Busy Bee

One of the most difficult areas of photography to achieve very sharp images is Macro photography. Many photographers believe that if they purchase a Macro or Micro lens, then they will be able to produce excellent Macro images. but it is not always that easy.

• Macro  images are taken very close to the subject and the image subject  is greatly magnified, consequently any movement of the camera during exposure will cause blurring of the image, due to any movement of the camera. So it is imperative to keep the camera steady.
• Depth of Field is a major problem with Macro images. At large apertures of around f/2.8 the depth of field will only be a few mili-metres and there will  be very little of the image in focus. To achieve a great depth of field you will need to use very small apertures. As an example in the image of the Bee above, I used an aperture of f/16. Even at f/16, one of the wings of the Bee is not fully in focus so  it is seen that the depth of field is very limited. In my experience the best apertures to use are f/16 to f/22 for Macro images.
• Try to keep the shutter speed high to help reduce  any camera movement. For the above image I used 1/125 second shutter speed.
• There is a range of focal lengths available in Macro lenses, the most common available lenses are around 50mm, 100mm and 200mm. Generally 50mm is too short for images of moving insects such as butterflies or bees. The 100mm or 200mm macro lenses are better for those types of subjects. For the image above I used a Nikon 105mm f/2.8 Micro lens. For butterflies I generally use a 200mm Macro lens.
• I find that the use of electronic flash can be very useful with macro images as the fast flash duration will help to freeze the subject movement.
• Quite often when using flash with Macro photography I will set the camera to manual mode and set the camera to Focal Plane Mode so that the flash will synchronise at high shutter speeds. Typically you could use a shutter speed of 1/500 second and an aperture of  f/16 to f/22.
• Use a tripod and cable release or monopod where possible to help eliminate any camera movement.

It can be quite exciting to get extremely sharp Macro images, as when you look at the fine detail of the final image you  can see details that are not normally visible.

Butterfly, Hinterland Regional Park

Recently I was at a local park looking for some birds to photograph but was amazed to see so many butterflies fluttering around.

Butterflies would be one of the most beautiful insects to photograph. I would normally use my 200mm f/4 Nikon Micro lens for butterflies but I did not have it available at this time, the 200mm Micro will focus down to life size. In this case I used the Nikon 30o0mm f/4 lens, as I was mainly looking for birds, the 300mm does not focus quite so close but appeared to do the job here.

For images such as this, a monopod or tripod can be a great advantage to help get sharper images, also many of the more recent lenses have Vibrtion Reduction or Image Stabilisation to help reduce camera shake, but this does not help with the subject movement.

If you are interested in nature and macro photography please take a look at some of the hints and tips in the categories section of the site.

Tulip, Toowoomba, Flower Festival, 2011

A Macro or Micro lens in Nikon language can be a very flexible tool to use at a flower carnival. Recently I spent a day at the Toowoomba Flower Carnival and I used the 105mm Micro lens all day without a lens change. I did not really feel the need to change lenses.

Flower Bed, Toowoomba Flower Carnival, 2011

Even when photographing some of the flower beds I still used the 105mm Micro lens to get an overall view of the carnival. But the main advantage of the close up lens was for the individual flowers where I wanted to get up close. A lens such as the 105mm focal length is excellent for selective focus when getting in close.

We outline some of the lens choices available in you photography in the following articles where different Nikon lens reviews and Canon lens reviews are discussed.

Poppies, Toowoomba Flower Festival, 2011

There are many considerations when choosing a lens such as the following criteria:

• Lens aperture,
• Focal length of lens,
• Do you need zoom for flexibility or fixed focal length,
• Close focussing ability or maximum magnification ratio,
• Minimum focus distance,
• Do you need the lens to have vibration reduction (VR) or image stabilization (IS).

There are other things external to the camera which can help with your photography in improving the image quality.

• Using a tripod,
• Using a monopod,
• Cable releases.

Spider and Web

I love taking macro images, there is always something in your garden to photograph. In the above image I was able to capture a spider on its web.

Macro or micro lenses are great in that they can be used close up to produce life size images of tiny subjects and they will also focus  at longer distances to capture landscapes and other subject matter.

