show shots taken by f/2.8, f/4.0, and f/5.6. It is clear that even on stopping down the aperture by 2 EV coma is not completely corrected and its effects are still present in a form of a very small 'comma'. It is also clear that stopping down helps a lot to limit higher degree aberrations that cause characteristic 'wings'. All these features have to influence the level of resolution on the edge of the frame and can be another reason why in the case of the Laowa the performance in the centre is much better than the performance on the edge of the frame.

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Corner FF, f/2.8	Corner FF, f/4.0	Corner FF, f/5.6

Astigmatism, understood as an average difference between horizontal and vertical MTF50 function values, amounted to just 2.4%. It is a very low result and also the best among the whole group of direct Laowa rivals.

The appearance of out-of-focus images produced by the tested Laowa is really nice. There are no aspherical elements in the optical construction of this lens so it would be difficult to expect any onion ring bokeh. Indeed the interior of the circles feature a very smooth and even light spread and the rim, appearing on stopping down, is only moderately intensive. Still mechanical vignetting makes itself felt and its influence, even if slight, remains visible also on stopping down the aperture by 2 EV.

Center, f/3.3	Corner APS-C, f/3.3	Corner FF, f/3.3

Center, f/4.0	Corner APS-C, f/4.0	Corner FF, f/4.0

Center, f/5.6	Corner APS-C, f/5.6	Corner FF, f/5.6