I don't shoot a lot of macro photography. Aside from being commissioned to create some macro content for a camera manufacturer a few years ago, I've never really done it professionally – so it's purely something I shoot for fun. And when I do it, there's one lens that I always reach for.
Not only is the Olympus M.Zuiko 30mm f/3.5 Macro one of the best macro lenses you can buy, it's also a cheat code for this kind of photography!
First and foremost, it's super affordable. Specialist lenses, macro included, can be very pricey – especially lenses made by the camera brands themselves, with full autofocus support (unlike manual-only third-party options). But especially right now, with this lens discounted to just $249 in the US and only £212 in the UK, you can get into macro without breaking the bank.
On paper, this is a 30mm lens with 1.25x magnification – that's a 1.25:1 reproduction ratio, which means that your subjects appear 1¼ times life-size on your sensor. In other words, with true macro being 1:1, this is natively a greater-than-macro lens.
However, you need to remember that this is a Micro Four Thirds (MFT) lens – and the image sensors on Micro Four Thirds cameras have a 2x crop factor. So, in equivalent full-frame terms, this lens becomes a 60mm lens with 2.5x magnification – a 2.5:1 reproduction ratio, meaning your subjects are over double life-size.
But the cheat code doesn't end there! Not only does an MFT sensor double the focal length of your lenses, it also doubles the depth of field. Which means, for example, that you can shoot at f/8 while getting an effective depth of field of f/16 – but without introducing diffraction.
All of a sudden, this innocent-looking lens becomes an absolute powerhouse for macro photography.
On top of all that, unlike most other macro lenses, it's absolutely tiny and weighs almost nothing – just 130g! – meaning you can absolutely shoot with this lens handheld. And if you use it with a body like the OM System OM-3, you get 6.5 stops of image stabilization – making camera shake almost a non-issue.
Furthermore, combine it with computational features like in-camera focus stacking and you can pretty much bypass post-processing. Then there are shooting assists like focus peaking, enabling you to take manual control for ultra-fine focus. And if you want to get even more detail in your shots, you can use the high res pixel shift shooting to capture a handheld 50MP image or an 80MP tripod shot.
Like I said, I'm not a macro pro. But on occasions where there's something really small that I'd like to photograph, I don't reach for my big bulky gear – this little lens is all I need. And it's small enough to live in my camera bag full time!
Get the lens
The Olympus M.Zuiko 30mm f/3.5 Macro is part of the Amazon Prime Day camera sale in the US and UK, so it's enjoying a nice discount on top of its already attractive retail price.
🇺🇸 US deal
🇬🇧 UK deal
You might also like…
Take a look at the best Olympus / OM System lenses across all photography genres – and check out more macro photography tips.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
