Macro photography opens up a whole new world of perspectives. I remember my first venture into this genre. I had to purchase a screw-on thread for my Nikon D300 to be able to reverse mount my Nikkor 50mm f1.4 AF-D lens on the camera. Of course, this method came without any metering capabilities, and everything had to be manually done with a lot of trial and error. Thankfully, exceptionally good macro lenses nowadays are a lot more affordable nowadays, and don’t require you to use DIY hacks. We’ve narrowed down some of the best options you can buy today.
How We Test and Choose the Best Macro Lenses
- The Phoblographer’s various product round-up features are done in-house. Our philosophy is simple: you wouldn’t get a Wagyu beef steak review from a lifelong vegetarian. And you wouldn’t get photography advice from someone who doesn’t touch the product. We only recommend gear we’ve fully reviewed in these roundups.
- If you’re wondering why your favorite product didn’t make the cut, there’s a chance it’s on another list. If we haven’t reviewed it, we won’t recommend it. This method keeps our lists packed with industry-leading knowledge. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. You can read more about our ethics on this on our Disclaimer page.
- When we test products we’ve got various things in mind. First off, we consider who might want to buy the product and what they might do with it. With that in mind, we try to tackle at least three genres of photography with that product in a variety of situations. For example, if a lens has weather resistance, then we’ll test it accordingly with a weather-resistant camera. We also test the autofocus of the lens in continuous mode, single mode, with exposure preview effects, without those effects, and then with all the major image quality parameters. These days, no one really makes a bad lens — but some are far better than others. And that’s what we’re trying to find in our reviews.
- In all of our roundups, we’re basing our findings on the reviews that we’ve done. We’re choosing a favorite, but we’re also giving photographers a bunch of others that they might like, depending on how they shoot.
Our Choice Amongst the Best Macro Lenses You Can Buy In 2024: Panasonic 100mm f2.8
This wasn’t an easy choice, as this lens faced some stiff competition for the top spot from the Canon RF 100mm Macro lens. But where the Panasonic 100mm f2.8 Macro Lens pipped the latter was in AF speed and compact size. It’s a great lens to carry around everywhere, something I can’t always say about other f2.8 macro lenses in this focal length range. It’s about the same size as the rest of the Lumix S prime lenses. If you’re an L-mount camera user, this is the best one by far to get. With such great features, it’s no surprise that it took home our Editor’s Choice Award.
Tech Specs
These specs are taken from the Adorama Listing
Compatibility | LUMIX S Series Cameras |
Lens Construction | 13 elements in 11 groups (3 aspherical lenses, 2 UED lenses, 1 ED lens) |
Mount | L-Mount |
Optical Image Stabilizer | No |
Focal Length | f=100mm |
Aperture Type | 9 diaphragm blades / Circular aperture diaphragm |
Maximum Aperture | f/2.8 |
Minimum Aperture | f/22 |
Closest Focusing Distance | 0.669′ (0.204m) |
Maximum Magnification | 1.0x |
Diagonal Angle of View | 24 Degree |
Dust and Splash Resistant | Yes |
Recommended Operating Temperature | 14 Degree F to 104 Degree F (-10 Degree C to 40 Degree C) |
Filter Size | 67mm |
Max. Diameter | 2.9″ (73.6mm) |
Overall Length | From the tip of the lens to the base side of the lens mount: 3.23″ (82mm) (Approx.) |
Weight | Excluding lens cap, lens rear cap and lens hood: 10.51 oz (298g) (Approx.) |
What We Think
In our review, we state:
It’s the single most innovative 100mm f2.8 Macro lens that I’ve used in my career. The Phoblographer has been around for over 14 years, and we’ve reviewed the most lenses of any accredited photography publication. I can say with certainty that this is something as uniquely special as a perfectly sweet, ripe mango on a summer’s day. With that said, it’s just as rare.
For Some Photographers, these Might Be The Best Macro Lenses To Choose From
If you’re not a Panasonic Lumix camera owner, here are some other options from camera brands and 3rd party companies to choose from.
Canon RF 100mm f2.8 L Macro IS USM
An Editor’s Choice Award winner too, but narrowly missing out on the top spot is our next favorite, Canon’s latest 100mm macro lens. In our review, we said:
The Canon RF 100mm Macro not only expertly mixes technical greatness with character but allows photographers to choose when they want that super sharp image or a bit more character. With what feels almost like a built-in variable mist filter, this lens can add a little or a lot of softness. Of course, that softness to the bokeh as well. That’s not the only way the 100mm macro impresses. This lens adds the type of flare that software will try to imitate. This flare is also easy to control by adjusting the position of the lens so, once again, photographers can intentionally add flare or adjust to keep contrast intact.
