[Manual Focus] This is a very specialized lens, specifically designed for extreme close up photography only. I knew this before buying it. At such a high magnification a tripod is essential. Also, a macrorail would be helpful (next on my list). Doing macro with this lens outdoors, you will need to be photographing stationary objects. Plants are difficult because the slightest breeze blurs everything. Likewise, most insects move about too quickly. Best to set up those types of subjects inside or wait for a very calm day. Having said that, this is a very high quality lens. Great value for the money.

[76°] Really, really, really small DOF! Needed a good focusing rail to use it properly, but, what pictures!

[0.11x] I just got this for my GH5 and love it. I have always liked macro photography and macro film and want to attempt it properly. You will need a tripod, possibly some lighting, and a lot of small detailed objects to photograph!

[Manual Focus] I first hesitate to buy this lens, but I found very positive feedbacks about Mitakon, a lens manufacturer from Shengyang, China. In the past, Chinese made lens have a poor reputation for quality, not so for this company!

[37 mm (Front)] basically this lens let you photo things like tiny bug, works like a microscope lens, and the image quality is super.� I am satisfied with it.

[76°] I use this lens for for images of plant parts 5mm in size, such as small flowers, grass/sedge scales, and tree buds. I do all photography handheld and am unsure why some online reviews of this lens indicate that handheld use isn't possible. I use generally f/8-f/16 apertures, fast shutter speed (1/160-1/200), and extremely high ISO (up to 6400 in dark situations, significantly less in full sun), and the camera's native flash and get images that, while not always exceptionally beautiful, contain useful details that are difficult to capture with other lenses. Botanical photography benefits from the extremely close focal distance of this lens - in all of these photos my hand is resting on the lens while holding the subject out of frame, so I'm generally able to get very stable shots that may be impossible with longer focus distances. Photography of mobile subjects is basically impossible, although I've got lucky a few times with slow-moving fellows.

[Manual Focus] Well constructed and a great value at the price.

[5] Works much like others have said.� The focus depth is minuscule so you'll likely combine several photos even with something you find to be relatively flat.� You'll likely end up like I did, scavenging your house for interesting object to photograph at a microscopic level.� Not sure it is something I'll use a lot, but fun nonetheless.� I think you could get away without using a macrorail, but a tripod is a must and likely will want to set up a sturdy table that you can set things in front of the lens as opposed to moving the camera around to various objects if able to do so.� I wouldn't say it produces the sharpest photos in the world but can't complain for the price.� I attached a couple of my shots so you get an idea of the scale of objects we are talking about.

[76°] Amazing lens for the price. Opens yet another dimension of photography

[f/22] I'm very glad I got this lens, especially since the price was hard to beat during a pre-holiday sale. As others have said, this is a fixed-focus lens, so ideally the camera is on a focussing rail and your object is motionless. You also need to have a good lighting setup.

When I received the lens, I did a quick test shoot with my camera on a "Velbon Super Mag Slider". As luck would have it, my kids just noticed a new stick insect hatching, so I used it as a test subject.�

I had an external flash to one side of the insect, a reflector on the other. (Should have reversed the direction, but this was just a quick test.) I then manually advanced the focussing rail in about 30 steps to shoot a stack, which I combined into one image using the default settings on Helicon focus stacking software. Pretty happy with the results!

So yes, this is a great lens for a studio setup. I can't imagine many instances where you wouldn't need focus stacking software to overcome the shallow DOF. �Not sure it would ever be of much use outside.