Macro lenses allow amazing closeup images to be captured.
Macro lenses are essential for any photographer wishing to take life-size or higher magnification close-up images. Spectacular images of the natural world and many other objects can be captured with a high quality macro lens and camera. Many of these subjects are impossible to see in such detail with the human eye.
Prime Macro Lenses
A dedicated prime macro lens allows images to be captured at a 1:1 ratio or higher. A prime lens is one with a fixed focal length. The subject cannot be zoomed in or out from the same camera position. Macro lenses typically have focal lengths between 50mm and 200mm. Some offer magnification ratios up to 5:1. The advantage of a shorter focal length is the ability to get close to a subject. One disadvantage is that working so closely could frighten a live subject. In addition, lighting can be difficult at such short range unless on-lens ring lighting is used. Longer focal lengths allow the camera to be further from the subject. Lighting options are more varied and there is less risk of casting shadows on the subject. Canon currently makes six EF macro lenses ranging in focal length from 50-180mm. This includes one capable of 5x magnification. Tamron and Sigma also make several macro lenses compatible with Canon DSLR cameras.
Zoom Macro Lenses
Many zoom lenses claim to be able to take macro photos. In reality, this nearly always means the lens can achieve a very close focusing distance. Although good images can be taken, it is rare to be able to capture an image greater than half the subject's size using any standard lens. Dedicated prime macro lenses will nearly always outperform standard zoom lenses in speed and image quality. Look for a medium telephoto lens in the range of 50-200mm which offers a "macro" function to reduce the minimum focusing distance of the lens. Tamron in particular makes several reasonable lenses of this type.
Considerations
As with all lenses, you get what you pay for. More expensive lenses, particularly from Canon, will usually yield higher quality results than cheaper lenses. As some macro photography requires the ability to shoot where full lighting can be difficult, look for lenses with a high maximum aperture. Canon's macro lenses range from f/2.5 to f/3.5. The lower the 'f' number, the more light the lens will let in. This often means faster shutter speeds can be used.
Tags: focal length, focal lengths, focusing distance, images captured, lighting difficult
