Macro Photography

GD
Posted By
Grant_Dixon
Oct 4, 2003
Views
225
Replies
10
Status
Closed
What is Close up, macro and Micro photography? When I got into photography, many years ago, Macro meant capable of shooting an image at a 1:1 ratio at the film. Anything less than this was close up photography and anything more than this was Micro photography. Now I have been saving my pennies to purchase a dedicated Macro lens, an AF Micro-Nikkor 105 mm f2.8D lens. Notice it is now called a Micro not a Macro. My standard lens an AF Zoom-Nikkor 35-70 mm f2.8D lens and it is touted as a Macro lens as it will achieve a 1:4 magnification. When did this naming practice change what are your definition of Macro photography? I just want to throw this open for some input.

Grant
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JF
Jodi_Frye
Oct 4, 2003
I always considered macro as just ‘close up’ photography….without the special microscopic lens. My fuji’s macro is mere 0.3 ft to 6.6ft (W) and 3.0 ft to 6.6ft (T)
JF
Jodi_Frye
Oct 4, 2003
Oh, i remember when i was little my mother taping a magnifying glass to her macro lens ..lol
CS
Chuck_Snyder
Oct 4, 2003
Grant, I recently bought a macro lens for my 10D; it’s a Canon 100mm f2.8. Heavy sucker – has its own tripod ring. It’s capable of 1:1 on film (more than that on the undersized CMOS chip), so I guess it’s ‘pure’. But you’re right – everything that’s close-up has become macro, it would seem.
GD
Grant_Dixon
Oct 4, 2003
Chuck

I don’t think it will give you any more that 1:1 even with the CMOS but it will behave like close to a 150 mm on a regular SLR so you will be able to step back and give your subjects some breathing room.

Grant
CS
Chuck_Snyder
Oct 5, 2003
Grant, good thought on the portrait use. I had an 85 mm f 1.8 lens for my first SLR and I used it extensively for medium close-ups of family members. This one’s a little longer, but still useful for that purpose.
ML
Marilyn_Lee
Oct 5, 2003
Grant – I thought this was kind of a neat quote that fit in with your question about macro vs micro photography:

"Taking close-up pictures of small things is called ‘macro photography.’ I have no idea why. Perhaps because the small things in macro photography are generally larger than the things you are taking pictures of when doing ‘micro photography’. If you really want to be pedantic then you should say you are doing ‘photomacrography’."

<http://www.photo.net/macro/primer>

This site is highly readable, with *lots* of information and links, even if it doesn’t answer your question <grin>

Marilyn
GD
Grant_Dixon
Oct 5, 2003
Chuck

I was not thinking of portraiture when I did my last posting. More thinking a long the lines of bugs, flowers and the like. I love the 85 -105 mm range for portraits the right amount of flattening of the subject. The nose never looks out of proportion to the ears, unlike a 50 mm or wider lens. The 135 – 150 mm is at the limit, just before the fattening of the face becomes too noticeable. This lens should also add a bit extra separation from the back ground. So it would seem that many of the qualities need to photograph flowers and bugs are also needed to take portraits of people. I suspect that your macro/micro lenses should also be a wonderful portrait lens. I think you have make a good choice with this baby!

Grant
GD
Grant_Dixon
Oct 5, 2003
Marilyn

Cool site! I have visited it a while back and somehow have forgotten it and that is a shame on my part.

Grant
JC
Jane_Carter
Oct 5, 2003
Hi Marilyn, Thanks so much for reminding us of Phil Greenspun’s photo site. I happened upon it many years ago when I was searching the web for pictures of Costa Rica when we were planning a trip there.
Photo.net is indeed the best ‘book’ that I have read on all of photography. Now I shall go back and re-read it.
Jane
GJ
Gary J Bevans
Oct 10, 2003
Save yourself some money and Buy some Diopters you can get those close up shots with your existing lenses.

They screw on like filters you can also stack them.

taken with a Kodak LS443 digital camera with 2 Kodak Diopters a +10 and a +7

http://community.webshots.com/album/90205435FwYMDT

Gary

wrote in message
Grant – I thought this was kind of a neat quote that fit in with your
question about macro vs micro photography:
"Taking close-up pictures of small things is called ‘macro photography.’ I
have no idea why. Perhaps because the small things in macro photography are generally larger than the things you are taking pictures of when doing ‘micro photography’. If you really want to be pedantic then you should say you are doing ‘photomacrography’."
<http://www.photo.net/macro/primer>

This site is highly readable, with *lots* of information and links, even
if it doesn’t answer your question <grin>
Marilyn

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