OM System 90mm f3.5 Macro IS Pro
In our review of this lens, we state:
Besides the autofocus capability, the 90mm also makes Super Macro more accessible with a stabilization of six stops on its own or seven stops with compatible Sync IS bodies. That’s a huge help as camera shake tends to be exaggerated the closer the subject is to the lens. OM System’s weather-sealing is intact too, with the lens given an IP53 rating against dust and moisture. Using the OM System 90mm f3.5 Macro, however, is a delicate balance between an aperture narrow enough to keep something in focus and an aperture wide enough to stave off diffraction. In that sweet spot, photographers can capture wonderfully detailed close-ups
Laowa 90mm F2.8 2x Ultra Macro
This beautiful lens creates some stunning images, but it does have a few drawbacks. In our review we noted:
The Laowa 90mm f2.8 2x Ultra Macro is hands-down the most fun I’ve had with a macro lens. The 2x close-up capability makes it possible to capture detail that a standard 1:1 macro can’t. That mixed with the f2.8 and the 90mm makes bokeh so smooth that backgrounds often become a solid color. The rainbow-colored, streaky flare adds even more ways that this lens can help create photos that stand out in a feed. While it’s a manual focus lens, the metal build makes turning its focus ring luxurious. If there’s a reason not to buy the Laowa 90mm 2x, it’s the lack of weather-sealing.
Voigtlander 110mm F2.5 Macro
A slightly unconventional focal length for modern lenses, in our review of the Voigtlander 110mm F2.5 Macro we said:
The Voigtlander 110mm f2.5 almost finds the perfect balance between classic and modern. It looks fantastic with a classically-inspired metal build. And, of course, the photos ooze character, bokeh, and sharpness. Electronic contacts make shooting a bit easier, despite the lack of an autofocus motor.
Nikon Z MC 105mm f2.8 VR S
I use the F-mount version of this lens for a lot of the reviews I do here, but the Z mount version is just so much more sharper. In our review of this lens, we state:
When you add the sharpness of the Z mount to a lens that can focus up close, you get stunning detail. The Nikon Z 105mm macro does a great job reducing chromatic aberration, and delivering a sharper image with less fringing than the comparable F-mount. Even though the f2.8 isn’t available at the closest focal distances, this lens can still produce some great bokeh and soft backgrounds.
AstrHori 85mm f2.8 Macro And Tilt Lens
AstrHori’s 85mm stands out as the most unique one in this list. It’s a tad unfortunate that it’s built for crop sensors only at the moment, at least in terms of the tilt capabilities. In our review, we said:
The tilt capability is the first that I’ve seen in a macro lens at this price point. It can also be used as a handy portrait lens if you’re willing to work with the very slow manual focus throw. But the tilt feature comes with some heavy vignetting beyond the halfway point, which is why AstrHori clearly labels that feature as an APS-C option. Still, having a tilt feature on a macro lens is probably better than not having one at all. Sharpness is very impressive, even at f2.8, when you’re photographing subjects up close
Using This Guide to the Best Macro Lenses To Buy In 2024
If you’re considering purchasing anything from this list of the best macro lenses, consider the following:
- All the product images and sample photos in these roundups are shot by our staff. In fact, we don’t talk about products at length in roundups like this unless we’ve done full reviews of them. But you can surely know that we’ve done all the research ourselves.
- Laowa probably makes the best 3rd party macro lenses right now. But they aren’t without their shortcomings, as we noted above
- Does macro photography mystify you? Look at our quick guide to understand it better
- Macro photography autofocus accuracy also depends a great deal on the camera system you’re using
- The best macro photos are taken with a methodology called Focus Stacking
- We’d never recommend a product to you that we haven’t tested or that we really didn’t like. You can reference our linked reviews, for more information on this.
Picking the Right One For You
If you’re still a bit confused as to the right macro lens for you, here are some questions to ask yourself
- What’s your budget?
- How will you use the product?
- What lighting situations are you in, and how will that affect what you’re doing? Our reviews hyperlinked in this article can help with that.
- Are you traveling a lot with it?
- Will you be using it in a situation that’s a bit rougher?
- Who else uses this product? How are they using it?
- What’s so appealing about this product that I can’t get from what I have already or something else?
- When will I really have time to use this product?
- Where will I bring this product?
- How will this product help bring me joy and joy in my photography?