High quality macro lenses are not cheap. Super performers such as the Micro-Nikkors can cost many hundreds of dollars or euros. And the offerings from independent manufacturers such as Tamron and Sigma are somewhat lower priced, but still not cheap.
So is it possible to design, manufacture and market a budget price macro lens that compares with the superstars? This review will attempt to answer that question.
There are on the world market a number of almost identical 100mm f/3.5 macro lenses, all manufactured by Cosina in Japan. They are branded as Cosina, Phoenix, Vivitar and Voigtlander. The Pentax 100mm f/3.5 macro lens appears to be the same lens as well. The subject of this review will be my Phoenix AF 100mm f:3.5 Macro Telephoto.
On receiving the lens, I was first struck by its very light weight, specially as it is not an especially compact optic. The construction is almost entirely plastic - not the tough polycarbonate used in Nikkors and Tamrons, but a type which feels harder and more brittle. I have no doubt this lens would crack open if dropped. However, the lens mount is not plastic - it is metal.
The lens barrel is a double-extension type (one extending barrel inside the other) and the lens is more than twice as long when extended fully. Surprisingly perhaps, the front element does not rotate during focusing. (It is an oft-repeated fallacy that front element rotation is a function of internal focusing - it is not). The inner extending barrel is printed with scales in metres, feet and magnification ratios for both the "bare" lens and the lens with the 1:1 adapter fitted.
At full extension, there is a slight wobble in the barrel - about the same amount or a little less than my first Nikkor - the old Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-D lens.
Again surprisingly, the aperture scale is engraved (or moulded) rather than just printed onto the plastic.
The filter threads are 49mm, and take a matching 1:1 macro adapter. Without the adapter, the lens can focus to a 1:2 magnification ratio.
In the hand, the Phoenix looks and feels like a hard plastic toy. It is very light weight. The autofocus is extremely slow and rather noisy - not really an issue with macro lenses of course. The manual focus is quite loose, but has a very long throw enabling quite precise focus to be achieved.
Looking into the rear of the lens, it is possible to see the focus gearing - there is no dust sealing of any sort. It's possible that exposure to harsh conditions would spell the death-knell of the little Phoenix. However, it is so (relatively) cheap that one tends not to baby it. Over a couple of years mine has been exposed to beach and desert conditions with no problems at all.
One small but thoughtful touch is that the body has a moulded non-slip area to grip when mounting or dismounting the lens. I don't recall seeing this on any other optic.
The aperture ring has a notchy feel, and there are no half-stop detents. There is no minimum-aperture lock. (Another common misconception - on current AF Nikon bodies it is necessary to set the lens to its smallest aperture, but it is not necessary to lock it.)
It is in the optical department that the Phoenix 100mm f/3.5 macro lens shines. It is really quite sharp, with excellent centre resolution, and pretty good at the edges. Stopped down to f/8 or smaller, there is very little to pick between this lens and more expensive types. It does not match the superb Tamron 180mm f/3.5 macro but it certainly is on a par with the Nikkor 28-105 f3.5-4 in macro mode, and much better than that lens at the edges. It is possible to count the hairs on an insect's body, though they don't show the hard-edged crispness of the Tamron or a micro-Nikkor.
Mounting the 1:1 adapter (a 49mm screw-in two-element filter) allows the lens to focus in to life size reproduction. Again, once stopped dowm the results are quite respectable, especially in the centre. The edges are quite acceptable.
Contrast is excellent in the "bare" mode, and not too bad with the adapter. Colour rendition is a little cool.
The Phoenix 100mm f/3.5 macro lens (and its Cosina, Vivitar, Voigtlander and Pentax brethren) is an optical device designed and built to a price. Its intended market is the amateur wanting a taste of macro work, or the enthusiast on a strict budget. It is not (I believe) offered as a serious competitor to the micro-Nikkors of this world.
However, if treated carefully, and used with good macro technique, there is no reason this lens will not produce eminently satisfying macro images. It's not rugged, but I believe in looking after my equipment - I don't leave it in the back of a truck. Given some common-sense care and attention, there is no reason the lens should not go on performing for years.
Would I buy one again? If I was in the same financial position as when
I first bought this lens - yes, I would have no hesitation in buying it again.
Although I now have the Tamron 180, there are many times when the little Phoenix
is still used, especially when the Tamron is a little too long for the
particular subject.