I had the pleasure of taking a bunch of sample pics with the Sony 30mm Macro lens and Nex-7 over the past few days. The Sony 30mm Macro lens is a great lens to have as there are currently no other macro lenses besides another 30mm macro that Sigma just re-leased. Why Sigma chose to make the two same exact focal length lenses as Sony is beyond me, but they did 😉 The Sony 30mm Macro lens for the Nex Camera system goes for ~$250. In my opinion that is a killer price for what you get optical quality wise in particular. In fact every Sony Nex lens I’ve tested so far has be excellent, and I have the images to prove it! I wish I could say the same for Tamron or Sigma.
First impressions of the 30mm Macro lens when mounted on the Nex-7 are it’s very light weight and sharp!! I Also really like the 30mm focal length on the APS-C sized sensor which makes it pretty close to 50mm (~48mm in 35mm equivalent). It’s short enough that you can pretty close to your subjects when using it as a portrait style lens. For Macro purposes however, I do find the 30mm a bit to short. Especially when trying to achievs 1:1 magnification. You pretty much have to have the lens almost touching your subject. That is fine for some stuff, but not the best for anything alive like bugs, and the perspective distortion is pretty noticeable when taking photos that close to your subject.
Here’s the Nex-7 with the Sony 30MM f/3.5 Macro Lens:
Specs:
| Focal Length | 30 mm |
| Aperture | Maximum: f/3.5 -f/22 |
| Camera Mount Type | Sony (E Mount for NEX) |
| Format Compatibility | DSLR (APS-C Sensor) |
| Minimum Focus Distance | 3.74″ (9.5 cm) |
| Maximum Reproduction Ratio | 1:1.0 |
| Groups/Elements | 6/7 |
| Diaphragm Blades | 7 |
| Autofocus | Yes |
| Tripod Collar | No |
| Filter Thread | Front: 49 mm |
| Dimensions (DxL) | Approx. 2.44 x 2.19″ (62 x 55.5 mm) |
| Weight | 4.87 oz (138 g) |
And Here’s Some Sample Photos:
Michele took this shot of my eye for me using the north facing sliding doors as out light source. I was pretty much on the glass and the front of the lens was resting on my nose for this image. That is how close the lens needs to be in order to achieve serious magnification like 1:1.
Sadie girl looking for pets 🙂
Some Nuts and bolts:
Ethernet RJ48 plug:
Some circuit cards with tons of tiny components to look at:
This is a cardboard shoe box with dashed lines:
These are Michele’s incredible Meatballs that are now in the red sauce waiting to be eaten for dinner tonight 🙂 Oh Yeah!!
Closing Remarks
As you can Clearly see, the E-mount 30mm f/3.5 Macro lens performs incredible well on the Sony Nex-7. Especially when you factor in the price of only $250 US!! The contrast and color are also decent from what I’ve taken so far. The lens Bokeh is not the prettiest I’ve seen, but it is nice and smooth which is still very pleasing to the eye. Based on these initial test shots only, I would have to highly recommend this lens. I will take some “Lab” type shots as well for the full review, but so far I think this lens is a great value for the dollar.
More lenses coming!!
I’ve been getting lots of requests for different lens reviews, so just to let you guys know, I got the Sony 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Lens, and the 16mm f/2.8 Pancake Lens with the Sony VCL-ECU1 18mm E-Mount Wide Angle Conversion Lens!! Stay tuned for some sample photos using those as well as the Rokina 8mm I have yet to use 😉
Best,
Jay
