Home > Consumer Reviews > Olympus 35mm f/3.5 1:1 Macro Zuiko Lens for E Series DSLR

If you want macro on a budget for your Oly SLR this is the lens to get. There are other options that give you better working distance like the Sigma 105mm and 150mm but you are going to pay. The Oly 50mm Macro is nice except to get 1:1 magnification you also need to get the EX-25 extension tube.

After two months of wning this lens I've found the photos to be very sharp. I'm amazed at the image quality from what is considered a budget lens. There are some drawbacks but not big ones, one is the working distance, you need to be right on top of your subject so this lens isn't great if you want to photograph insects. The other drawback is the autofocus is not great. Personnaly this is a non issue for me, I set it to manual focus, then dial in my magnification and then move the camera until the subject is in focus.

To sum it up, if you are on a budget, get this lens, you won't be let down. If you are going to be taking pictures of insects, save your money and grab one of the Sigma's. If you want a fast lens, that is great for portraits and can do macro shots then get the Oly 50mm f2.0.

I hope this helps...

Lenses get expensive, and I wanted something to extend my capabilities beyond the initial offerings with my Olympus E-500. The 35mm f/3.5 is a very nice addition not only for its macro capability, but also as a general purpose, or portrait lens. I find myself using this now instead of either of my Zoom lenses for most situations.

I love this lens, so why not give it 5 stars? F3.5 is great for most situations, and most macro work isn't done running down my subjects, so I can afford to setup my tripod. However, one of the attractions of this lens is as a general purpose lens, and I've found myself in shade on overcast days really wanting a faster lens.

Autofocus with this lens seems to run from adequate to useless, never great. With my eyes and no split prism to assist manual focus, I'm getting too many images fuzzy images.

I really do love the lens, but I can see spending a little more down the road for a better macro lens... after I get a fast big lens.

I am a mother photographer, meaning, my daughter gets most of the lens time. Although I am an avid gardener and wanted to to pics of the 4,6 and eight legged creatures that I came across. After receiving this lens, I found a butterfly, snapped it, then zoomed in on its head. IT WAS PHENONMINAL. Definatly worth the money. I had read a review about needing a tripod to keep the lens steady, but I have not found that to be yet. A steady hand helps but I have not needed any more support.

Enjoy!!!

Overall this is a good lens. Affordable, compact and very light weight. IQ is also good and it has great macro capabilities. So, you may ask, why I'm rating it *** only? The reason is because AF when using it as a macro lens is very difficult to achieve and very inaccurate. You need to take many shots of the object moving the camera slightly each time and with luck one shot will be focused right where you wanted. You also need to get very very close to the subject, which is OK when photographing flowers but not as good with insects and other live creatures. The lens becomes attractive more because of its low cost (compared to other Zuiko lenses) and the fact that it can be used for portrait and general purpose photography (keep in mind that a 35mm lens on a 4/3 system is in reality 70mm). Again, recommended only if you are on a budget and want to have a small, compact macro lens without spending a lot of $$$.

Among the finest lenses which Olympus produced for its OM series SLR system were its exceptional line of macro lenses. For the relatively new Four Thirds System Digital SLRs pioneered originally by Sigma, but now including Olympus, Panasonic and Leica, Olympus has introduced a slightly longer than normal focal length (approximately 70mm in 35mm format) macro lens which goes to 1:1 magnification without any additional extension tubes or bellows. This is the ideal lens to use if you are working with relatively immobile objects and want to get close up with life-size (1:1) magnification of the object you are photographing. I believe that this lens is a fine performer in its own right, though I strongly suspect that the recently introduced 50mm f2 Zuiko Digital macro lens may be better.