Macro lens: which one should you choose, and how?

Macro photography really is a very special field: the world of the infinitely small. It is one of those areas of photography that takes you into a parallel world, one that is almost invisible to the naked eye. I have to admit I’m not a specialist in the subject, but it still fascinates me.

I also wrote a full article dedicated to macro photography, with as much practical advice as possible to help you get started and improve. Capturing close-ups is not as simple as it may seem. In this article, I’ll focus on the gear side of things and try to answer one question as clearly as I can: which macro lens should you choose, and based on what criteria?

Even though I have already written a complete article explaining how to choose a camera lens, macro photography has its own very specific constraints. I also want to start by thanking Hervé, a friend who lent me his macro gear several times and helped me write this article. You’ll find the main things you need to know about macro lenses here, and I’ll guide you through choosing the right lens for this type of photography. At the end of the article, I’ll also briefly cover the different accessories available for macro photography.

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One small clarification that I think is important: you don’t have to use a macro lens only for macro photography. For instance, many photographers use the superb Canon 100mm f/2.8 L lens as a very good portrait lens. In this article, I’ll only cover DSLRs and mirrorless cameras—sorry to point-and-shoot camera owners, but you don’t have the option of interchangeable lenses.

Let’s start with the basics, without going too far into the technical details. Also known as the magnification ratio, the reproduction ratio describes the relationship between the actual size of the subject and the size of its image on your camera sensor. What does that mean in practice? If your subject is 1 cm long in real life and also measures 1 cm on the sensor, that is called a 1:1 reproduction ratio.

In practice, we generally talk about macro photography when the magnification ratio ranges from 1:1, at a minimum, up to 10:1. At 10:1, a subject measuring 1 cm in real life would measure 10 cm on the sensor, which is huge. Beyond 10:1, we move into microphotography, or extreme macro photography—for example, seeing the hairs on a spider in detail. Below a 1:1 ratio, we usually talk about close-up photography.

You’ll see why this reproduction ratio matters in the next section.

A quick clarification is useful here. Some brands have, let’s say, been a little generous with the word “macro,” making it sound as if certain lenses can do true macro photography. You’ll find more and more lenses marked “MACRO.” That is the case, for example, with my Canon 70-300 L IS telephoto lens. But to be clear, these are not true macro lenses.

In reality, these lenses do not reach the 1:1 magnification ratio mentioned above. What they usually offer is a shorter minimum focusing distance, which lets you get fairly close to your subject. For example, the telephoto lens I mentioned above lets me do close-up photography, which is enough for me to try photographing a butterfly up close. So before buying, make sure you check the advertised reproduction ratio.

I deliberately grouped these points together because, in the end, they are closely connected. These are the main criteria to consider when choosing a macro lens, along with, of course, your budget. Each focal length has its pros and cons, because you do not choose a 180mm lens for the same reasons you would choose a 35mm lens. A longer focal length affects price, weight, size, and especially the kind of shots you can take. Also remember that most macro lenses are not zooms. They are usually primes, meaning fixed-focal-length lenses. To sum things up, here are the essentials:

• Short focal lengths: I would place them roughly between 35mm and 60mm. They are available from most brands and have the advantage of a very short focusing distance, usually around 10 to 13 cm. These lenses are light, compact, and relatively affordable. They work well for small objects, flowers, and static subjects. However, they are not ideal for shy subjects such as butterflies or dragonflies.

• Standard lenses: 90mm and 100mm lenses are generally considered the most versatile macro lenses. They are something of an all-round choice for macro photography. The minimum focusing distance will be longer, around 15 cm, and the lens will usually be more expensive, larger, and heavier. In return, you can start photographing insects from a little farther away, which is helpful with more skittish subjects.

• Long focal lengths: the last category starts above 150mm. These lenses are larger, more expensive, and harder to handle, especially when you are just getting started in macro photography. In general, very few people begin with such a long focal length, because it takes time to adapt and control it properly. This type of focal length is useful for large, shy insects, as well as small, delicate insects or flowers. Working with a long focal length also increases the risk of camera shake, so you’ll often need to raise the ISO to keep a fast enough shutter speed or use a tripod.

As a general rule, you can think of it this way: the shorter the focal length, the closer you can get to your subject, although this is obviously not ideal for shy animals. The lens will, however, be easier to use. A longer focal length increases your working distance, which is generally less disturbing for the subject, but the lens will be harder to handle, more expensive, heavier, and may require a tripod.

