Photographer and YouTuber Arthur Reutov has published a new video showcasing the Nanoha Super Macro lens from Japanese company Yasuhara, which claims this product is the only microscopic lens available for cameras. The Nanoha is, as Reutov notes, quite unique in that not only is it a powerful macro lens, but it also features built-in LEDs for illuminating the subject.
The Yasuhara Nanoha is a 5x magnification macro lens designed for use with mirrorless cameras. The company says its lens is capable of microscopic imagery, enabling photographers to get unique up-close shots without using a microscope. The Nanoha name is inspired by the word nanometer, referencing the lens capabilities.
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According to Yasuhara, the effective F-number for its Nanoha lens at 5x magnification is F11. The company says that its macro lens exceeds the brightness of the Canon MP-E65mm F2.8 macro lens, which has a magnification range from 1x to 5x. With Nanoha, the lens must be around 11mm (0.4in) from the subject in order to focus.
The most notable aspect of the lens is its integrated lighting system, which includes a battery, multiple LEDs, and a USB connector for recharging the battery. The inclusion of this lens light eliminates the need to use an external light, which could introduce shadows that are difficult to get around with such a minuscule focus distance.
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Yasuhara provides a gallery of sample images captured with Nanoha, showing off what its lens is capable of. Here to provide a better look at the offering is Reutov, however, who presents the model, details its build quality and quickly goes through the lens features.
‘This is super crazy, unique, it is a lens unlike any I’ve ever used,’ Reutov said, demonstrating how he captures images with the Nanoha. The shallow focus distance means the lens must be placed flat on a surface above the subject in most cases, which is where the plastic housing and integrated LEDs come in.
Ultimately, Reutov notes that the macro lens won’t work for every photographer, pointing out that capturing live insects, for example, would be essentially impossible with Nanoha due to the focus sensitivity and need for, in some cases, focus stacking. Ultimately, though, Reutov notes that Yasuhara’s offering is ‘a very fun lens to use … it’s pretty cool to see how much it magnifies. It’s like having a microscope attached to your camera.’
The Yasuhara Nanoha Macro lens is available now in Sony E, Canon EF-M and MFT mounts from Yasuhara and B&H Photo for $ 399.99.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)