Macro Close
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 58mm Close Up Macro +1+2+4+10 Filter Kit for for CANON REBEL 40D 5D T1i T2i EOS $8.99 Time Remaining: 5d 17h 10m Buy It Now for only: $8.99 |
 Polaroid Land 600 Instant Picture Film Camera Analog Close up Macro Works $21.95 Time Remaining: 7d 13h 42m |
 Yashica Dental Eye III Macro 100mm Close Up Camera Outfit Nice $212.49 Time Remaining: 27d 24m Buy It Now for only: $212.49 |
 Bay I Close Up Lens Set 1 24 +MACRO Rollei Yashica $51.00 Time Remaining: 19d 5h 38m Buy It Now for only: $51.00 |
 Video V 0311 close up WIDE view MACRO LENS DIGITAL 35mm $15.99 Time Remaining: 25d 19h 3m Buy It Now for only: $15.99 |
 NEW 58MM MACRO CLOSE UP for EOS EF and EFand EFs $8.99 Time Remaining: 1d 15h 39m Buy It Now for only: $8.99 |
 58mm Close Up Macro +1+2+4+10 Filter Kit For Canon EOS 5D 550D 600D Rebel T3i XS $8.99 Time Remaining: 1d 15h 41m Buy It Now for only: $8.99 |
 Polaroid Land One Step Close Up 600 film instant analog camera macro flash 636 $38.95 Time Remaining: 20h 58m Buy It Now for only: $38.95 |
 NEW 72MM MACRO CLOSE UP LENS SET 4 Filter Kit +1+2+4+10 $16.50 Time Remaining: 22h 44m Buy It Now for only: $16.50 |
 5set58MM MACRO CLOSE UP for EOS EF and EFand EFs $39.99 Time Remaining: 1d 15h 39m Buy It Now for only: $39.99 |
 Polaroid One Step Express Close Up instant 600 film picture camera macro works $39.95 Time Remaining: 5d 6h 57m Buy It Now for only: $39.95 |
 NEW 77MM MACRO CLOSE UP LENS SET 4 Filter Kit +1+2+4+10 $16.99 Time Remaining: 22h 44m Buy It Now for only: $16.99 |
 POLAROID 600 CAMERA CLOSE UP MACRO INSTANT ANALOG FILM ELECTRONIC FLASH WORKS $49.95 Time Remaining: 4d 20h 47m Buy It Now for only: $49.95 |
 NEW GENUINE BEAULIEU CINEMA MACRO CLOSE UP LENS ATTACHMENT for ZOOM LENS $99.99 Time Remaining: 11d 10h 49m Buy It Now for only: $99.99 |
 Video V 0311 close up WIDE view MACRO LENS DIGITAL 35mm $33.00 Time Remaining: 5d 17h 48m Buy It Now for only: $33.00 |
 NIKON F BR 2 REVERSE ADAPTER RING 52MM MACRO CLOSE UP $59.99 Time Remaining: 15d 1h 41m Buy It Now for only: $59.99 |
 POLAROID TALKING CAMERA ONE STEP 600 FLASH CLOSE UP MACRO RECORDER SPEAKER WORKS $49.95 Time Remaining: 20d 18h 48m Buy It Now for only: $49.95 |
 Holga FUJIFILM Instax 7S Camera Close Up Macro Lens set $45.99 Time Remaining: 9d 3h 34m Buy It Now for only: $45.99 |
 SEA SEA CLOSE UP MACRO LENS SONY MPK WEB UW HOUSING $139.95 Time Remaining: 11d 1h 52m Buy It Now for only: $139.95 |
 SEA SEA CLOSE UP MACRO LENS SONY MPK WD UW HOUSING $139.95 Time Remaining: 11d 1h 49m Buy It Now for only: $139.95 |
 SEA SEA CLOSE UP MACRO LENS SONY MPK WF UW HOUSING $139.95 Time Remaining: 11d 1h 51m Buy It Now for only: $139.95 |
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WhiteOaks Photography Floral Prints - After the Rain Macros. Red Gerbera Daisy with Rain Drops, close-up Macros - Mugs
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DescriptionAfter the Rain Macros. Red Gerbera Daisy with Rain Drops, close-up Macros Mug is new. Why drink coffee out of an ordinary mug when an imprinted mug is so much cooler? Microwave safe, FDA approved. Image is printed on both sides of the mug... |
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WhiteOaks Photography Floral Prints - After the Rain Macros. Red Gerbera Daisy with Rain Drops, close-up Macros - Tile Napkin Holders
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DescriptionAfter the Rain Macros. Red Gerbera Daisy with Rain Drops, close-up Macros Tile Napkin Holder is measuring 6w x 6h x 4d. Made from high quality solid maple wood with satin finish and two 4.25 commercial grade mirror gloss ceramic tiles... |