When you are choosing a standard camera lens, maximum aperture is often one of the first things you look at. In macro photography, though, I would say it matters a little less. As a general rule, most macro lenses I know open to f/2.8 or f/3.5. If you know a bit about photography, you’ll know that the closer you get to a subject, as you do in macro, the shallower the depth of field becomes.

We’ll come back to this in another article, but in macro we often try to increase depth of field by using smaller apertures, such as f/11 or even f/14. In my opinion, maximum aperture should not be your main concern when choosing a macro lens. The only situation where it becomes interesting is if you also want to use the lens for portraits and/or low-light photography. A larger aperture will help you create smoother background blur, or bokeh. Also, and this is something I didn’t know at first, the closer you get to the minimum focusing distance—in other words, the closer you are to your subject—the smaller the effective maximum aperture becomes. Even an f/2.8 lens will no longer behave like a true f/2.8 lens at the closest focusing distances. For portraits, no problem, even if that is not the main reason for buying it, but it is a detail worth knowing, and few reviews mention it clearly. Thanks, Alex.

This is a big debate in the world of macro photography, because not everyone agrees on how useful image stabilization really is. I personally haven’t tested it enough to have a definitive opinion, but from what I know and have read, it can be helpful, especially in difficult lighting conditions when it is hard to keep a fast enough shutter speed to avoid blur. On the other hand, several people I have met recommend turning off stabilization when your shutter speed is already high enough to ensure a sharp image.

For Canon (full frame & APS-C)

For Canon full-frame DSLR cameras, here are the Laowa macro models currently available:

And for APS-C Canon DSLR (EF-S) cameras

For Nikon (Full frame & APS-C)

For Nikon full-frame DSLR cameras, here are the Laowa macro models currently available:

And for APS-C Nikon DSLR (DX) cameras

I could also have asked the question the other way around: how do you choose a macro lens based on your camera? Some macro lenses are only compatible with APS-C sensors. Full-frame macro lenses, such as Canon EF lenses, will generally work regardless of your camera sensor size. So choose carefully. If you are a beginner with a limited budget, you are more likely to own an APS-C body. By the way, do you want to know how to choose your DSLR camera?

What you really need to understand is the crop factor between an APS-C body and a full-frame body. It is not complicated in itself—I explain it in detail in the article linked above—but the nuance matters. The focal length written on your macro lens refers to the lens’s focal length, and the field of view changes depending on sensor size. So if you mount a 100mm lens on an APS-C camera, you get a field of view equivalent to roughly 150mm on full frame, thanks to the 1.5x crop factor. That can make a real difference…

In practical terms, it is definitely something to think about. On APS-C, a 100mm lens already gives you enough reach to photograph butterflies or dragonflies, for example. On a Canon 6D full-frame camera like mine, a 100mm remains a 100mm in field of view, so it feels “shorter” than on APS-C. If I had to buy a macro lens now, which I do expect to do at some point, I would honestly hesitate over whether to go straight for a 150mm.

I won’t repeat everything from the article on how to choose your DSLR.

However, here are a few important points to consider when choosing a DSLR body alongside a macro lens

• Try to choose a camera with the best possible high-ISO performance: to keep your shutter speed as high as possible, you will often need to raise the ISO. A body that handles high ISO well without producing too much noise will therefore be a real plus,
• A large number of high-quality focus points, spread well across the frame: the more AF points you have, the easier it is to focus on your subject while keeping the composition you want. With only 11 AF points, and quite centered ones at that, I struggled quite a bit with my 6D. In my opinion, having many high-quality AF points is therefore very important,
• Be careful with lens compatibility. If you are thinking about buying a 60mm Tamron to start macro photography, do not use it on a full-frame camera because it will not be compatible,
• The burst mode can be very useful in macro too. This is a point to look at if you are hesitating between 2 cameras.

Obviously, in most cases, a full-frame sensor will offer advantages over APS-C, but the cost of the camera and lenses is not the same. So, once again, it is a matter of priorities and, above all, budget.

I won’t go into detail on every macro accessory mentioned below, especially since I am not an expert in the field. If you are a macro photography expert and would like to help me write a full article on one of the accessories below, feel free to contact me.

Everyone agrees that a macro lens is the best way to start in the field. However, budget is often what slows you down at the beginning, even though starting with a 90mm Tamron does not cost that much in the end…

Here, I’ll present four useful accessories for anyone who wants to explore macro photography on a smaller budget.