Nikon DX (APS-C) Lens

The only macro (Micro) lens specifically for the Nikon DX cameras is the Nikon 85mm f/3.5 DX Micro Lens. This lens is quite a small and compact lens for DX cameras such as the D3000, D3100, D5100, D7000 and D300s cameras. It should also be noted that all these macro lenses can produce exceptionally sharp images up close.

Nikon FX Lenses (Full frame)

THe three FX lenses listed here can also be used for macro lenses on the DX and FX cameras. There are three FX micro lenses, the NIkon 60mm f/2.8 Micro Lens has a very close working distance to the subject. This lens is suitable for subjects such as flowers, product photography and also as a portrait lens.

The Nikon 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro Lens has a longer working distance than the 60mm lens and is suitable for close up images animals or insects where you can approach reasonably closely. It is also great for things like flowers.

One of the better macro lenses is the Nikon 200mm f/4 Micro Lens. This lens is the longest of the Nikon Micro lenses and has the longest wotking distane of them all. It is exceptionally good for insects and other similar small creatures where you need more working space between the camera and subject.

Some photographers get confused by these micro lenses, their focal length shortens as they focus from infinity to life size with close up photography. Also as the lens focus gets closer to the subject, the aperture indicated by the camera is the effective aperture and not the actual aperture. The theory of close up photography is such that the effective aperture of a lens will increase as it focusses closer to life size and with Nikon cameras, unlike some other cameras, the effective aperture is reported to the camera display not the actual aperture.

There is more information on the Nikon Micro (Macro) Lenses and some tips to get the best out of these close up lenses.

The use of macro lenses sometimes takes some time to learn and master as the depth of field is very small when you are focussed close to the subject. Also with macro photography any movement of the camera will become very evident and it is good to use some camera support such as the following:

• Monopod,
• Tripod,
• Cable shutter release,
• Wireless shutter release,

when capturing macro images.

In addition to this article on macro lenses we also provide seperate information on nikon telephoto lens reviews and nikon wide angle lens reviews. Peruse these reviews to help in your lens selections.

Beautiful images can be captured by getting close to nature. The images below have been captured as you would expect, with a Macro (Micro in Nikon terminology) lens. With macro images you can freeze action using electronic flash, flash is very useful for macro photography as apertures of f/11 to f/16 are used to get satisfactory depth of field.

The Nikon Micro lens range enable you to get down to life size or a reproduction ratio of 1:1. If you want to get even closer you can use a Kenko extension tube.

Lady Bug

Insects are a great source for close up images around your garden. In most gardens these subjects are abundant and generally you can get quite close to the subject.

Ant

There are quite a few Micro lenses to choose from in the Nikon range.

If you are using a DX camera then one of the cheaper lenses is the Nikon, Nikkor 85mm f/3.5G ED VR AF-S DX Micro Lens

For the FX cameras there is a nice selection as follows:

Nikon, Nikkor 60mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Micro Lens

Nikon, Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF ED VR AF-S Micro Lens

Nikon, Nikkor 200mm f/4D IF ED AF Micro Lens

My favourite lens is the 200mm as it gives more working distance between the camera and the subject. Also the 105mm Micro lens is a great insect lens.

There are quite a few Nikon Micro (Macro) lenses for close up photography. The above image has been captured with the Nikon 200mm f/4 Micro lens, this lens is great for insects as it maintains a reasonable working distance between the subject and camera and the subject can be approached, keeping away from the subject without frightening it. I have several Nikkor Micro lenses and this is one of the best. Best results with this lens are achieved by using a monopod or tripod. The above image was captured using electronic flash combined with daylight for illumination

Here is a link to B & H Photo Video for this lens.

The following two insect images below have been photographed using the Nikon 105mm VR (vibration reduction) lens. This lens is very suitable for quieter insects and other subjects such as flowers where you can approach more closely.

The 105mm VR Micro lens is a very usefull general purpose lens not only for close up photography. This lens is very easy to hand hold as it has the VR functionality.

This lens can be purchased here at B & H Photo Video.

I love macro photography as there is so much you can photograph, just by walking around your garden at home.

There are many other articles on macro photography on my Blog, some of them here.

