photographing stamps and coins, which
may or may not be useful for nature pho-
tography. The main drawbacks of macro
lenses are that they’re generally bulkier
and more costly than non-macro lenses
of equal focal length, although the dif-
ferences today aren’t nearly as great as
they were some years ago.
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What makes a “true” macro lens? Many
lenses are labeled “macro” by manu-
facturers because they’re able to focus
at very close distances, but that doesn’t
make them true macro lenses.
When we talk about magnification
regarding macro lenses, we’re talking
about magnification at the image plane
(the surface of the camera sensor). A true
macro lens will have 1:1, or 1x magnifi-
cation or greater. What this means is that
the size of the subject projected on the
image plane by the lens is its actual phys-
ical size—a flower that’s 2 centimeters in
diameter will be rendered 2 centimeters
in diameter on the sensor.
It’s important to note that sensor size
doesn’t affect the magnification power
of the lens itself. This is a common mis-
conception. The “crop factor” of smaller
sensors is just that: a crop. This makes an
object appear magnified in relationship
to the sensor’s frame because the image
circle produced by the lens is larger than
the sensor. So for practical purposes,
you do get more magnification with the
smaller sensor in that the subject fills
up more of the image frame. The actual
magnification produced by the lens at
the image plane doesn’t change; rather,
it’s the amount of that image that each
sensor size “sees” that changes.
Macro Lens Focal Lengths
Focal length is an important consideration
in macro photography because it deter-
mines your working distance from the
subject. The longer the focal length, the
greater the working distance to achieve
1:1 magnification. With a 100mm macro,
you’ll be twice the distance from your sub-
ject than with a 50mm macro. This is ben-
eficial when photographing live subjects
that may be alarmed by your proximity.
You’re also less likely to block ambient
light on your subject—another inherent
challenge of macro photography—when
working from a greater distance.
A normal (50mm for a full-frame cam-
era) macro lens produces its 1x magnifica-
tion at a distance of around 7 to 8 inches,
a short tele macro lens (100mm for a full-
frame camera) at around 12 inches and
a tele (200mm for a full-frame camera)
at around 19 inches. Shooting closer to
the subject expands perspective, while
shooting from farther away compresses it.Minimum Focusing Distance
Of Macro Lenses
Unlike magnification, the minimum
focusing distance of a lens is a relatively
straightforward concept. This is the clos-
est distance your lens can be positioned
from the subject and still achieve sharp
focus. You’ll observe that the minimum
focusing distance increases along with
focal length. That’s because for 1:1 mag-
nification, as noted in our discussion of
focal length, you’ll need to be closer to
the subject with a wider lens than you
will with a telephoto lens.Macro Lens Depth Of Field
Most normal and short tele macro lenses
have a maximum aperture of ƒ/2.8, while
most tele macros have a maximum aper-
ture of ƒ/3.5 or ƒ/4. Due to the limited
depth of field at macro shooting dis-
tances, these apertures let you produce
dramatic selective-focus effects; focus
on a particular part of a flower or the
eye of an insect, and everything closer to
the camera or farther away blurs nicely.
If you want an entire insect or flower to
be sharp, you’ll have to stop the lens way
down to increase depth of field. Even then
you probably won’t get the entire subject
sharp due to the very limited depth of field
at very close shooting distances. Stopping
the lens way down introduces the effects
of diffraction—at very small apertures,
light bends around the edges of the aper-
ture, reducing overall sharpness, even as
increased depth of field increases it.
Most professional macro photogra-
phers use electronic flash to illuminate
their subjects. Electronic flash offers two
major benefits: it’s bright at macro range,
allowing you to stop all the way down to
increase depth of field, and its very brief
duration at short range (1⁄10,000 sec. andshorter) minimizes the effects of camera
shake and subject movement. Special
macro flash units mount on the lens and
allow you to set them to provide even
lighting or directional lighting.Focusing Macro Subjects
Most macro lenses in production today
offer autofocusing, but it’s generally
best to focus a macro subject manually.
That’s the only way to be sure focus is
exactly where you want it. Set the lens
to its minimum focusing distance, then
slowly move the camera in on the subject
until it’s sharp. Focus assisting technol-
ogy such as focus peaking display can be
very helpful. Once you’ve achieved focus
this way, you can activate the AF system
to maintain focus if the subject is moving.
If you’re working from a tripod, which
is always a good idea with macro work,
get your composition set, then fine-tune
your focusing, if needed.Macro Lenses & Image
Stabilization
A tripod can hold the camera steadier
than we can and can lock in a compo-
sition of a nonmoving subject so you
don’t accidentally change it as you
squeeze off the shot. For the sharpest,
most controlled macro compositions, a
tripod is especially essential for macro
work. At this level of magnification,
even the smallest movements can
degrade sharpness.
Working from a tripod also lets you
experiment with depth-of-field by vary-
ing your aperture without changing your
composition and can be further used for
focus stacking techniques. But it can
sometimes be difficult to position the
camera exactly where you want it for
a macro shot using a tripod, so many
macro shooters work handheld, using
electronic flash’s brief duration to mini-
mize blur due to camera shake. You may
want to try it both ways to see which
works best for your macro photography.
A monopod is a good compromise, mak-
ing it much easier to position the camera
right where you want it, yet providing
more support than pure handholding.
Still, having the option of image stabi-
lization is a nice alternative when using
a tripod isn’t practical or possible.outdoorphotographer.com April 2020 55