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A look at the Panasonic 30mm Macro Lens Underwater

1/7/2016

3 Comments

 
Saron Shrimp - Tulamben Bali - Copyright Jeff Mullins 2016Saron Shrimp - taken with an Olympus E-PL6 and Panasonic Lumix 30mm F2.8 ASPH MEGA O.I.S. Macro Lens
The  Panasonic LUMIX G MACRO 30mm f/2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens is designed for the micro four thirds range of camera's. So it fits directly to the complete range of Olympus PEN and OMD digital camera's, plus Panasonic Lumix camera's.
The lens was released in May 2015 without any fan-fare, it just quietly slipped into the market.
I often find myself in need of a lens for underwater use that allows me to take in a wider view than the other macro lenses available for the micro four thirds format, as I want to reduce the amount of water between the camera and the subject. The 30mm Panasonic Macro Lens has a much wider field of view (40 degrees) than either the Olympus 60mm Macro Lens (20 degrees) or the Leica 45mm Macro Lens (27 degrees), so I can photograph larger subjects without being too far back from the critters. But if I see something smaller that I want to photograph, I can get as close as 50mm from the lens to the subject, and get 1:1 reproduction ratio. Now that's a handy lens!
Then with the addition of a strong wet lens in front of the 30mm macro lens, I can also photograph really tiny subjects. Even adding more versatility during the same dive, if I then decide I'd like to shoot some video, the 30mm macro lens really shines, as I can hand hold the camera without any shake and have enough room in the frame for the critters to play, plus not have particles showing in the frames, as I am really close to the subject.
The 30mm Panasonic Macro Lens is sharp and focuses very fast, I'm super happy with my purchase. This lens also won't break the bank, I bought mine when it was on special for less than $300. I use it with the same short port that I utilise with my Leica 45mm Macro Lens, made by Zen for the Olympus Pen Housings, as the 30mm macro lens is the same length (within a couple of millmeters) as the 45mm Leica Macro Lens and fits perfectly in this port. Some Photos and a short video taken with my Olympus E-PL6 and the Panasonic 30mm Macro Lens are below.

Dragon Nudibranch - Tulamben Bali  - Copyright Jeff Mullins 2016
Dragon Nudibranch - taken with an Olympus E-PL6 and Panasonic Lumix 30mm F2.8 ASPH MEGA O.I.S. Macro Lens
Tozuma Shrimp - Tulamben Bali - Copyright Jeff Mullins 2016
Tozuma Shrimp - taken with an Olympus E-PL6 and Panasonic Lumix 30mm F2.8 ASPH MEGA O.I.S. Macro Lens
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