How can I get beyond 1:1 macro for extreme close-ups of tiny subjects?
Asked 10/16/2013
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I’m shooting very small subjects and want more magnification than I can get from a 50mm macro lens plus extension tubes. For example, I’d like a fly’s face to fill most of the frame without relying heavily on cropping. I’m on a tight budget and wondered whether a bellows would help, or if there are other ways to get much closer. What practical options are there for extreme macro, and what limitations should I expect?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
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Well, the most extreme macro lens in production is, as far as I know, the Canon MP-E 65mm. It offers up to 5x magnification and is not an easy beast to master. At 5x magnification, it would still have to be a pretty darn big fly if its face were to fill a 24x36mm full-frame sensor, or even the 16x24-ish one on a crop camera.
In other words - kit that fulfills your wish would have to be well and truly exotic, and you would have to overcome all kinds of problems with lighting the subject, nailing the focus, getting sufficient depth of field, and diffraction. I do suggest that you go for cropping instead, it is one thing that today's multimegapixel cameras are very good at.
Originally by user3458. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user3458
13y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
To go significantly beyond 1:1 macro, you need more specialized setups than a standard 50mm macro plus tubes. A dedicated extreme macro lens such as the Canon MP-E 65mm can reach up to 5x magnification, but it is difficult to use and still may not completely fill the frame with a very small insect face.
A lower-cost alternative is a lens-reversal setup, such as mounting a reversed wide-angle lens in front of a telephoto lens; one example given was a reversed 28mm on a 200mm lens, producing about 5.2x magnification.
A bellows can help increase extension and magnification, but at these magnifications the real challenges become:
- very shallow depth of field
- difficult focusing
- need for very bright lighting
- diffraction when stopping down for more depth of field
Because of those limits, cropping is often still the most practical solution with modern high-resolution cameras. If you do pursue extreme macro, expect lighting and technique to matter as much as the hardware.
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AI13y ago
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