Long shutter speeds will often require image stabilization, a tripod, or flash to stop the camera motion blur.įor macro use, the maximum aperture of a macro lens is not often essential to me as all lenses have my most-used f/8 through f/16 aperture openings. Narrow apertures are called on frequently for macro photography, and narrow apertures mean longer shutter speeds. Here is an aperture comparison as illustrated by a 180mm lens: It is essential to understand that the depth of field at 1:1 macro focusing distances is very shallow. I tend to prefer longer focal length macro lens result best, but find myself using the about-100mm focal length the most. Longer focal length macro lenses typically cost more than the shorter counterparts. There are downsides to the longer focal length macro lenses, including larger size, heavier weight, and faster shutter speeds required for handholding. If you are using a backdrop (such as rolled paper), the background blur aspect will not likely be important to you. The result is a less diffusely-blurred background. There are also more background elements showing because of the 60mm angle of view. However, they just about as blurred though these elements are far less magnified. The 180mm lens shows only a small physical area of the subject's background that is enlarged, magnifying the blur.īackground elements in the 60mm picture appear to be more in focus.
The subject in the images above are identically framed using the same camera, the same aperture setting (f/16), and they have identical subject to background distances.Īs a rule, the same framing and the same aperture results in the same Depth of Field (DOF) until focus distances approach the hyper-focal distance.īut, perspective, compression, and angle of view are very different between these sample photos. Longer focal length lenses also have narrower angles of view, which means that there is less background to incorporate into an attractive-looking image.Īnd that background will be more-diffusely blurred, as shown below. Longer focal length macro lenses will give you more working distance at 1:1 - this reduces the tendency of live subjects to fly or crawl away. :)ĭeciding which focal length will work best for your needs is, as usual, part of the lens selection process. There are always subjects available for macro photography.Īnd bringing home flowers for your wife (and to photograph of course) can even strengthen your marriage. This ratio means that the subject will render at life-size on the camera's sensor.Ī 20mm-wide subject will render across 20mm of the sensor, 20mm is a significant portion of the imaging sensor width, and the subject will be made HUGE on your large monitor. While many lenses have "macro" in their names, that word does not get my attention until the specifications reveal that it has a 1:1 or 1x maximum magnification ratio. The results of macro photography are very fun to share. Macro lenses are very fun to use, macro subjects are everywhere, and the unusually close look at these typically-small subjects can be beautiful and intriguing. If your current lens will not focus close enough to make a subject larger in the frame, it is time to get a macro lens. Our Best Canon Mirrorless Camera Macro Lens recommendations page has your recommendations.
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