The great thing about macro photography, other than the fact that it's awesome, is that it's
pretty easy to get into. So, let's take a look at four different ways to get up close.
First up we have macro lenses. This is the most direct way - there are many lenses out there that
have an extremely close minimum focusing distance, which gives you a 1:1 magnification at said
distance - which means that the image projected onto your sensor or film is the same size as it is
in real life. Proper macro lenses are definitely your best bet when it comes to image quality,
but obviously they are the most expensive option. Vintage macro lenses can be had at a fraction of
the price, such as this 50mm f/4 Takumar. Check out the video I made about it. That all said,
if you want to try your hand at shooting the minuscule there are some cheap (cheep cheep cheep)
ways to do it with lenses you already own.
These work like reading glasses for your camera, bringing in your infinity
focus - and your minimum focus along with it. They come in various strengths like +1, +2, +4,
etc. The short version of what this means is that with a +1, your infinity focus will be brought
down to one meter. A +2 will bring it down to half a meter. A +4 to one quarter of a meter... and I
think you kind of get what's going on here. There are a lot of cheap ones out there,
and because of the simplicity of their optics they tend to bring
aberrations along with them. There are more expensive ones that help to correct this.
The best part about using diopters is that they will work on any lens you put them on.
A way to decrease the minimum focus distance of your lens is to move it further away from the
camera. A classic way of doing this is with extension tubes. You put them between the
lens and your camera body. They usually come in sets of different stackable fixed lengths - some
even include contacts to maintain an electronic connection to your fancy-pants lens. If you want
something that's a little more easily adjustable, you can get a helicoid adapter, or bellows.
You might find these a little tricky to use with some lenses, so the mileage here does vary.
This is something that generally only works with prime lenses of certain focal lengths,
but if you have a nifty 50, especially a vintage one - then you are in luck.
These adapters screw onto the front of your lens allowing you to mount it backwards. You don't have
any real control over it so you have to focus by just moving around and finding the right spot.
Well, that's the end of the video... Thank you very much for watching,
I hope this will help you on your journey to the macro-verse. Hit like if you liked it.
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have any questions or comments, leave them below, and I will see you in the next one!