Let’s be honest: this is the cheapest way to get started in macro photography without buying a dedicated macro lens. You may not know this, but you can mount your lens backward on your camera body using a reversing ring. This is called reverse macro photography. A 50mm prime is often considered ideal for this technique, as it can get close to the 1:1 reproduction ratio I mentioned at the beginning of the article. You can use other focal lengths, but keep in mind that the shorter the focal length, the higher the reproduction ratio—and the harder it becomes to start with. You can find reversing rings here.

The principle is simple: take your lens, turn it around, and mount it on the reversing ring, which sits between your lens and your DSLR. However, there are two disadvantages to keep in mind:

• You lose automatic controls, so you can no longer autofocus or change the aperture electronically (although there is a technique by leaving the depth of field tester (button) pressed while removing the lens and screwing it back onto the reversing ring). You will therefore need to master manual focusing,
• All the lens contacts are exposed, since the lens is reversed, and the risk of dropping it or letting dust enter the camera is higher!

It is clearly a good way to get started in macro without breaking the bank, for less than €15. If possible, use a metal reversing ring rather than a plastic one. There is little to no image quality loss.

Extension tubes are simply hollow tubes, with no glass elements, that reduce the focusing distance to your subject and therefore increase magnification. They are generally sold in sets of three. Prices and quality vary widely, from around €15 to more than €100 for good-quality extension tubes. Note that low-end models usually do not preserve automatic controls, such as autofocus and aperture adjustment, unlike more expensive models.

The main advantage of this inexpensive solution is that image quality itself does not change, since there is no glass inside. The main drawback, however, is light loss as you add more tubes. The farther your lens sits from the camera sensor, the less light reaches it, so you will often need to compensate by raising the ISO. If you are looking for a good-quality set of extension tubes, the Kenko brand is a good reference.

Like extension tubes, macro bellows reduce the focusing distance to your subject. The main difference is that the accessory uses a central accordion mounted on a rail, allowing you to move very close to the subject while focusing very precisely.

There is still no loss of image quality, since there are no optical elements inside the bellows. However, light loss is more significant, and it is almost impossible to use bellows properly without a tripod. To compensate for this lack of light, many photographers use macro flashes. That is why I would generally recommend starting with extension tubes or close-up lenses rather than bellows, which are better reserved for indoor setups.

There is a big debate about whether using flash is worth it. Some people love it, others do not. The same goes for tripods, which I discuss below. There are specialized flashes for macro photography, especially ring flashes and multi-reflector flashes. As a general rule, macro photography flashes are found on the front of your lens and even on the sides. A classic hot-shoe flash is not ideal for macro photography. The working distance in macro is so short that part of the lens can block the flash.

To put it simply, a ring flash attaches to the front of your lens. Multi-head macro flashes use two flash heads placed on either side of the lens. I won’t go further into the subject here, because that is not the purpose of this article, but I hope to write about it more precisely later.

The last accessory dedicated to macro photography is the tripod. As I said, some professional and amateur photographers like using one, while others prefer to shoot handheld. Depending on the light and shooting conditions, though, a tripod can be very helpful.

I have already written a detailed article on tripods in photography, so I won’t repeat everything here. There are a few points to look at more carefully when buying a tripod, especially for macro photography, but not only:

• The minimum height of the tripod seems to be a key factor in macro photography, because you will often find yourself very low or even at ground level. You therefore need to look at the maximum leg opening angle,
• The center column is the other point to look at closely. Some tripods have a reversible center column, which can be very useful for positioning your camera upside down, for example, very close to the ground.

If you are considering such a purchase, think twice anyway, given some of the prices…

That’s it, we’ve reached the end of everything I wanted to say about choosing a macro lens and the accessories that can go with it. You should now be able to make your choice more easily. I did not review every accessory in detail, but I did at least introduce the main options.

What about you—how did you get started in macro photography? Which accessories did you use? Did you find this field difficult? Personally, I am increasingly interested in buying a macro lens because it opens up almost endless possibilities in the world of the infinitely small, a world we do not see in everyday life. That is why I did so much research and wrote this post. It opens up new perspectives, don’t you think? So, which macro lens do you think you should buy? You do not need to be a professional photographer or own the best camera of the year to enjoy macro photography. By the way, are you also looking for information on wide-angle lenses for photography?

See you soon,

Written by Sylvain PONS

I've been passionate about photography since 2010, learning as I went along. Today, I dedicate myself to guiding others in their choice of camera gear and sharing a variety of tips to improve their photography skills.

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