[46 mm (Front)] I bought this lens to supplement my 60 mm macro. This now gives me two lenses that allow me to focus stack in my camera. It's a pity that only a few Olympus lenses can be used for focus stacking. And most of those are the more expensive Pro lenses. At a sale price of $199.99, this was a good second choice. And there are a few times when a 120 mm equivalent lens is just too long. This lens looks and feels like a toy lens. Especially when you look at the size of the front element. Still, this is an f/3.5-22 lens. And I can say that it is quite sharp. The focus ring is very smooth, and the lens remains the same size at all focusing distances. I did a simple comparison shot with my 60 mm macro at f/5 .6 and could see no difference in sharpness. The 60 mm was a little warmer, (or maybe the 30 mm was cooler, I'm not sure which). I didn't check the refraction at f/22 but then I very seldom shoot smaller than f/11 and all my other lenses do pretty well that even f/16. As usual for Olympus, a lens hood was not provided. Although I have noticed that they are starting to include the hood with some of their lenses. So first thing I did was order a rubber lens hood for the 30 mm. It cost 10 bucks is also threaded on the inside so I can use put on the lens cap or install a filter without removing the hood. Rubber is also good for those aquarium shots I can put the lens right against the glass blocking out spurious light. Plus it pops in for storage.

[0.45 lb] A lot of people seem to wonder why anyone bothers with all the short focal length macro lenses like this 30mm f3.5 lens, the Nikon Z 50mm f2.8 MC, the Nikon 55mm micro, and similar lenses like that. These short lenses really shine when you're trying to do copy work since it lets you use a shorter and stiffer stand even with larger documents. These are also great lenses for transmissive scanning where you shine a light behind the transparency and great lenses for scanning film. You can scan an 8x10 negative at a reasonable distance with a shorter macro lens like this. The other question people ask is why so slow. If you're doing a lot of macro work, depth of field is pretty much nil. You really need to stop down the lens or use some focus stacking with certain subjects. F3.5 does not give me enough depth of field for some of the subjects I shoot. With a smaller aperture you don't need as many slices when stacking or to stop down so much. If you need a portrait lens, get an actual portrait lens because this is probably not what you are looking for, and if you do insects or some flowers get the longer macros so you don't have to be in their faces and can get better illumination. If you're doing copy work or don't mind having more depth of field for other kinds of photos, this is the lens to get. I wish there was a way to see my magnification ratio on this lens or have an MF clutch, but I can figure that out through measurement if I need to. In the meantime, this is really working well for me for copy work. Love this! You can also use this with the Nikon ES-2 set. I don't personally do this, but I've seen more than one setup with the ES-2, and many people seem to be using this combination for their day to day film scanning. The high-res shot mode really works well for scanning since nothing is moving, and you get a lot more dynamic range this way.

[Autofocus] I am not a real macro photographer. I bought this lens after some searching trying to find a solution to rapidly scan my 35mm slides -- most macro lenses do not have the right combination of focusing distance and magnification to get the job. A lot of the benefits of this lens are tied into the micro 4/3rds system, such as its combination of small size and weight for its magnification and focusing distance. Having the image stabilization in the body also helps. My plans are to build a contraption that will hold and light my slides / film while keeping the camera the correct distance away from them. I'll then use my computer to tether to the camera and activate the shutter; I'm hoping to automate making HDRs and do composite images for larger film formats like 4x5.

[Autofocus] I love the size and the weight of this small jewel. is the equivalent of 60mm full frame lens, but is just kind slow glass f3.5 for the size but in today's system being slow it is not a really a big deal.

[40°] I bought the 30 mm because I am tired of my 60mm having a hard time with focus in turbulent water when scuba diving. I tested it last week on a trip to the Blue Heron Bridge in Riveria Beach. It did not disappoint, fast focus every time. I am 100% sold on this lens.

[Autofocus] This lens is an amazing value. It has great sharpness and color and extremely fast autofocus. If you have never used a macro lens before, it will open up a whole new world to you. If you shoot Olympus or other micro 4/3, you owe it to yourself to buy this lens.

[f/3.5] This is a good lens to have. You can take close ups of items far better and compose some fascinating photography.

[1.25:1] Great macro lens !!!! It is light, easy to focus and the photos are just out of this world !!!! I also have the Olympus 60 mm macro but, I use the 30mm macro because it is easier to carry on my Olympus M10 Mark 111. If you buy this lens you will love it !!!!! Thank you B&H Photo for having this lens.

[7, Rounded] I am a new M4/3 owner, and this lens was an affordable entry into macro photography that didn't make me feel like I was 'cheaping out' with a beginner lens. The focus isn't as close as the 60mm lens, but it is so much less expensive, and the magnification is fantastic!