What is videography and photography?
It is a way to show off your hobby to everyone.
If your hobby has rich texture and fine detail
that requires a keen eye to fully appreciate it,
a macro lens might be your best friend.
A macro lens can show others the wonders of human innovation,
or the miracle of nature
When seeing the world through a macro lens, everything changes.
Every photographer should give it a shot.
But there is a trap within.
Welcome to the Colorbee Photography. I am Brian.
Many macro lenses don't look that different from a normal camera lens.
How a macro lens works, it is relatively simple.
Simply put, "Perspective".
Perspective is a fundamental principle of optics.
The closer you are to the object. the bigger it looks.
And it looks smaller as you get further away.
To capture more detail,
we get closer to the subject gradully.
But there is a certain point
where the lens won't focus.
The minimum focusing distance of an ordinary lens is
is between 0.2m and 1m
which limits the distance to the subject we are trying to capture
causing the subject to look rather small.
Using the Batis 40mm as an example,
at its minimum focus distance of 24cm, it has a magnification ratio of 0.33:1.
In layman's terms,
this 31.8mm long LEGO piece,
only appears to be 1/3 of its original size when captured on the CMOS.
The lens shrinks the item.
So the lens only has some close-up capabilities.
But not a dedicated macro lens.
WIth a real macro lens, we can get even closer to the subject,
close enough to capture the subject in its original size.
This is what we call a 1:1 magnification ratio
The more megapixels your camera has,
the more detail your can capture.
Think about using a 24MP CMOS to capture this piece.
How much wonderful detail we can get from it?
If we use a macro lens with a higher magnification ratio,
like the Laowa 2.5-5x macro lens,
it can capture deatils so small that are invisible to the naked eye,
just like a microscope can.
Oh?
Fat boy.
It introduces the history of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
This model is designed by a man named Mike.
All LEGO model designers are geniuses to me.
This Harley model
uses ordinary LEGO pieces.
Only two curved pieces on the fuel tank
are specifically designed for this model.
OK~
Recommended age is 16? I need to find someone who is more age appropriate.
小月~
What??
I have something fun for you!
So, strictly speaking,
a lens must have a magnification ratio greater than 1:1
for it to be categorized as a macro lens.
No matter what the focus length is,
a macro lens can always take a photo of a small subject
at the ratio of 1:1.
If they all can take picture with 1:1 ratio
what kind of macro lens should you choose?
Now that, is determined by what you are trying to capture.
There are two factors:
first, is your viewing angle,
second, is the environment, especially your surrounding light.
For a 24mm lens, you would need to get very close to the subject
to get a 1:1 ratio picture.
A 50mm can be a little bit further.
And with a 100mm lens, you can be even further away.
Telephoto macro lenses such as the Canon 100mm, Nikon's 200mm,
the famous Canon 100mm IS and Sony's 90mm.
There are several benefits of using a medium telephoto macro lens.
First, there is some distance between you and the subject.
So the pictures are not distorted.
Also, a telephoto lens gives the picture a narrower point of view
which makes the picture less busy and have fewer distractions.
This allows the viewer to focus more on the subject and its details.
Second, it is easier to control the light with a telephoto macro lens.
there is more space to place
lights and reflectors between the camera and the subject.
Third,
you don't need to worry about your shadows
or reflections showing up on the subject
Fourth, you won't scare away your subject
when you are trying to capture animals or insects in nature.
Believe it or not, a 100mm macro lens is a dentist's most used tool.
Think about it, it meets the requirements:
Easy for lighting,
put emphasis the subject,
captures the detail
and there are no shadows when taking a picture.
Am I right?
Medium telephoto macro lens can not only show off the subject's detail,
it can also gives a wider viewing angle to show the environment.
Classic examples are Zeiss's 50mm and Canon's 35mm (50mm equivalent).
For shots that need the macro feel,
but also need the environment to tell the story,
such as food, toys and action figures.
Especially for something that is handmade,
you can't get too close.
You will highlight all the imperfections
because of the high magnification.
Medium zoom captures just a little more detail than standard zoom
which is just enough.
For various wide angle macro lenses,
such as the famous Laowa,
the 24mm lens with the probe-like design.
It is interesting to use.
Usually the 24mms are used to show off a girl's long and slender legs.
Do you think we did a good job on these legs?
With a 40cm long probe design, it lets us get really close.
It gives you a cahnce to wander freely in the world of micro.
However,
even though everything can be shot with a macro lens,
if you want to do a good job, it takes serious work.
You can't skim on any equipment. Like a beefy tripod.
A tripod head needs to have microadjustment,
or a slide track that is designed specifically for macro shots.
Shooting with macro lenses requires very deep depth of field
which means reducing the aperture to at least f/16.
Also a high-powered light source is required.
Having photography or shooting macro as a hobby in general,
you can expect to burn a big hole in your pocket.
It might seem easy and cheap to pick up. But that is far from the truth.
If you want to get into it, don't say I didn't warn you.
Some of you might ask, can you use a macro lens for portrait shots?
Hey!
In fact there are many similarities between a macro lens and portrait lens.
Prime lens, medium zoom range and big aperture.
But I still think a macro lens should be used for macro shots.
If you use a 100mm macro lens for portrait, the focal length is awkward.
You have to be pretty far away for half-body shots.
This makes it difficult to communicate with your subject.
And it also has difficulty reaching the subjects.
The most important thing for a macro lens is that
its focus length starts at 20 or 30cm and goes on to infinity
which decreases the focus speed.
I recommend you turn on the focusing distant limiter
and change it into 50cm minimal focus distance will increase the focus speed a lot.
If you want to shoot portraits, then buy a portrait lens.
Canon, Nikon and Sony offer 85mm f/1.8 lenses.
Those produce great results and excellent bokeh.
In addition, the f/2.8 isn't fast enough for portrait shots sometimes.
But if you primarily shoot macro photos,
and use the macro lens for portrait from time to time,
I think it basically meets most requirements.
Enough sharpness within focus and smooth and buttery bokeh where it is not.
You can emphasis your girlfriend's beautiful eyes
or that big diamond ring on her hand.
To summarize,
how to choose a good macro lens for yourself?
The new macro lenses released in the last few years all offer great quality.
There is no need to watch too many reviews.
But do not get yourself the wrong focal length!
Buying the lens with focal length at either end is a wise move.
If you are using it like a scientist, then buy the one with the longest focal length.
Like the Canon 180mm, or Nikon's 200mm.
Also some specialty use lenses
like the Laowa 25mm 2.5-5xm and the Canon MP-E 65mm
which let you magnify your world as much as posiible.
If you want to take your audience on a micro tour,
then probe style Laowa 24mm would be your top choice.
Most people make mistake
when choosing between the 100mm to 50mm focal length.
Many people chose 100mm for taking pictures of food,
but later realized that the focal length is too long for their kitchen.
In fact, 50mm focal length is your best choice for
taking photos of food, action figures and toys.
While the 100mm is great for insects, flowers
and other subjects that have rich textured detail.
Or the textures on famous paintings.
This is where a 100mm macro lens shines.
Well, it took a whole day to put this Harley together.
Now it is the time to take some pictures and show them off on my social media.
Thank you for watching this episode of Colorbee Photography.
This is Brian. See you next time!
OMG! Female Kangaroo!