KIT BREAKDOWN
Which equipment is truly essential for macro and what items are best for creative results?
Most photographers are familiar with what a macro lens does and how it differs from conventional optics of similar focal lengths. However there are multiple types of macro lens available in the modern age of photography, as well as several options of camera format. This can complicate the choice of gear considerably and it is critical to understand just how various items impact the type of creative macro shots we can capture.
Magnification ratio is the first important factor to consider, as this will directly influence how close you can get to your subject. To clarify, this does not necessarily refer to the minimum focus distance of a lens, rather the magnifying power of the optical design and the resulting reproduction size of the subject in the final frame. For beginners, many lenses have a ‘macro’ function, especially telephoto zooms, such as a 70-300mm. This is somewhat misleading as such lens modes do not provide true macro magnification. The common reproduction ratio is somewhere around half life-size (1:2) or less (1:4), which is still useful for larger objects, but cannot provide frame-filling compositions of small subjects. A true macro lens has at least a 1:1 magnification, meaning the projection is the same size as the real object. This allows the photographer to fill the whole frame with just a tiny proportion of the total subject.
The next consideration is sensor size, as this will also affect composition. An APS-C format sensor has less total sensor area, so the crop factor will make frame-filling compositions easier. With a Full-Frame camera, post-process cropping may be necessary to achieve this with the same focal length, reducing overall file resolution. At life-size however this can exclude a lot of the environment, which may not be desirable. Some photographers prefer a medium format sensor, because even at
1:1 there is still some extra space around the subject, to provide context.