Six months ago I tested the Oshiro 60mm f/2.8 2:1 lens, https://www.closeuphotography.com/oshiro-60mm-2x-macro-lens/, where the lens performs better than I expected against the Canon MP-E 65mm. Thanks to a loan from my friend Ray, thanks Ray, I am now able to compare the Oshiro lens against a Laowa 60mm f/2.8 2:1 lens.
There has been lots of theories online about which lens is a copy or which is a clone. I can say for sure that both Venus/Laowa and Oshiro share some of the exact same product photos on their websites, so who knows? I have a feeling both of these lenses are private label made by the same OEM manufacturer in China.
Both lenses generally look similar, but the front ends are really different. I would give the edge to the Laowa in fit and finish.
From the side, both the Laowa 60mm and the Oshiro 60mm look very similar, the Oshiro looks slightly longer.
Lens Set-up
Sony A6300 with a Sigma MC-11 EOS to E-mount adapter, with a Small Rig MC-11 tripod adapter
The lack of the tripod collar on both lenses makes the handling in the field less convenient. There are solutions, this is my Sony A6300 with a Sigma MC-11 EOS to E-mount adapter, with a Small Rig MC-11 tripod adapter attached to a generic quick release plate.
Test Set-up
For this test I chose a 300 mm (12 inch) silicon wafer with great patterns. Nothing beats a wafer for flat ultra-fine details, the geometrical patterns are a few microns (μm) down into the nano-meter (mµ) range. The best part of working with wafers is they will not warp or change shape in the middle of a test, they are perfectly flat and they stay flat.
Camera: Sony α6300, model # ILCE-6300, also known as: A6300
Sensor size: 23.5 × 15.6 mm. APS-C. 28.21 mm diagonal. 3.92 micron sensor pitch
Flash: Godox TT350s wireless flash x 2 with one Godox X1s 2.4G wireless flash transmitter
Vertical stand: Nikon MM-11 with a Nikon focus block
A series of images was shot with each lens in 10 micron steps, and the sharpest image was chosen for center, edge, and corner in Photoshop at 100% actual pixel view. All images were shot as a single RAW files and processed in PS CC with all noise reduction and lens correction turned off, all settings were zeroed out (true zero) and the same settings were used for all of the images. All of the images shown here are single files.
Comparing the Oshiro against the Laowa at 2X
This is the full un-cropped area at 2x, the blue outlines are the crop areas used in the comparisons.
All of the images below are from a single file and were chosen out of a stack of images. The images were made at sharpest aperture for each lens. For consistency all of images were made on a MM-11 microscope stand with two Godox TT-350 flash units and X1T wireless trigger.
Click on any image below to launch a new window with a larger version. You can right click, or two-finger click with a Mac and select the open in a new tab or new window options.
These are the center, corner and far corner crops at 100% view in Photoshop. The Laowa at the top and the Oshiro at the bottom.
Both lenses do a good job but there is an issue with the Oshiro with the far corner crop. At 100% view, the center and corner crop areas are pretty close, I think the Laowa shows slightly more detail but, the Oshiro shows a lot less lateral chromatic aberrations (CAs). The Laowa was sharper at f/3.5, the Oshiro at f/4.
The Oshiro far corner crop area is really soft. This is a single soft corner that will not focus. If you can make a soft corner as sharp as the rest, the problem is a field tilt. If it will not focus at all than it is usually a problem with de-centering. I believe my Oshiro lens has a de-centered element.
Click on the image below to open it in a new window, or right click, or two-finger click on a Mac, and select open in a new tab or new window to see the full size version.
The Laowa and Oshiro Compared to the Canon MP-E and Minolta Elite 5400 Scanner Lens
To see how the Laowa and Oshiro compare against some other lenses at 2x, you can see them against the Canon MP-E 65, and, my best lens at 2x, the Minolta DiMage Scan Elite 5400.
In the center the Minolta is sharpest, followed by the Laowa, then the MP-E 65 with the Oshrio the least sharp. All the crop images are processed exactly the same.
Comparing chromatic aberrations, the Minolta Elite is best, second best is the MP-E, followed by the Oshiro and the Laowa is the least corrected for CAs.
If the Laowa was corrected for CAs it might even beat the Minolta, but here the CAs really lower the fine detail sharpness.
Click on the above image that will open in a new window, or right click, or two-finger click on a Mac, and select open in a new tab or new window to see the full size version.
In the corners the Minolta Elite really stands out as the sharpest, but the Laowa also does great beating the MP-E and Oshiro.
Click on the above image that will open in a new window, or right click, or two-finger click on a Mac, and select open in a new tab or new window to see the full size version.
In the far corners the Minolta performance is on another level again. The Laowa looks better than the MP-E 65, especially in the blue interlaced patterns.
The Oshiro is suffering from element centering issues so its not even in the contest here.
Click on the above image that will open in a new window, or right click, or two-finger click on a Mac, and select open in a new tab or new window to see the full size version.
Lateral Chromatic Aberration comparison
The two center crops below are shown at 200%, the Laowa 60 mm at f/3.5 on the left and the Oshiro 60 mm at f/4 on the right. The glowing red fringing on the Laowa crop really stands out. The Oshiro looks much cleaner compared to the Laowa.
Click on the above below to open it in a new window, or right click, or two-finger click on a Mac, and select open in a new tab or new window to see the full size version.
Laowa 60 mm f/2.8 2:1 lens on the left and the Oshiro 60 mm f/2.8 2:1 lens on the right at 200%.
These are the same Laowa and Oshiro crops, with the Minolta Elite 5400 scanner lens on the far right for reference. The Minolta Elite 5400 lens has near-perfect Superachromatic color correction, the highest level of color correction. This Minolta is corrected for chromatic aberration where four separate colors can be brought into focus on the same plane, while simultaneously correcting spherical aberration and field aberrations.
Test Conclusion
The sharpness of the Laowa was impressive, it beats the MP-E in some areas, but at the same time the lack of CA suppression is a disappointment. The test results were a surprise, I expected the performance to be a lot closer between the Laowa and the Oshiro. After seeing the results I really doubt they are clones.
This test is also a great example of why you should test your lenses, my Oshiro 60mm is clearly defective. From what I know about the lens industry thats the gamble when you buy from smaller manufacturers. Some of these manufacturers have a extremely large variation in performance from sample to sample.
If you need an iris diaphragm and don't mind seeing CAs, I would recommend the Laowa 60m f/2.8 2:1 lens. If not, for the same price, you can buy a Minolta DiMage Elite 5400 lens and have one of the highest performing 1.5x - 3x lenses available at any price. A detailed review of the Minolta Elite 5400 lens is available here on Closeuphotography.com; https://www.closeuphotography.com/minolta-dimage-scan-elite-5400-lens/