£879/$719 www.astrhori.cn
Although niche and rather oddball, the AstrHori 18mm f/8 2x Periscope Probe Macro isn’t a new concept. It’s essentially a newer version of the company’s full-frame compatible 28mm f/13 2X Probe Macro lens, but designed for crop-sensor Z-series Nikon cameras. As such, it has an ‘effective’ 27mm focal length and gives virtually the same field of view as using the preceding 28mm lens on a full-frame camera.
The AstrHori 28mm itself wasn’t a whole new thing. It looked a very close copy of the Venus Optics Laowa 24mm f/14 Probe, which was also designed for full-frame cameras. However, both of the AstrHori 18mm and 28mm lenses only cost about half the price of the Laowa 24mm optic.
Key features
If you’re into shooting bugs, you’ll know they can have an unsociable habit of crawling, jumping or suggesting that you do that.
