SEL30M35 30mm f/3.5 e-mount Macro Fixed Lens

Great lens. This is my first macro. Up close is significantly better than my kit lens 16-55 mm Sony lens and my 16 mm sigma f1.4 lens. I was able to get up to an inch away with amazing focus. Looks nice on my Sony zve10 first generation camera. Lightweight. Fast focus. Great for video and photography.

I have owned at one time or another pretty much every SEL-series lens between 16mm and 210mm, and this is the only one I refuse to let out of my sight. My two main walking around lenses are the Sigma 19 and 30, and I prefer to do portraits with a Carl Zeiss 1.4/50 for Contax/Yashica that I got about 50% under market. But for macro work? Only the SEL30M35. I have had a ton of fun with this lens, and it always earns me lots of praise. I use it with a NEEWER® Macro Ring LED Light - Works with Canon/Sony/Nikon/Sigma lenses which also acts as a stand when shooting flat items like currency, etc. Hint: go to the dollar store and grab a couple glass photo frames, use them to flatten the specime and just let the camera stand on top of the ring light. I have done this with the NEX-C3, NEX-7 and ILCE-6000, neither of these three bodies plus the SEL30M35 are too heavy so sit on top of the Neewer, and it will make sure that the focal plane is perfectly parallel. And due to the way in which the ring light is designed, even if the light is flush with the sample, it will light towards the center of the image. I have also used the SEL30M35 to do focus stacking, just shot a few frames, dumped them into PS Elements and used a couple of actions I downloaded. Instant focus stacked. The tutorial I used is at : http://www.elementsvillage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77567 (it includes the PS Elements actions needed to align the layers and blend them into the stack). Pros: fantastic lens, simple to use and very affordable. Cons: none. I used to be annoyed at it being f/3.5, so I stopped walking around with it, but that's a matter of education and experience. Now I wouldn't hesitate to take it with me if I need something even sharper than my two Sigmas. Sadly there's no way to caption the images: 1. Bee: this is focus stacked as I described above. 2. Pen: handheld, the pen is held by SE MZ101B Helping Hand Magnifier 3. NEX-7, SEL30M35, Neewer Macro Ring Light sitting on top of a $1 photo frame, which was used to take photos 5 and 6 bellow. 4. US Quarter, focus staked. 5, 6. US Dollar note. Update: somehow Amazon deleted the images from my review, and there's no way can see to re-insert them so here are the URLs: 1. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-rmZ3v4zzD_U/Ul72_j3-8eI/AAAAAAAD59g/xn4F3KE15pI/w1428-h952-no/bee.jpg 2. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-X6vghUee4IY/UOUS6AEinpI/AAAAAAABxdo/pVGLIZH1t2k/w1428-h952-no/DSC02234_Snapseed.jpg 3. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4zIKtJ1prAI/UPGWD1ZVmVI/AAAAAAABybU/DNNZsEJFDpI/s1600/DSC04005_DxO.jpg 4. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-89KTrkAs6oc/UN551_RNdfI/AAAAAAABvOk/HsW4EpawzHA/w1428-h952-no/DSC01714_Snapseed.jpg 5. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JlNzQmroepw/UN554HVStuI/AAAAAAABvPU/M4nbz3fdQzo/w1428-h952-no/DSC01728_Snapseed.jpg 6. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-D7yVm8U_98k/UN553eIKsFI/AAAAAAABvPE/v4GQ-q9jYbw/w1428-h952-no/DSC01727_Snapseed.jpg

