Sony E 30mm f/3.5 Macro Lens

Great Macro and walk-around lens

For $ this is an excellent piece of glass for the NEX system. The focal length isn't really long enough to be a practical macro lens for anything living as it requires you to get so close to reach 1:1 reproduction. If you're shooting stills in a studio this is not such a big deal. As a walk-around lens, it's super light and very, very sharp. This lens, wide open at f3.5, I would put it on par with my old Nikon 50mm stopped down to f4. That says a... Show More lot about this little lens. In my testing I found that f3.5 - f8 are all so close in sharpness that I feel no need at all to stop it down unless it's for DOF. Functionally speaking, as a macro lens, I did find that by f16 there was some degrade in contrast and detail. Most of my macro work I shoot with lighting and the lens is set to f11-f22 to get enough depth to put my subject in focus. For $bucks, I'm satisfied with the lens' performance and will be keeping it and taking with me when I travel.Show Less

Reviewed on B&H Photo Video