BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: Macro Photography Tip

Rahul Sharma		Can I Shoot Small Flowers or Insects with My 35-70 Hi, I have a cosina C1s manual SLR camera with 35-70 mm zoom lens on which it is written MACRO 1:3.5-4.8. What does this mean? Isn't it indication of macro capabilities in the lens? Can I shoot tiny flowers or insects with this lens? Whenever I try to move closer to the subject it gets out of focus and gets blurred. Can you give some tips? Thanks & Regards To love this question, log in above July 05, 2003

John A. Lind		Rahul, The approximate definition of macro used to be anything that was 1:4 or greater magnification of subject on film which translates to 1/4th life-size. Note that this is on the film, not in an enlarged print made from the film. Unfortunately, camera manufacturers and lens manufacturers are not following this as much as they did in the past and sometimes refer to what would be better desribed as a "close-up" feature as a "macro" capability with consumer lenses. It's all about marketing and competition. That said, there are a few (not very many) zoom lenses that do have true macro capability. Is there an extra "close-up" or "macro" ring around the lens that rotates to switch it into "macro" mode? This won't (normally) be the focus or aperture rings. For lenses of this type, they can be frustrating to compose the image with magnification desired and focus it. You may find you can get greater magnification at the 35mm end of the zoom than you can at the 70mm end (because of how the internal focusing works). What are the dimensions of the subjects you are trying to photograph? From your description, it leads me to believe they are very small. Photographing something that's smaller than about 4x6 inches on 35mm film requires some specialized equipment. There are several methods: (a) A "true" Macro lens. These are NOT zoom lenses, but primes and they are expensive. Typical lengths for them are 50mm, 90mm and 135mm. Nearly all are capable of 1:2 magnification (1/2 life-size) without having to add extension tubes or bellows. (b) Extension tubes. These fit between a lens and the camera body and are simply a hollow tube that has all the linkages and electrical contacts required by the lens to communicate correctly with the camera body. For extreme magnifications beyond what extension tubes can provide, there are special bellows. I don't recommend using tubes with zoom lenses; they just don't work very well with them. They work best with primes from 50mm to about 135mm although I've used them with a 200mm on a couple of occasions and once used a very, very short tube on an 18mm extreme wide angle lens (it was a for a very special and odd photograph; not anything like a normal macro). Most major camera systems (Canon, Nikon, Olympus, etc.) offer two or three lengths of tubes which can be used singly or stacked. (c) "Close-up" auxiliary lenses. These are often and mistakenly called "filters" which they are NOT. They are an additional lens in their own right and screw onto the front of a lens. The inexpensive ones leave a lot to be desired. They have a single element and their optics are not very good. The better ones have two elements, but are more expensive than extension tubes. They usually come in a set of three, each of which has a different "strength" of magnification measured in diopters. The Bad News: You may find you cannot do what you want to with the lens you have. The Good News: Your Cosina C1s is a K-mount type camera. You can use any K-mount manual focus lens on it, including those made by Pentax for their K-1000 series cameras, and by other manufacturers for Pentax's "K" system. They are plentiful on the used market, relatively inexpensive, and the entire Pentax "K" system was rather extensive. To love this comment, log in above July 06, 2003

Maynard McKillen		Dear Rahul: On the topic of close up lenses, often referred to as diopters, you can take your camera and lens to a camera store and test a set of diopters right there. Try focusing on objects of the size range you plan to photograph. Diopters are often the close up accesssory that a local, consumer-oriented camera store will stock. As John mentions above, an inexpensive set may not satisfy your needs when it comes to producing images of a quality you find acceptable. However, a set of three diopters may be your stepping stone to a great deal of learning and fun. Extension tubes are frequently a special order. True macro lenses may be in stock at the store, again depending on the type of clientele the store tries to attract. Proper focus becomes very important at the degree of magnification you seem to want, so regardless of the close up equipment you choose, you will probably be using a tripod regularly. To love this comment, log in above July 06, 2003

Rahul Sharma		Thanks a lot John and Maynard. You people have spent so much of your precious time to respond to my query; I really appreciate this and feel indebted. I was not finding answers to my questions from anywhere else. I never knew that so much helpful and good people there are in world. Lots of Thanks again. Lots of Thanks to Jim Miotke also for creating and maintaining such a great website. To love this comment, log in above July 07, 2003

Maynard McKillen		Dear Rahul: I never did say anything about 1:3.5-4.8. This string shows the largest apertures the lens has at the 35mm and 70mm focal lengths, respectively. To love this comment, log in above July 10, 2003

Rahul Sharma		Thanks a ton Maynard for solving my queries and showing so much concern abt the questions I put.... Rahul To love this comment, log in above July 11, 2003

Anand S		Rahul, if you plan to invest on a tele lens. You can go for sigma 70-300mm with F:4.5/5.6 this has a macro capability and gives 1:4 magnification. I have tried to shoot flowers with this and the results are satisfactory. Also I would suggest its not worth buying a "Close-up" auxiliary lenses because the depth of field supported by your lens is not sufficient for a good macro work. If you don't plan to invest on a tele lens you can buy a 50mm standard lens (even an used one will do) which has F1.2 and buy a "Close-up" auxiliary lens for this lens. Hope this helps. To love this comment, log in above August 18, 2003

Rahul Sharma		Dear Anand, Thanks for responding to my question. Can you pls tell how much a sigma 70-300 tele lens would cost?? and do the sigma lenses are available in K mount coz I have cosina C1s manual camera which has K mount. Regards Rahul Sharma To love this comment, log in above August 18, 2003

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