4 Months with Laowa's Aurogon - A High Magnification System for the rest if us!

Laowa Aurogon Review
One of the most exciting lens systems for macro enthusiasts since Antonie van Leeuwenhoek invented the scanning electron microscope in 1266. This changes everything for the aspiring extreme magnification photography buff who has the passion but lacks the big bucks needed for traditional systems.
The lenses are only available from Laowa directly so to order yours go to @/laowa-aurogon-ff-10-50x-na0-5-supermicro-apo
Also coming out over the next couple of weeks are videos on how to use the Aurogon in the studio and in the field, as well as a DIY support system for your lenses - a lot of content coming your way.
If you buy one of these amazing sets you will need a support system - and my support system is free, you just have to make it. I have a video coming out next week, but you can order the parts you are going to need today - which are:
One Prusa printer - amzn.to/3PrnPQ5 (of course any printer will do)
One spool of black PLA+ @
4 thumbscrews. @
One roll of neoprene 1/8” x 1” @
A bag of 1/4”-20 threaded inserts. @
And a set of soldering iron tips to place the inserts. @
I am going to check the g-code and post it early next week
Gear
Nikon D850 - @
Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom - @
Other cameras Nikon D7500 - @
A Nikon D3400 - @
A Fujifilm XT-2, with a battery grip - @
I use a TS adapter from Kipon- @
I use Audio Technica shotgun microphones in the studio, - @
And the Procaster from Australian mic-maker Rode - @
who also make my DSLR microphone - @
and my wireless microphone system - @
I record all my sound separately onto the awesome Zoom H5 Digital Audio Recorder. - @
I have retired the GoPro Hero 8 Black and Media Mod - amzn.to/2UScm3J & @
And am now using the Osmo Pocket II for DJI - this thing is incredible - if you EVER shoot content for uploading or sending to friends, get this creator kit - you will thank me... @
That is just some of the stuff I use - if you have any questions about my macro gear, or my recording equipment, just ask.
All my audio, music and sound effects comes for Epidemic Sound - I have been with them for about 3 years and they are pretty awesome - @
FIND ME HERE
I am not good about social media - I have no time, but every once in a while I will post to ...
Instagram: @_new_trix
Flickr: @manofmacro/
Twitter: @lls
I am getting better at being over here - Discord: This is an invitation… come on over and meet the rest of the gang! @
I do keep my website current - My website: @
SUPPORT ME HERE
If you would like to support my work, you can do so in any of the following ways:
by becoming a Patreon patron - @llsphotography
By making a donation to the video assistance fund on my website @ns
You could buy me a cup of coffee via PayPal, but clicking on @cro
For the most complete selection of macro photography products in the world, all on the same site, use this link when you go shopping on Amazon - amzn.to/3eV74vk. The sis an affiliate link which means that I may make a small commission for referring you to Amazon when you complete a qualifying purchase! Thank you!

[@StewartWoodArt]

I've been waiting for this video so SO LONG! Well done!

[@DavidH-fz8ky]

As always, great work and a brilliant video. Many thanks, Allan.

[@FranciscoLopez-Machado]

Hello Alan! It's nice to see you again doing these extreme macro photography equipment reviews. Thank you very much for creating such interesting content. A hug from Cali, Colombia.

[@oliverhintz594]

Once more Allan, thank you for this very informative video. I have learned a lot since I discovered your channel a year ago! Really great work and so much fun. Greetings from Switzerland, Oliver

[@skelmawhrin6887]

Great review Allan. Well done!

[@steveupperman9734]

Thanks, I've been waiting for this review.

[@djkfhdjkgf]

fantastically useful review, thank you so much

[@Koolik-art]

wow! awesome review as always, thanks!!!

[@darekpro6117]

great video as always. thanks a ton!