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WhiteOaks Photography Floral Prints - After the Rain Macros. Red Gerbera Daisy with Rain Drops, close-up Macros - Trivets
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DescriptionAfter the Rain Macros. Red Gerbera Daisy with Rain Drops, close-up Macros Trivet is measuring 8w x 8h x .75d. Made of solid wood with padding on back that protects your furniture. Framed trivet comes with 6w x 6h ceramic gloss tile attached to the wood frame. |
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Pollen from Elefantenfusses - 36"W x 24"H - Peel and Stick Wall Decal by Wallmonkeys
Sale Price: $51.99 |
DescriptionWallMonkeys wall graphics are printed on the highest quality re-positionable, self-adhesive fabric paper. Each order is printed in-house and on-demand. WallMonkeys uses premium materials & state-of-the-art production technologies... |
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Orange Tulips - 18"W x 12"H - Peel and Stick Wall Decal by Wallmonkeys
Sale Price: $30.99 |
DescriptionWallMonkeys wall graphics are printed on the highest quality re-positionable, self-adhesive fabric paper. Each order is printed in-house and on-demand. WallMonkeys uses premium materials & state-of-the-art production technologies... |
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Tomato - 24"H x 24"W - Peel and Stick Wall Decal by Wallmonkeys
Sale Price: $33.99 |
DescriptionWallMonkeys wall graphics are printed on the highest quality re-positionable, self-adhesive fabric paper. Each order is printed in-house and on-demand. WallMonkeys uses premium materials & state-of-the-art production technologies... |
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Digital USB Microscope Video Camera
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DescriptionThis new Digital USB Microscope turns your computer into a great tool for microscopic exploration! Connects directly to your computer with a simple USB connection. Software for connection drivers and viewer is included... |
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Photo Jigsaw Puzzle of Frog along the from Danita Delimont
Sale Price: $24.99 |
DescriptionPhoto Puzzle, Frog along the. Frog along the Buffalo River, Mile 126 on the Buffalo River, Buffalo National River, Arkansas. Chosen by Danita Delimont. 10x14 Photo Puzzle with 252 pieces. Packed in black cardboard box of dimensions 5 5/8 x 7 5/8 x 1 1/5... |
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Photo Jigsaw Puzzle of Red Ant, Formica from Danita Delimont
Sale Price: $24.99 |
DescriptionPhoto Puzzle, Red Ant, Formica. Red Ant, Formica spp. Chosen by Danita Delimont. 10x14 Photo Puzzle with 252 pieces. Packed in black cardboard box of dimensions 5 5/8 x 7 5/8 x 1 1/5. Puzzle image 5x7 affixed to box top... |
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Patricia Sanders Flowers - Sunflower Close Up Macro Photography Flowers - Coffee Gift Baskets - Coffee Gift Basket
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DescriptionSunflower Close Up Macro Photography Flowers Coffee Gift Basket is measuring 9x9x4. Contains 15oz mug, BONUS free set of 4 coasters, biscotti and 5 blends of gourmet coffee. French Vanilla, Kenya AA, Decaf Colombian Supremo, Chocolate and Italian Roast Espresso elegantly presented in our signature black planet coffee gift box... |
Macro Photography - Tips and Techniques
There are a number of ways to get into macro photography ranging from inexpensive to outrageously expensive. Tough decisions to make, especially for someone that doesn't make their living from photography.
