About macro lenses

A macro lens that captures a crisp, soft bokeh effect. It is a lens that can be used in a wide range of fields such as close-up, medium telephoto, and telephoto. It is sold not only by major manufacturers such as Canon and SONY, but also by third parties such as SIGMA, and Nikon releases it under the name of “microlens”.

However, even if it is called a macro lens in a bite, it is a lot of people. Therefore, this time, we will explain in detail the types of macro lenses that are loved by many photographers and how to select them.

What kind of lens is a macro lens?
Basically, the lens of the camera has a “distance to focus on the subject”.

[Short-range lens: front / front]

[Medium-range lens: a few meters away]

[Long-distance lens: distant landscapes and buildings]

Zoom lenses are highly convenient because they focus on short to long distances, but they also have weaknesses such as image distortion and poor resolution. On the other hand, a lens with a fixed focal length (single focus) has high performance and high-quality image quality.

A short-distance (standard) macro lens is a lens that can take “small subjects in a large size”. It is used for insects, figures, small parts, and copying of books and materials. Another feature is that you can capture the subject beautifully. You can see how the subject is familiar with the background, and you can express the fine texture of the skin, so it is sure to be a big success even in portraits of people.

On the other hand, if you have a macro lens with a focal length in the middle and nozomi, you can take snapshots and scenery. Compared to general standard lenses and zoom lenses, macro lenses have superior performance such as “resolution”, so in a natural landscape, for example, plants, rocks, and every corner of the sky can be clearly seen.

How to choose a macro lens
Even though it is a macro lens, the specifications such as structure, material, focal length, etc. differ depending on the model and manufacturer. Of these, the two that I would like to pay attention to are the “shortest shooting distance” and the “shooting magnification”. We will explain in detail the checkpoints that are indispensable for choosing a macro lens.

Shortest shooting distance
The short shooting distance is a measure of the distance you can get closer to the subject. The smaller the value, the shorter the distance you can shoot, and the longer the distance is, standard (short distance)
If you shoot at the shortest shooting distance, you can create a picture that looks like a magnifying glass, or you can see the facial expressions of a fantastic or mysterious subject. However, its weakness is that it is easily affected by camera shake, vibration, and wind. For lenses with a short minimum shooting distance, such as macro lenses, consider using a tripod.

Shooting magnification
The larger the shooting magnification value, the larger the subject can be captured. A general macro lens (single focus macro lens) is about 1x (1x). Currently, the standard / telephoto lens, which has a high penetration rate, has a shooting magnification of about 0.2 times, which is about 1/5 that of a general macro lens. From this number, you can see how the latter can make the subject larger. Different macro lenses have different shooting magnifications, so if you’re looking for a lens to capture a small subject in a larger size, check this number.

Macro lens with 3 types of standard distance, medium distance, and long distance
Some macro lenses also have a zoom function. However, macro lenses with a fixed focal length are common. It is roughly divided into standard (50-60mm), medium telephoto (around 100mm), and telephoto (200mm ~).

By the way, how do you use them properly? Consider the situation where you shoot the same subject with standard, medium telephoto, and telephoto macro lenses. Suppose you have three macro lenses with the same magnification, standard, medium telephoto, and telephoto, and you want to shoot a 10-yen coin. At this time, if you shoot coins from the shortest distance provided on the lens, the size of the coins on the screen will be the same for all lenses. In other words, even if you use a standard macro lens and shoot at a distance of 20 cm from a 10-yen coin, a 10-yen coin shot from 1 m with a medium-telephoto macro lens will appear in the same size.

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