[@bulletsie]

Looking forward to your other videos! I've only started to go from 5:1 Venus optics to a 5x and 10x tubelens non branded microscope objective system, I'm drooling looking at this bit of kit! I like insect macro but would love to see this set up to specifically photograph microchips. When I used to work in a waferfab many years ago we viewed silicon wafers at 40x when doing inspections it would sure be interesting to see this system at max magnification on small chips to see if you can get good details on the metal layers.

[@GUANTA23K]

"There's NO depth of field" 😆 Great review, as always! And what a great set of lenses - WOW. Instantly ordered them even before watching your video. A set of 4 microscope lenses from 10x(!) to 50x(!!!) for 1500 $, natively designed for full frame... I mean... what is going on?! I will have fun with those for years to come.

[@dsvilko]

A high magnification lens for the rest of us - that sounds very promising! (I naively thought, still using a $20 AmScope objective and hoping to do a slight upgrade).

[@MrMick560]

Very thorough, and must have been a lot of hard work.

[@biancadupont2931]

and thank you very informative

[@biancadupont2931]

Thanks!

[@GianfrancoAlemanno]

Thank you

[@oscarx6384]

nice video

[@well5423]

For younger viewers: watch this video at 1.25X speed and Allan Walls will sound like our normal speed.

[@ricardozettl6713]

I'm an older viewer and for me the speed is fine just like it is. I like to think about what I'm listening.

[@user-me4oh3wk2v]

x1.7 is fine (for every yt video)

[@wheetgeneration]

Thanks for the awesome review. I would suggest posting the .stl files vs. the gcode itself. People using other printers will want to use a different slicer.

[@jamieekinney]

Posting the .stl will also allow us to use different filaments if we like.

[@KP_Macro]

At 20:19 you show price with coupon - is there a coupon code?

[@andyvan5692]

at 15:45 a great 'collet' to grab the tube, but have you thought about using a Sinar P ( the rail, optical bench and standard carriers, which have a pin which holds the format frames on)- this could be where the ring affixes, and if this goes onto it, it would hold it solid, no movement, plus be adaptable, due to the monorail design, to adding the other parts to the lens system, just extend the standards further apart. ( also due to a feature of this sinar system, a standard can be 'dropped' downwards 90 deg. acting like a table, also with full std. movements (height, and two and fro), allowing for 'targeting' the specimen to the lens, not the other way around!!).

[@scottfairbairn6305]

Very interesting, where did you get the long rail for attaching the rings to?

[@tansanite09]

Will keep my mitutoyo 5/10/20 as you say… really happy with them but to be honest the laowa 2.5-5 is a great lens but the aurogon wont make me happy… great review thanks

[@sebastiaanx7867]

I see you use a fuji too, and also has some artifacts in your images. I tried stacking last winter on myxo's for the first time, and i see the same black or white streaks/trails in the images. Is it from the sensor heating up? Pixels that have troubles?

[@SebastienHaagVideo]

Avez vous utilisé le kit sur le terrain sans trepied svp ? Est ce possible a main levé ? Merci

[@koziol79]

Has anyone tested Mitutoyo HR lenses? How do they compare to standard ones? the price difference is massive and I wonder if the difference in quality is worth it.

[@milenaresources4244]

I am thinking mineral imagery of raw sawed core. I am comparing it with the super easy to use Dinolite systems that can get to medium and high power (450 and 900x microscopic). Low power at 220x microscope power is just not enough. I have not ventured out of low power because each step is about $1500 and I can’t tell if it is worth it. I have proposed a comparison between the two systems.

[@braisfragapedreira6279]

Wonderful explanation, what is an mtf curve?

[@carlosdesoto8195]

For the time being I will keep my Mitutoyos 5/10/20/50X. It is very difficult for someone who already has the Mitutoto lenses to downgrade to another system with less sharpness. Maybe it would be another thing if I didn't have the variety of magnifications that I have today. Then I would think about it. I know of a friend who takes extreme macro photos with a LAOWA 25 mm and the truth is that his skill, technique and the final quality of his images are not far from a quality that if this system would guarantee it, I would think about it.