In my opinion, this is the best way to spend your hard-earned money on an NEX system lens. Sure the Sony Zeiss 24mm f1.8 is optically superior making this only the 2nd best lens in the current E-mount lineup (as of December 2011), but the Zeiss is $1000 and this is a steal at $250, AND it can do macro at 1:1 magnification with minimum focus distance of only about an inch. While not ideal focusing distance for many macro shooters, it's still a very nice capability to have and quite fun to play with on my NEX-5N. It's labeled and marketed as a macro lens but like the heavier and more expensive Zeiss 24mm 1.8, it's actually a very versatile "do-it-all" lens as well. You'll be able to take nice portraits (though defocus bokeh will be limited by the 3.5 maximum aperture opening) as well as landscapes, "street" photography, and of course macro. The focal length is a very useable 45mm equivalent taking into account the NEX sensors' 1.5x crop factor. This is an impressively sharp lens, and is only bested by the Zeiss 24mm in the current E- mount lineup. I have yet to try the 50mm 1.8 OSS though, so I can't compare it to that. I've also been spoiled by the best Leica and Nikon optics which is why I'm even more amazed by what Sony has brought to the table and made very affordable in this fine piece. Although some have commented that it feels cheap because it's light, I don't necessarily think being light means that it's poorly built. In order to sell it at this low price point, plastics had to be used in lieu of metal (unlike the all-metal Zeiss) but at least Sony has given it a metallic-like finish to look the business. The focus ring turns smoothly and quietly, and after several weeks of heavy use, removals, and remounting on the camera body, I'm so far convinced that it's a well-built product. A quality piece given the low price. If you already have the Zeiss 24mm 1.8 (or planning to buy one) then there's no need to get this lens unless you actually need the 1:1 macro capability. The focal length is similar enough that they fill the same void in most people's everyday shooting needs. If you don't own the Zeiss (or don't think you'd ever spend that much on a prime lens) then by all means buy this 30mm 3.5 macro lens! It is the 2nd best lens in the current E-mount lineup. And considering how well cameras like the NEX-5N and NEX-7 can shoot at high ISO, the maximum aperture opening of f/3.5 is actually good enough for most low-light situations. Perhaps built-in optical image stabilization would've been nice to have, but I guess that's asking too much for a $250 lens. It's still by far the best bang for the buck you can get for your NEX camera. If you could only have one lens to have for your NEX, it's either this or the Zeiss. In my opinion, they are the only two E-mount lenses that do the new Sony sensors' justice. UPDATE 2/25/13: with the addition of a few very good new lenses in the NEX line-up, like the 35 f/1.8 and the 10-18 f/4, and since this review, the 50 f/1.8 from last year, this lens has been bumped all the way down to be only the 5th best Sony lens in the NEX line-up. It's still one of the best values in NEX lenses, not counting the Sigma E-mount lenses, but at least in my camera bag, it's been relegated to the shelf at home. I seldom use it anymore as the trio of the 24mm Zeiss, the 35 f/1.8, and the 50 f/1.8 have become my do-it-all kit of primes. Thus I have reduced my star rating to 4 as NEX shooters can now benefit from a greater selection of excellent E-mount lenses.

Bought this one used in “excellent condition”. Only Paid a couple hundred for it. Works perfectly. Pretty amazing at how close you can get to things and still have such a crisp picture. There is minor scratches that looks like somebody lightly put an x on it. Other than that mint condition.

I love macro photography, but I'm definitely a hobbyist, not a professional. As such, I'd been playing with macro extension tubes, lens reversal rings, and diopters. I was a bit leery of spending ~$300 on a specialty-purpose lens. I'm so glad I did. This lens is clear, sharp, and super easy to use, both handheld and on a tripod. It takes stunning macro photos, and it works well as a 35mm portrait lens, too. The autofocus probably isn't a necessity for macro shooting, but it is convenient. The image stabilization certainly helps, and is well worth the modest price difference between this lens and a comparable all-manual lens.

Good for macro

I bought this lens for macro photos, but as it turns out I use it for photos of trees and bridges (First pic). It works almost like a fisheye lens without the fisheye effect. The lens is quite slow, so when taking a macro shot I highly recommend using a tripod as any vibration, such as your pulse rate, will blur the subject you are focussing on. It is most definitely a fun lens to play with, especially when there is plenty of light. I use it on a Sony cx6000.

More than just a macro lens...much sharper than the kit lens and nice colours I can see the difference...can shoot from very close as described....it's an amazing 30mm prime lens allover and can be used for potrait, landscape etc..... it doesn't have image stabilization but I am not having any problems with handheld shots in 1/30 shutter speed...... it's a bit slower in autofocus than new sony lenses but manageable, use flexible spot and for macro we use manual focus for fine tune anyway. Made the right choice buying this.

more user directions would be useful

Gr8