Mitakon Zhongyi 20mm f/2 4.5x Super Macro Review

This lens is a one-trick pony, but that trick is absolutely wild. The Canon Mitakon Zhongyi 20mm f/2 is a super macro lens that can magnify subjects up to 5x life-size, and you can get your front element almost touching what you're shooting. That's its entire reason for existing. It's not a general-purpose lens, it's a specialized tool for extreme close-up photography of tiny subjects like insect eyes, snowflakes, or circuit boards. Just know going in that outside of macro, its optical performance is, frankly, not great.

The sheer magnification is what surprised me, in a good way. Hitting 5x macro on a full-frame camera is bonkers and opens up a world of detail most lenses can't touch. The bad surprise was just how much the image quality falls apart when you're not using it for its one specific job. The optical quality percentile is in the basement for a reason. Expect significant softness, chromatic aberration, and funky bokeh from its 3-blade diaphragm if you try to use it for anything else.

At $149, it's a steal if you need extreme macro on a budget. For the price of a fancy dinner, you get access to magnification levels that usually cost thousands. But it's only a good value if you will actually use that 5x macro power. If you're just curious, it's a waste of money.

Don't compare this to normal primes. Its real competition is other macro solutions. Against a dedicated macro lens like the Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2x, you lose autofocus and versatility but gain way more magnification for half the price. Compared to using extension tubes on a standard lens, this is a cleaner, more integrated solution designed specifically for the task. The Viltrox 35mm f/1.7 or Meike 55mm f/1.8 are better 'only lens' choices, but they can't touch this thing's close-focusing ability.

Buy this lens only if you are fascinated by the microscopic world and have a specific project in mind. It's a fantastic, affordable gateway into super macro photography. For literally any other type of shooting, it's a terrible choice. Get a standard prime instead.