 Lisa Nicholson |
Macro Lens The last time I was at a camera store looking for a new lens, I was telling the sales person about my Macro lens and the fact that I wanted to get more of a close up, but couldn't do it because my camers wouldn't focus. His reply was that my lens was not a true macro lens. That if it was I could put it right over a stamp and take a picture of it with no problem. Is this true? Am I doing something wrong? ~~ Lisa Nicholson
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Collette Photography |
As far as I know, if you can't get your camera to focus try backing up slightly until it comes into focus. Thats what I have to do with my macro. Also does your lens have a little switch on it that you can turn the macro on and off? If it doesnt have on of those then it may not be a true macro lens. just a thought!
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Lisa Nicholson |
Thank you very much for the reply ~ I was hoping that I kknew what I was talking about. Yes My lens has a switch to turn it to Macro and I do have to put a distance between the subject and the camera. This salesperson was new to me and tried telling me that my lens , one that they sell, wasn't a true macro.Then wouldn't sell me anything. Once again~ Thank you. Lisa Nicholson
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Michael H. Cothran |
Lisa, FYI - Many, many zoom lenses have "macro" modes, or even call themselves "macro lenses" or "macro zooms", but these ARE NOT true macro lenses. Many will achieve magnification ratios in the 1:4 area, but often with less than desirable quality. Current true "macro or micro lenses", as Nikon calls theirs, are ALL single focal length lenses, and will all focus to 1:1 (which is life size), while older manual focus versions will still go to 1:2. Your salesman is correct in that at either of these closeup ranges, you could fill the frame with a postage stamp. There are THREE important differences between true macros as opposed to "macro" zooms: 2. True macros are all designed and engineered to perform their best at ratios around 1:10, whereas all other lenses are designed to perform their best at longer distances, usually about 1:50. 3. True macro lenses have always represented the cream-of-the-crop in a manufacturer's lens lineup. Thus, they are never cheap, but always good. Most major camera manufacturers and independent lens makers offer three true macro versions - Now, before someone corrects me, let me also say that over the decades there have been a couple of actual, true macro zooms manufactured. They have never been up to snuff with the fixed macros, and have never gained a lot of popularity. The two that come to mind are the Vivitar 90-180 macro zoom of the 1970's era, and most recently, Nikon's own 70-180 macro zoom. One substitutes some image quality in these macro zooms for versatility.
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