The Sony E 30mm F3.5 Macro ($279.99) lens is small, light, and affordable—all marks in its favor. It's also capable of focusing on subjects that almost touch its front glass for a stunning life-size macro effect. It pairs well with Sony mirrorless cameras, but you'll want to be aware that its short working distance can be problematic, especially as it comes to casting shadows on subjects. For a bit more money, the Sigma 70mm F2.8 DG Macro Art is a better dedicated tool for macro work, but the E 30mm F3.5 is a good option if you want an all-around lens with the ability to focus close. Standard-Angle Macro The E 30mm is a little large for an APS-C prime, but not that heavy. It measures 2.2 by 2.4 inches (HW), but weighs just 4.9 ounces. The outer barrel is finished in silver and is constructed from lightweight metal material. A front filter thread supports 49mm filters, but you will have to remove the compact lens hood to access the accessory thread. The standard front and rear ...

The Sony E 30mm F3.5 Macro is an affordable, lightweight macro lens. It focuses really close, but be wary of its short working distance.

Light and compact; 1:1 macro capture; Crisp optics; No distortion; Affordable

Very close working distance for 1:1 magnification; Edge resolution disappoints; Omits weather protection and stabilization

Good all-purpose macro lens.

The AF performance is pretty good for a contrast detection system (albeit highly dependent on the base camera). AF operations are basically noiseless. Manual focusing works "by wire" so the focus ring is not directly coupled to the focus gears but to the AF motor.

First, this is a terrific lens in it's class: normal focal length macro lens, for the crop-sensor E-mount Sony cameras (e.g. A6000 and cousins). Exc image quality. The focusing is internal, meaning the outside of the lens doesn't move, a great convenience. Design is clean. Light weight.

The SEL30M35 has been designed to offer versatile, high-performance macro capabilities in a lens that is compact, lightweight and easy to use. It is a true 1:1 macro lens with a 2.4 centimeter minimum working distance that allows tiny subjects and details to be rendered with excellent resolution and...

I feel like this is no better than a kit lens. Lenses are one of those things you just have to spend some money on to notice a difference.

Great lens, to bad the macro lens selection for the e mount is very expensive after this one.

Haven't had a true macro before, and some are saying this is to short to be considered a true macro but it focuses so close that even at this short 30 mm (35mm equivalent to 45mm with APS-C sensor in my a6000) I can see pollen grains, so whats the issue! Fabulous resolution!

I've been using this lens for ca. 2 years already, mostly underwater. The pictures are extremely sharp and I actually adore it. I really like the focal distance - 30 mm, thus I'm not also able to make nice pictures of small critters, but also film some average size animals.

First things first: -What we all call macro lenses are, with a couple exceptions, perhaps better named optically optimized close focus, (OOCF) if you will, because macro means larger than life (look it up). So, 1:1 is the threshold of macro.