With an effective tool camera, we can capture moments that we see. However, camera allows us to take a look that we are supposed to see. The best example of this activity of camera is macro photography.
What is macro photography?
When you simply capture the photographs of small items including insect, flowers and even tiny household objects by taking closer look to the subject, it is called macro photography. It facilitates the photographers to capture the minute subject matters with closer look and make simple objects appearing extraordinary.
In earlier days, macro photography required many equipment and followed strict rules. While shooting with a film camera, a subject of an image was required to be at least 1/10th of the actual size on a 35mm film. Then it was considered as macro. The ratio used to be 1:1 for the images that captured as the life-size. Today’s macro photography doesn’t need so many equipments. You will many point-and-shoot cameras with macro modes that allow you to take decent close-ups. When you use a macro lens with a DSLR camera, you can maintain more quality in the photograph. Additional flexibility can be obtained with the adapters and other relevant gears.
In camera, the macro capability is mentioned in two different ways. One is by mentioning the ratio. If it is mentioned 1:1 macro image, it means that the lens can capture a life-sized photograph of an object. The 1:2 ratio is allowed to capture the photograph of a small object all most half of its actual size.
The macro capability of a camera or its lens can be measured with the distance between the object and the front of the lens. Many people try to take a close shot using a compact camera and they only get to hear the whirring of the lens in back and forth and they cannot lock the focus. It mainly happens when the photographers remain too close to the subject or they forget to turn on the macro mode.
In order to know how close you are allowed to get in macro photography, you need to find out the minimum focusing distance mentioned in the specifications of the camera. The modern photography equipment, especially the advanced compacts allow the photographers to get an inch from the object and they can still maintain focus. The lens of a compact camera can be focused on the subjects at different lengths. For this purpose, the photographers need to move the lens further or closer to the sensor. For macro photography, the lens needs to be close to the sensor for setting the focus. Remember that not every camera can position the lens in close point to lock its focus.
Which camera is better for macro photography – compact or DSLR?
Although the newer compact cameras are available with wonderful macro modes, they are unable to give full flexibility to the users in case of depth of field and exposure. A few models allow the users to operate with the manual modes for shooting the macro. For macro photography, manual mode is very important as it allows to control the sharpness or blurriness of the image. In this respect, DSLR cameras give more flexibility and higher resolution for macro photography.
