Which focal length macro lens

He is Digital Camera World's principal lens reviewer — and has tested more primes and zooms than most people have had hot dinners! He is also an encyclopedia when it comes to all manner of cameras, camera holsters and bags, flashguns, tripods and heads, printers, papers and inks, and just about anything imaging-related.

Included in this guide: 1. Diaphragm blades: 9. Autofocus: Ultrasonic ring-type. Stabilizer: Yes hybrid. Minimum focus distance: 0. Maximum magnification: 1.

Filter thread: 62mm. Dimensions WxL : 79xmm. Weight: g. Specifications Mount: Canon EF. Filter thread: 67mm. Dimensions WxL : 78xmm. Reasons to avoid - Relatively expensive to buy - No sharper than competing Sigma and Tamron lenses.

A stunning macro lens - Canon R-series users are in for a treat! Specifications Mount: Canon RF. Autofocus: Yes. Stabilizer: 5 stops 2 stops at 1. Dimensions WxL : Stabilizer: Yes. Reasons to avoid - No weather-seals - Relatively pricey in the US.

Tokina atx-i mm F2. A full-frame Canon EF-mount macro lens that's strangely familiar. Stabilizer: No. Filter thread: 55mm. Dimensions WxL : 73xmm. Reasons to avoid - No weather-seals - Inner barrel extends at shorter focus settings. A great option for EOS R-series shooters that doubles as a great portrait lens.

Diaphragm blades: 7. Autofocus: Stepping motor. Maximum magnification: 0. Dimensions WxL : 78x Reasons to avoid - Not magnification. Filter thread: 49mm via hood. Dimensions WxL : 69x56mm. Reasons to avoid - Short working distance for macro shooting - Built-in lamp is quite dim. This remarkable little EOS M lens gets you much closer to your subjects.

A very important property of a lens is its speed. A lens with a large maximum aperture is called a "fast lens". Examples are 50mm F1. Lenses with a large maximum aperture let in more light, focus faster, are sharper, larger, and more expensive.

They also make it easier to blur the background by using a large aperture for less depth of field. These lenses are especially useful for indoor and low-light photography. A lens with a small maximum aperture is called a slow lens. Examples are mm F5. Slow lens are less expensive, less sharp, slower to auto-focus and weight less.

Because you must shoot at smaller apertures, slower shutter speeds must be used. The exception to these rules is the 50mm F1. This fast lens is not heavy or expensive, but it is very sharp, and is often one of the first lenses a pro photographer will purchase.

Ok - that's enough of camera lens basics for now. If that's not enough please take a photography class or grab a book from the bookstore. I recommend you get a good understanding of exposure, shutter speed, and aperture - you can get all that in the underwater settings chapter. Understanding Aperture. Understanding ISO. Understanding Shutter Speed. Pixels, Sensors and Dynamic Range. What are Fisheye Lenses? Underwater photography for beginners. Best lenses for underwater photography.

Dome ports and Flat ports for Macro and Wide angle. Underwater Photography Tips. Macro lenses. Click, or call the team at for expert advice! Bluewater Travel is your full-service scuba travel agency. Let our expert advisers plan and book your next dive vacation. Run by divers, for divers. Follow us on. Welcome to the Underwater Photography Guide! Search form. Lens Basics for Beginners Lens basics for your camera - focal length, macro, wide-angle, zooms, primes.

Here I'm going to try to explain some of this terminology in non-technical terms. Cameras - compacts and dSLRs Compact cameras are also called point-and-shoot. Prime and Zoom lenses There are two types of lenses, prime lenses and zoom lenses. Wide Angle and Telephoto lenses Lenses that allow you to take a photo of a wide area, such an entire room of people, or a large coral reef, are called wide-angle lenses. A lens that is in-between wide angle and telephoto is often called a mid-range lens.

Wide angle and fisheye lenses There are two types of wide-angle lenses, regular lenses, known as rectilinear wide-angle lenses, and fisheye lenses. Macro lenses Macro lenses allow you to take a photo of a subject very close up. Mid-range Zooms A lens with a focal-length between 17mm and 60mm is called a "mid-range zoom" lens. Compact cameras and "add on" lenses. Comparing lenses on Mirrorless cameras, cropped-sensor dSLRs, or full-frame dSLR's Wide-angle focal lengths are used for shooting divers, sharks, whales, manta rays, schools of fish up-close, or coral reefs.

