"Shy" lens, one of recent twins

This 30mm macro lens was announced by Panasonic alongside the new 42.5mm f1.7 prime with little fanfare. On the MFT forum there was barely a ripple, I guess because there are already two good macro lenses for the system (Pana/Leica 45mm and Olympus 60mm) and in the case of the 42.5 it seems similar to the Oly 45mm which many people (including myself) already have.

Without going into why I ended up buying the 30mm, I would like to quickly give you my initial reactions.

Build quality is very good. The body of the lens is metal and the finish exactly matches the black finish of the GX7 camera. The only control is the wide focus ring, which operates smoothly but is of course "fly by wire". There is no OIS switch but the stabiliser can be turned on and off in the camera menu. The design is simple and elegant.

The lens is almost exactly the same diameter as the original MFT 14-45 kit lens but is slightly longer. It takes 46mm threaded filters but has no provision for a bayonet mount lens hood. (But a threaded lens hood which fits the 20mm Panasonic prime will also fit this lens.) The lens is light to carry, though not as lightweight as the 45mm Olympus.

The lens focuses as close as 10.5 cm, which of course is measured from the sensor not the forward lens element. This means the lens is only about 3 or 4 cm from the subject at the closest focusing distance. It is a true macro lens in that the subject is life-size on the sensor at this distance.

The image quality looks excellent to me. I have not done any scientific testing but sharpness, colour and contrast all look present and correct. The best thing, and the reason I bought it apart from just dabbling in macro, is that it seems to be a good general purpose lens too. I'm hoping to do some video work with it in a three camera setup - the other two will have the 12-35 and 35-100 f2.8 zooms.

Here are a few sample shots. If you have any questions about the lens, please post them in a reply and I will try to answer.

It's reviewed in a few places on the web, e.g. http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/panasonic_lumix_g_macro_30mm_f2_8_asph_mega_ois_review/

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Panasonic_Lumix_G_Macro_30mm_f2-8_H_HS030E/verdict.shtml