THE CONTENDERS
Get up close and personal to small subjects and most macro prime lenses can deliver a magnification ratio of 1.0x or 1:1. But what exactly does that mean? In a nutshell, at their shortest focus distance, they can reproduce objects at full life size on the camera’s image sensor. An area measuring just 36x24mm would completely fill the image sensor of a full-frame camera, and it’s a mere 22x15mm if you’re shooting with an APS-C format body. A couple of the lenses in our test group go even further, boosting macro magnification to 1.4x, 2.0x and even more.
If you’re not impressed at the prospect of full-sized reproduction, just bear in mind how much larger the resulting image is when you view it on screen or in print. The scope for enlargement can literally look out of this world. For example, tiny garden bugs can become giant, alien invaders and you’ll see levels of fine detail that are invisible to the naked eye.
You might need a little patience as shooting macro images demands a high level of precision. Depth of field can be wafer-thin, even when using narrow apertures, so accurate focusing is absolutely critical. It can be better using manual focusing instead of autofocus, and selecting a magnified Live View image to accurately focus on the most critical part of the object you’re shooting. Camera-shake is another ever-present danger but optical and in-body stabilization can make handheld macro photography a viable proposition. Whatever kind of Canon ‘interchangeable lens’ camera you shoot with, here are the best tools for the job when it comes to macro lenses.
CANON EF 100mm F/2.8L MACRO IS USM £1,249/$1,299
This legendary Canon EF macro lens set the trend for a new era in hybrid stabilization
legend in its own lifetime, this Canon Macro lens made history. It was the first to feature revolutionary ‘hybrid optical stabilization’. With enhanced performance for close-up shooting, the stabilizer counteracts movements in the horizontal and vertical planes, as well as regular vibrations. Even so, its claimed effectiveness of 4-stops stabilization in general shooting shrinks to 3-stops at 0.5x magnification and 2-stops at full 1.0x macro shooting. Regardless, it was