If you decide you want to explore macro photography you have a number of options. I have listed these options starting with what I would consider to be the best equipment for the job. This doesn't mean that buying a dedicated macro lens will always be better than extension rings but in general you will get the best results by going this way.
* dedicated macro lenses
* extension tubes or bellows units
* reversing rings
* close up lenses and
* macro zooms (that are pushing the limit of what we are talking about)
Dedicated macro lenses are the ultimate way to go if you are serious at all about doing this type of work. It doesn't have to be expensive, I bought a wonderful 50mm Sigma Macro lens used for all of $120 (new about $270) and it is tack sharp and produces amazing images. My main macro lens is a Sigma 150mm Macro and cost a whopping $700, the best money I have ever spent. This gives you an idea about the price range available and the sky's the limit with some highly specialized Nikon macro lenses in the $2,000 range. Why the difference in focal lengths? I'll get to that soon in another article that I'm working on! If you are serious about macro photography buying a lens specifically designed for the purpose is the best way to go. The lens designs are optimized for close focusing and the lenses are also generally flat field (focus in a flat plane) producing sharper corners on flat objects such as pieces of wood or slabs of rock. Flat field may be a term that many have not heard of and I'll elaborate later on this as well.
Extension tubes or bellows units are pieces of equipment that put space between the camera body and the lens thus allowing the lens to focus closer. They can work well with certain lenses, for instance, if you have a 50mm prime lens this might be a good option to get into macro work at an affordable cost. Extension tubes often come in sets of three of different lengths (high quality tubes tend to be sold individually) that can be used singly or combined to get the close focusing distance required. Bellows units work on the same principle but are expandable like a "bellows" allowing a great deal of flexibility. There real downside is the expense and they are bulky and heavy as well. I expect most people use bellows units for studio work only as they aren't terribly practical in the field. One area where extension tubes really shine is for making long focal length lenses like a 300mm focus closer, great for photographing skittish dragonflies and other critters.
Close up lenses are clear "filters" that screw onto the front of your lens allowing the lens to focus closer. Quality varies from mediocre to quite acceptable depending on the quality of the filters. This is likely the least expensive way to start shooting macro but does have its drawbacks. A big factor that has to be looked at is the quality of the camera lens you will be using. Inexpensive zoom lenses will likely produce less than stellar results while high quality prime lenses can produce excellent results but none of these will produce tack sharp results like the dedicated macro lenses. The biggest advantage? As these are just fancy filters they are very light, no extra tubes or additional lenses to carry.
You don't hear much about reversing rings anymore and I expect that's because most people are using zoom lenses that likely wouldn't work very well. Reversing rings allow you to mount a lens "backwards" on the camera body. When used with high quality prime lenses the results can be stunning and if you reverse a wide angle lens often you can achieve a high magnifications on the order of 2X or more. For people interested in high magnification shooting this is often the way to go, especially if you are on a budget.
What about the macro zoom lens that you already own? Many of the new lenses that come as part of a kit are labeled as macro zooms and while they do focus a little closer than normal they are not true macro lenses. My experience has been that most of them are very suspect in terms of sharpness as these lenses are not designed for this sort of application. Of course in a pinch they will work but to get in really close to your subject one of the above options would be best.
What are you presently using? Are you pleased with the results?
About the Author
Are you interested in learning photography? Free demo The 123 of Digital Imaging Suite
Kevin Oke is a professional nature and travel photographer with over 30 years experience. When not travelling he writes on his blogs, Nature Travel Photography and Kevin Oke Photography. Kevin is available to answer questions about photography on his Photography forum.
Learn Close-up Photography (Macro) with Pro Photographer Roy Todd