One of my favorite moments during a wedding is taking ring shots for my wedding couple using macro lenses. I've shot for years using the Nikon 105mm macro lens on all my Nikon bodies and it has delivered some outstanding results.
In July of 2014 I switched from Nikon to Sony for many reasons, some of which are articulated in this video... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wM_5nROeaw So for the sake of this blog post we will leave that subject alone.
Once I switched from Nikon to Sony I kept searching for a macro lens that would do the job as well as my 105mm Nikon macro that I've used professionally for YEARS. While Sony is coming out with an FE macro lens later this year (2015), there isn't one available as of right now unless you use their A mount glass.
Since I typically shoot in manual focus with my macro anyways, I was in no rush to find a macro lens. I simply would put my 105mm Nikon macro on my Sony A6000 or one of my A7 cameras using the Fotodiox or Metabones adapter and thanks to Focus Peaking on the Sony cameras, using the Nikon macro was EASY!
So last week I was looking at lenses on the Sony store and found the 30mm f/3.5 macro e mount lens. It's priced at only $279! It was such a relatively cheap lens that I thought, "What the heck...if I don't like it I'll just return it."
So two days ago I shot a wedding at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA. This was my first opportunity to use both lenses. I had a little extra time at the wedding so I decided to do a comparison between the lenses...and yes we video recorded it for my Youtube Channel...coming out in the near future...:)
I shot with both lenses using my Sony A6000. And for comparison purposes I posted screen shots of both results so you can see that they are raw and completely unedited. I was stunned that the Sony performed so well. The other thing I noticed between the two lenses is that it was exponentially easier to use Auto Focus on the A6000 because the lens is SO much lighter. I'm comparing this to when I used to shoot with Nikon and would try to use Auto Focus with the 105mm macro on my Nikon bodies.
Judge the results for yourselves. I'm not bashing Nikon or lens because I love both. But you can't deny how great the result is of the Sony lens that is approximately 1/3 the cost of the Nikon. Some would even argue it's a better capture. I am a Sony Artisan of Imagery but that doesn't mean I'm biased. I was perfectly content using my 105mm Nikon on my bodies for macro shots...but now that I see how well this 30mm Sony macro performs...that might just change.
Let me know what you think...:)
Sony Macro 30mm f/3.5 e mount lens
Nikon 105mm f/2.8 macro lens
