I have never taken a phography class. But I have learnd a great deal from this forum and by experimentation - Thank you all.

I have a two fold questions. 1A) In it's simplest term, what is the definition of Macro? 1B) Your thoughts on when you would use the F2 and when to use the 2.8 Macro (could be an obvious question - no trick intended)?

Your comments are greatly appreciated!

-- Video (videohobby@yahoo.com), October 08, 2001

Answers

I am not a technical expert, but you ask for a simple answer so here is mine: A Macro lens is one that has a close minimum focusing distance. For example, the 100 2.8 Macro has a minimum focusing distance of about 12 inches (advertised), compared to about 36 inches (advertised) for the 100 2.0. (However, my 100 2.0 actually focuses down to about 30 inches - the Macro may actually be closer as well)

I like the 100 2.0 for portraits, and it is better than the macro when you need to maximize your available light, because it has a wider maximum aperture. The Macro is more useful for close-up shots for things like insects or flowers. It allows you capture greater detail in smaller things. The choice between the two should depend on the subject.

-- Derrick Morin (dmorin@oasisol.com), October 09, 2001.

Firstly, I highly recommend two library books: Joseph Meehan's THE ART OF CLOSE UP PHOTOGRAPHY (more oriented towards Canon gear); and John Shaw's CLOSE UPS IN NATURE (more oriented towards Nikon gear). Both of these books have older copyrights, but they are still very informative.

Secondly, good quality lenses range widely in price, but the better ones tend to be rather expensive, and if you're striving to slowly build a decent lens arsenal with limited year-to-year discretionary funds, it is often most wise to look for purchases that can most effectively kill two birds with one stone. In my opinion, if you want to get into true macro photography, it's best to buy a true macro lens, rather than to buy a general purpose lens and then attempt to add on accessories to create a pseudo macro lens. True macro lenses are of a "flat field" design, in which the lens is designed to provide image sharpness from edge-to-edge of the film; general purpose lenses tend to have some degree of "spherical aberration", in which the center of the image should be quite sharp, but the sharpness may decrease somewhat towards the periphery of the film image. Under general (non-macro) conditions, in which the subject is not close to the film plane, the spherical aberration of general purpose lenses is often not noticeable, and is not an issue. But, if you try to use a general purpose as a macro lens, spherical aberration may become quite noticeable. On the other hand, a good quality 100mm or ~180mm MACRO lens will not only deliver sharp macro images (edge-to-edge), it will also often double as an outstandingly sharp general purpose or portrait lens. In fact, when a 100mm or 180mm MACRO lens is used as a PORTRAIT lens, they may be so sharp as to starkly reveal any unflattering skin blemishes of the subject or model. But overall, if you truly want macro capability, it is often wisest to invest in a good quality macro lens (e.g., a 100/2.8 macro), and to then rely on that lens not only for macro, but also to double as an excellent general purpose 100mm lens, including portraits. If you need to soften the sharpness of a macro lens for portraits, simply buy an inexpensive soft filter, or cover the lens with some nylon stocking material.

-- kurt heintzelman (heintzelman.1@osu.edu), October 09, 2001.