Macro photography lenses can make the tiniest objects seems larger than life itself.
There are hundreds of items all around you that you likely never take a second look at. A tiny toy, a small flower, seeds or grains, coins, bugs, small electrical components, and so on. We’re just so used to seeing items like this that we don’t think much about them. However, what if we told you there’s a whole different way to see them? Macro photography allows us to get up close and personal with tiny objects, or any object that has immense detail, with ease. Macro photography, while challenging, can be incredibly rewarding. Seeing the often unseen and making it appear larger than life is fascinating. After the break, we’ll share four macro photography lenses that will help you see the world differently.
There are many macro photography lenses on the market, but to get a true macro lens, you need to make sure it has a reproduction value of 1:1. A real 1:1 macro lens will allow you to fill up the entire size of the sensor in your camera with the object you are photographing. Imagine a single grain of rice filling your entire image. That’s the power of 1:1 macro photography lenses. Their ability to get incredibly close to subjects and get razor-sharp focus is what sets them apart from other lenses on the market. All the macro lenses listed here offer reproduction rates of 1:1, and we guarantee they will be some of the sharpest lenses you will ever use. As an added bonus, macro photography lenses also double as exceptional lenses for portrait photography too! Check out four of our favorite macro photography lenses below.
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Fujifilm 80mm F2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro
In our review, we said:
“Overall the image quality of the macro lens is outstanding, truly. The lens is sharp, even wide open from edge to edge. Distortion, CA, and other abnormalities are well controlled for the most part. I don’t have a bad thing to say about the Image Quality you can expect out of this lens.”
Buy now: $1,199
Pro Tip: One thing we highly recommend when it comes to macro photography is a stable tripod. Macro photography is incredibly challenging, and you’re often dealing with such extremely narrow depths of field that even the slightest movement will ruin your shot. A popular technique in this field of photography is focus stacking, and to focus stack, you will need a good tripod. We’ve got a ton reviewed on our site.
Sony 90mm f2.8 Macro G OSS
In our review, we said:
“One of the strongest features of this lens has to be the bokeh. It’s absolutely beautiful, creamy, and never hazy. Part of this is due to the nine aperture blade design. Along with the Zeiss 85mm f1.8 Batis lens, the Sony 90mm f2.8 Macro G OSS is an excellent portrait photography option. We personally lean more towards the Zeiss version, but the Sony lens is more affordable and offers macro features–adding to its versatility.”
Chris Gampat – Editor In Chief
Buy now: $1,098
IRIX 150mm F2.8 Dragonfly Macro Lens
In our review, we said:
“The title of this piece calls this lens The Bokeh King, and it indeed really is. Photographers of all types will not only love the bokeh, but they’ll also appreciate the sharpness, color rendition, and how fun this lens can be.”
Buy now Canon EF: $445
Buy now Nikon F: $445
Pro Tip: There’s a lot to learn when it comes to macro photography. It may seem like an easy genre, but learning how to light, compose, and focus stack takes time. Along with practicing by yourself, we recommend picking up some training materials that will help you get the most out of your macro photography lenses.
Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 60mm f2.8 Macro Lens
In our review, we said:
“There’s no doubt about it, the Olympus 60mm macro is a stellar lens; I personally think it’s one of the best primes for the MFT format at the moment. It has fantastic image quality, it’s relatively affordable, it’s lightweight and splash/dustproof. It can even pull double duty as a wonderful portrait lens.”
Buy now: $399