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Please explain macro lenses to me! Anonymous
I've always been interested in macro photography, but never really understood the difference between zoom or prime lenses with macro capability, and dedicated macro lenses. Can someone explain the advantages, and show me the difference between this shot of a penny taken with my Sigma 18-200 OS at 200mm (handheld), -- and how a penny would look with a dedicated, high-quality macro lens?

Thanks in advance...
>> Anonymous
if you're trying to macro with on-board flash i'm gonna kick your ass ....

first thing you'll notice is that macro lens are sharper. the minimum distance to the lens is shorter on a macro so you can get in close (maximize subject/megapxl ratio). go to pbase and see some macro samples.
>> Anonymous
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Can't i get just as close by cropping a bit more? I would think the sharpness of the lens is as important as how close you can physically shoot.

I guess what I'm confused about is what is special about macro lenses? It seems to me that the sharpness of the lens, and MP count of camera will have just as much affect on how "close" one can get to a subject.

Wouldn't the MP count of the sensor have a lot to do with it? One could crop 2X the amount on a 12MP camera as on a 6MP. Is it basically that macro lenses are sharp and let you get closer than other lenses?

If my lens is sharp enough and sensor has lots of MPs, can't I get "close" as macro lens? I just cropped penny some more, and this is no "L" lens (understand I might not be able to print big):

Camera-Specific Properties:Equipment MakeCanonCamera ModelCanon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTCamera SoftwarePicasa 3.0PhotographerPicasa 2.7Image-Specific Properties:Image OrientationUnknownHorizontal Resolution72 dpiVertical Resolution72 dpiImage Created2008:03:01 23:25:35Exposure Time1/250 secF-Numberf/8.0Exposure ProgramAperture PriorityISO Speed Rating800Lens Aperturef/8.0Exposure Bias-1 EVMetering ModePartialFlashNo Flash, CompulsoryFocal Length200.00 mmColor Space InformationUncalibratedImage Width524Image Height402RenderingNormalExposure ModeAutoWhite BalanceManualScene Capture TypeStandardUnique Image IDbff1ced53c97e353fb3a68994e54b9df
>> Anonymous
>>133768Wouldn't the MP count of the sensor have a lot to do with it? One could crop 2X the amount on a 12MP camera as on a 6MP.
No. Magnification is calculated assuming there will be no cropping. What happens if you want that high magnification image in 12MP? If you're only intention is to produce images for viewing on a monitor, cropping works. If you intend to make any prints, especially big ones, it's not so effective.

There are two primary differences between a true macro lens and a macro labeled zoom. The first is close focusing distance. A true macro lens will be able to focus when it is in extremely close physical proximity to the object. A macro-labeled zoom just means that it focuses closer than comparable normal zooms, but that isn't even always true. The second is magnification. True macro lenses generally get you close to 1:1 magnification, meaning that the image produced on the film/sensor is the same size as the object being photographed. Some lenses will even have greater than 1:1 magnification. Macro zooms will rarely get better than 1:3.
>> Anonymous
Copypasta from DPR.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1031&thread=27010428

lulz, newfag doesn't know about my macros