The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Samyang 100mm F2.8 Macro and the Olympus 30mm F3.5 Macro for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
The size of a lens is a crucial factor to consider when comparing two lenses. Samyang 100mm F2.8 Macro is the longer of the two lenses at 123mm. The Olympus 30mm F3.5 Macro with a length of 60mm, is 63mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Samyang 100mm F2.8 Macro also has a larger diameter of 73mm compared to the Olympus 30mm F3.5 Macro's 57mm diameter.
The weight of a lens is equally significant as its external dimensions, particularly if you intend to handhold your camera and lens combination for extended periods. Olympus 30mm F3.5 Macro weighs 128g, 82% (592g) lighter than the Samyang 100mm F2.8 Macro's weight of 720g.
Below you can find the dimension and weight table of the Telephoto Macro Lenses in Micro Four Thirds Mount for size comparison purposes.
Macro Lenses in Micro Four Thirds Mount for Size Comparison
Filter Threads
The Samyang 100mm F2.8 Macro has a filter size of 67mm whereas the Olympus 30mm F3.5 Macro has a 46mm diameter. Larger filters are generally more expensive than the smaller ones given all the other features are equal.
Below are links to the 67mm filters that we recommend you to consider for the Samyang 100mm F2.8 Macro:
And these are the 46mm filters that we recommend for the Olympus 30mm F3.5 Macro:
Lens Mounts
Both the Samyang 100mm F2.8 Macro and the Olympus 30mm F3.5 Macro has the same Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Micro Four Thirds lenses are OM System OM-1 II, Panasonic G9 II and OM System OM-5.
Samyang 100mm F2.8 Macro is also available in Canon EF , Fujifilm X, Nikon F (FX), Pentax KAF, Samsung NX, Sony Alpha and Sony E mounts.
Focal Range
Samyang 100mm F2.8 Macro is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 100mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 2.0x crop, it provides a 35mm (FF) equivalent of
200mm.
On the other hand, the Olympus 30mm F3.5 Macro is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 30mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 60mm when used on a FourThirds format camera.