Turtle, Eagleby Wetlands

For anyone interested in close up photography the lenses to get are one of the Nikon Micro lenses. There are four specialist close up lenses provided by Nikon. The above image has been captured with the Nikon, 200mm, f/4, Micro lens, this is one of my favourite close up lenses.

For DX cameras there is the Nikon, Nikkor 85mm f/3.5 G ED VR AF-S DX Micro Lens, this is a great lens for DX camera users  and provides a maximum reproduction ratio 1/1, which is equal to life size.

For Nikon users of DX and FX cameras there are an additional three lenses and there are individual reviews of these lenses as follows:

• Nikon, Nikkor 60mm f/2.8 G ED AF-S Micro Lens
• Nikon, Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 G IF ED VR AF-S Micro Lens Review
• Nikon, Nikkor 200mm f/4 D IF ED AF Micro Lens Review

All these lenses provide a reproductipon ratio of 1/1 or life size.

Which of these lenses should you purchase?

Well there are several issues for consideration in your selection as follows:

• If you want a relatively cheap lens for a DX format camera then the 85mm f/3.5 lens is probably the one to get.
• The 85mm lens has built in vibration reduction.
• If you require a flat field lens suitable for photographing flat objects and documents the the 50mm f/2.8 may be the one for you. This lens is relatively short and is not so suitable for getting close to shy animals or insects.
• The 60mm lens is a great general purpose lens for general photography, portraits and landscapes etc.
• The 105mm f/2.8 lens is one of my favourite lenses. It is a great lens for subjects such as flowers, portraits and is very suitable for general photography in addition to close up photography.
• The 105mm lens has built in vibration reduction.
• The 200mm f/4 Micro lens is an excellent performing long Micro lens.
• The 200mm is a difficult lens to use, it has no VR and and can be very subject to camera movement. When using this lens I prefer to use it with a tripod or monopod if possible, if this is not possible then use fast shutter speeds.
• I love using the 200mm Micro lens for shy critters such as butterflies, bees and other insects etc.
• There is also some additional information on the Nikon Micro lenses in this article, Nikon Lens Terminology.

Bee on Daisy

There is always an opportunity for macro or close up photography in your own back yard especially when you have a garden. The above image of a daisy could have been an image by itself, however I was able to wait until a bee landed on the flower which provided a far better image. In this instance a macro lens was used to enable close focussing on the subject. Photography is all about catching an instant in time or catching the decisive moment. With an image such as this it may help to place the camera on a tripod and use a remote control and wait until the bee lands on the flower. A macro lens will enable you to get close to the subject and also to selectively focus on the subject to throw the background  out of focus.

In the image below, again a macro lens was used and a very narrow depth of field (very low aperture) was used to selectively focus. The bright color of this insect makes it stand out against the green foliage.

Sometimes with macro photography it enhances the image by using a flash to fill in and balance the lighting.

Some basic tips to good macro photography are as follows:

• Use a dedicated macro lens or a close up supplementary lens.
• Use flash for balanced lighting.
• Consider using a tripod.
• Be careful with depth of field.
• Rather than using the lens focussing, consider moving the camera back and forth to get the image in focus as this may facilitate easier focussing.
• An adjustable focussing rail can be used to move the camera closer or away from the subject.

Garden Bug

Turtle

These turtles have been photographed in a Botanical Gardens environment. Botanical Gardens are a great environment to photograph such animals. A 300mm lens and a Nikon D700 was used to capture the images.

The images were captured at Hervey Bay, Queensland.

With the image of the turtle swimming, a slight increase in contrast was required in post processing to improve the image.

The equipment used for these images was a Nikon D700 together with a 300mm f/4.0 telephoto lens. Care needs to be taken with a long lens such as this to ensure that a sufficiently high shutter speed is used to avoid any camera movement.

Turtle Swimming

Insects can be quite difficult to photograph due to their size and some special camera equipment may be required to enable close focussing.

Any of the following may be used:

• Extension tubes
• Close up lens attachments
• Macro or micro lenses

For further information on close up photography see our detailed article on macro photography.

Butterfly

Butterflies are great photographic subjects and are commonly found in the garden.

Garden Bug