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The following chart presents a comparison between basic parameters of the Laowa FFII 90 mm f/2.8 CA-Dreamer Macro 2X and other mirrorless macro constructions as fast as f/2.8 and with 90-105 mm focal length range. As you can notice there are several important differences here. The Laowa is the only model that offers you 2:1 mapping scale; it is also the only model without autofocus. For the Sony optical image stabilization is the most important thing. The Laowa, as the only device in this group, offers you as many as 13 aperture blades.

In the photo below the Venus Optics Laowa FFII 90 mm f/2.8 CA-Dreamer Macro 2X is positioned between the Canon EF 100 mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro and the Voigtlander Apo-Lanthar 2/50. While describing a similar photo from the test of the Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD, we noticed a very small diameter of the front element of that lens. Here we land on the opposite side because the front element of the Laowa is big, even slightly bigger than the element of the Canon with a tad longer focal length. It is an optimistic piece of news for such categories of our test as vignetting. Still, we are going to confirm that in the appropriate chapter.

The tested lens starts with a metal mount and its edge features an inscription stating that the lens was produced in China. A mount surrounds its rear element, 28 mm in diameter. The element is mobile; it is set about half of a centimeter deep when the focus is set at infinity and it hides even 2 cm inside the barrel when you pass to shorter distances. The deepest position is reached with the focus set at 0.25 of a meter. When you pass to shorter distances the movement of the element changes its direction. The inner tube that houses the element is very well blackened, matted and ribbed, without any slits.

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The proper body of the lens starts with an immobile, metal ring painted black that features a red dot, making an alignment with a camera easier.

An aperture ring, just 7 mm wide, half of its surface covered by metal ribbing, is the next part of the lens. The ring features markings by f/2.8, f/4.0, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, and f/22. Instead of f/16.0 there is just a dot. The ring moves smoothly with audible slight clicks when you hit the full aperture marking.

Further on you see another immobile ring, this time with a depth of field scale and aperture markings by f/5.6, f/11, f/16, and f/22.

A manual focus ring, as wide as 69 mm at its widest end, and increasing its diameter, is the biggest part of the whole instrument. On its narrower part you get a distance scale expressed in feet and meters and a mapping scale; its wider part features fine ribs that increase the comfort of turning. The ring moves evenly, smoothly, and is properly damped; its focus throw amounts to an angle of 210 deg, a high value.

Such a value would allow you very precise settings if only the lens featured contacts and could communicate with a camera body. Without contacts your camera doesn't know that you move the focus ring and it won't automatically enlarge the image and without that focus control is definitely less comfortable. Of course you can enlarge images with the help of dedicated buttons you find on the camera body but it need additional attention and it makes the whole focusing process more difficult.

Lack of contacts should definitely be the new priority of Laowa – after all a producer of such class, present on the market for quite a long time, shouldn't have any problems with adding them to ensure communication with a camera body. Those who don't go forward, move backward. I don't think here of adding autofocus to all types of constructions at once but I think contacts should be added to all contemporary Laowa lens. An immobile ring with a blue stripe, the logo of the producer, parameters of the lens, its serial number, and a filter diameter is the last part of the barrel. The lens ends with a hood mount and a non-rotating filter thread, 67 mm in diameter.

The front element doesn't move, is quite flat, 48 mm in diameter, and positioned quite shallow in the barrel. When you shoot applying the 2:1 maximum reproduction ratio, your aim is positioned in a distance of just 7 cm from the front element.

When it comes to optical construction you deal here with 13 elements positioned in 10 groups. The producers weren't skimpy when it comes to special elements – there are three elements of very high refracting index, and also three made of low dispersion ED glass among them. Inside you also find a round aperture with as many as thirteen blades that can be closed down to a value of f/22 at the maximum.

Buyers get in the box with the lens: both caps, and a hood.