[@naturemacro]

i wonder if theres a way to adapt this to MFT? would it work? i havent been able to find anything related online so far...

[@EugenesVids]

What is the coupon code to bring it from $1500. to $1350? Thanks!

[@_gatsby]

just the fact they are not sponsoring you (which you deserve) or other major content makers for this.. says they don't even have faith in this themselves lol *also, if you are a "pro" why am i only watching this in 1080? :P feels like 2017 in here, hehe 21:42 i stopped the video thinking that was my smoke detector lol.. i feel silly, i fell for that big time

[@andreasoberg2021]

Not sure what your point is? Laowa has made some great lenses that are priced well.

[@_gatsby]

agreed, and they shoot sharp quality images.. but Laowa has done almost zero effective marketing for this package. doesn't seem like Laowa wants to get behind it as much, since it will lead to so much disappointment to non-pros who have never shot super macro. Also, probably a really niche market too. That was my point, they didn't even pay anyone to promote this i don't think, it never crossed my radar before your vid@@andreasoberg2021

[@ronjenkins4257]

I'm not to the point of benefiting from this system -- I'm currently working to improve the results I get from my Laowa 2.5-5x lens -- but I'm happy to know this system exists (and might still exist when I get to its level). But I've priced aluminum briefcases and see them in the $50-70CDN range. I could get one of those and the thousands of people seeing me with it would undoubtedly take me for a master of ultra macro photography. Seriously though, I might consider one such case as a container for the assorted lenses I **do** have.

[@smetljesm2276]

If this game is so diffraction limited how much sense does it have to take a 30MP full frame camera vs. 60MP FF?

[@mrnerdy3501]

I guess it depends on whether you're getting 2-3 pixels per diffraction limit. No point going beyond that.

[@teresashinkansen9402]

I think this is thanks to new mass manufacturing methods. About a year ago I purchased 5 plan achromatic objectives for about $500 I wasn't expecting much but a slight upgrade from my normal generic brand objectives, well I was blown away, they perform pretty good, the field is quite flat and there is almost no chromatic aberration. I found a review on the web and they compared one of the objectives I got ( 4X .1NA ) against others of brand name, even against a canon MP-E 65 an it performed better than some Nikon objectives with respect to field flatness and chromatic aberration correction and a tad bit better than the MP-E 65 in sharpness at the center of the field. The biggest issue Ive found is that the working distance of the higher magnification objectives (20X and up) is very small.

[@simonleung7615]

True, we should not expect a long working distance from microscope objectives; instead, this is where the MP-E65 shines.

[@MarcelloBranca]

allan,Antonie van Leeuwenhoek invented a tiny portable microscope not the scanning electron microscope, but you already know that, just a lapsus in the description of this video where u associate him with the electron and not light microscope

[@MarcelloBranca]

right??

[@vasyapupken]

i see how Laowa tries to please all those kids who want "all metal", "built like a tank" and all those nonsense. but let be honest - this set will be better if only lens assemblies will be aluminium and the rest of a structure will be made of quality plastic (ideally - carbon tubes)

[@GUANTA23K]

I agree, I dig Panasonic's lenses for their lightweight, quality plastic design. It's lighter, it isn't cold to the touch. What's not to like? I wish Sigma would do the same.

[@eric_has_no_idea]

The problem is that most people think metal = quality. Most reviewers regurgitate it on every review. They apparently have never hiked 10 miles with 30lbs of camera gear. Plastic can be great when done right.

[@biancadupont2931]

why don't you sell those instead of hey here's how to make them

[@robertstorost629]

My guess is that it takes many many hours on the 3D printer, Allan mentioned that in another post. So he provides the info for a 3D printer so we can make our own.

[@polka23dot70]

Obnoxious "music" ruined this video.

[@marknelson7451]

Thanks!