Sharpness at 30mm

For this test, the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 30mm F3.5 Macro lens was attached to an Olympus E-M5 camera, which in turn was mounted on a sturdy tripod. The self-timer was used in order to avoid any vibrations that may result from tripping the shutter. Slight tonal changes are due to slight changes in natural light during the session. The crops below represent 1/400th of the total frame area.

The full frame at 30mm

In the centre of the frame, sharpness is already pretty good at f/3.5, reaching peak performance at f/5.6. Although diffraction sets in at slower aperture settings, sharpness remains high in the f/8-f/11 range. Detail smearing becomes quite evident at f16, while f22 is decidedly soft.

The edges are also impressively sharp wide open, with sharpness peaking in the f/5.6-f/8 range. The f11 setting is still eminently usable, but f16 and f22 are visibly affected by diffraction.

Aperture	Center Crop	Edge Crop
f/3.5
f/5.6
f/8
f/11
f/16
f/22