Usually 60mm - mm underwater Focal Length Ok, now we come to a very important part of lens basics - focal length. Examples of focal lengths Small focal lengths such as 10mm or 15mm represent a very wide view, such as taking a photo of a large room.

All things considered, macro lenses with a focal length of between 90mm and mm are most popular. The distance between the front of the lens and the subject will typically be around 14cm, which feels very natural for close-up shooting.

Autofocus is an important factor for most photographers these days. Given that macro prime lenses also work well for portraiture and general short telephoto shooting, a fast, accurate and quiet autofocus system is good to have. A smoothly operating manual focus ring with plenty of rotational travel helps to enable very precise adjustments. The most common way is with a cable shutter release for example, the Canon TCN3. Shutter releases are inexpensive, easy to use, and plug right into your camera body so that you can fire the shutter without touching the camera.

If your camera can be controlled by your phone via WiFi, that is another option available with most newer models. If you are in autofocus, the lens may need a second to hunt for focus prior to opening the shutter.

Good lighting is one of the most important factors in taking good photos and macro photography is no exception. But getting sufficient light in macro photography can be a bit of a challenge.

When conditions are ideal, natural light can produce beautifully lit images. At times when the sun is low on the horizon, backlighting can look amazing as it streams through the wings of an insect or the petals of a flower.

But for all of its benefits, working with natural light can be exceptionally difficult in macro photography. The narrow apertures you need to keep your subject in focus can make it tough to get enough light on your sensor and you are always at the mercy of changing light conditions and movement of your subject.

Working with only natural light for macro photography can be frustrating and make things a little tough. Fortunately, there are some solutions! LED ring lights can be a simple and affordable solution to macro lighting issues. They usually fit on the end of your lens, or around your lens, and can provide nice, even light over a subject. While they are not as powerful as a typical flash, they are an effective continuous light source that is easy to use.

Something to consider when using ring lights in macro photography is that the ring itself can often appear in reflective surfaces like a shiny shell or eyes of an insect. While this effect can add some interest to a subject, it can also be distracting if it shows up in unwanted areas of an image. The long barrel of the Venus Optics Laowa 24mm Canon EF Mount Cine-Mod Probe Lens is useful for documenting habitats and the insides of products for compelling results without having to be too close to the subject.

The 20mm diameter lens tip is small enough to not completely overshadow a small subject, making lighting a tiny object much easier. The lens comes with a built-in LED ring light. You can also rent these in the non-cine version for Sony E mount and Nikon F mount.

The Venus Optics Laowa probe lens is unique in that it not only can insert itself into habitats and water but it also has a built-in LED at its tip! Another option for lighting in macro photography is to use a traditional flash, either on or off the camera. Flashes have the benefit of being extremely powerful, allowing you to very easily produce enough light to illuminate your subject. The downside?

Sometimes they are too powerful. Diffusers can help cut down on some of that light and give you the effect you are looking for. Using off-camera flash in macro photography allows you to control the direction from which the light is hitting your subject so that you have complete control of the image. Both have sets of adapters rings for almost any sized macro lens.

Due to the magnified nature of macro photography, nailing focus is incredibly important. A macro lens will magnify not only the tiny details of your subject but also any mistakes you make! When your subjects are this tiny, sometimes the smallest adjustment in focus can be the difference between a photo that is ready to be printed and hung on your wall or one that automatically goes to the trash bin. You will have a very small margin of error in focus for these kinds of shots.

Often a lens will hunt around endlessly while it tries to lock focus. Manual focus allows you to select, with extreme precision, exactly where you want your focus point to be. This gives you more control when taking your photos.

When relying on AF, make sure you know the difference between a Focus Area and a Focus Point — and how to set your point exactly where it needs to be. It renders subjects up to 5x life-size magnification. On a full frame sensor camera you can fill the frame with a grain of rice in vivid detail. It is strictly manual focus only and comes with a tripod support foot for attaching to tripods and rail systems.

This lens is designed for scientific imagery as well as creative macro applications. Since this is a dedicated macro lens, it cannot focus more than a few centimeters away from the front element, therefore it is not recommended for portraits or anything other than macro work. An example of what the Canon 65mm MP-E can do. Butterfly wings taken by Alexandria Huff.