What is the best macro lens?

<p>Forget about the inverse square law at distances used in macro. The law applies only to a point source. What a flash gun gives is a wide wall of light. As I confirmed by testing in the 1980s, at the scale of true macro the intensity of light and the distance of the light source from the subject have a linear relationship: twice the distance gives half the intensity.<br>

As you move out towards moderate macro and close-ups you approach the inverse law relationship again.</p>

 

The responses so far don't mention that 35mm format macro lenses are among the sharpest lenses in all of photography. At middle apertures it's possible to achieve results equal to or better than the highest resolving camera sensors or film today. To all appearances your uploaded images are simply not wringing out anywhere near the potential of what your macro lens can do. Suggest you learn the equipment you've got first before going beyond 1:1. Sharp handheld macro photography is indeed quite feasible and fun with DSLRs; I spent many years chasing wildlife macro subjects and this is going back well into to the slow-speed slide film era.

 

Electronic flash can be extremely useful for stopping camera shake and allowing handheld use as can higher ISOs.

 

For static subjects like dewdrops and raindrops, a tripod with a focusing rail will offer precise framing and allow mirror-lock and use of a cable release under available light. Avail yourself of these, and you'll be able to take advantage of another revolutionary technique that will open doors for the higher magnifications beyond 1:1.

No discussion of macro today is complete without mentioning that focus stacking workflow that has come forth in the past decade has completely upended nearly all that went before vis a vis sharpness potential and depth of field with macros. I strongly encourage you to read up on the subject.

<p>Re: "At some point your flash will become powerful enough to cook living subjects. " This is not something which is reported by specialist macro photographers. There may be some small effect, on very tiny insects, of the blast wave of expanding air just in front of the flash tube, easily blocked by a clear filter in its path. However, repeated flashes on some live subjects sometimes causes some kind of mild distress which is difficult to define.</p>

<p>It depends what your trying to photograph...Dead bugs don't move so if thats what you want to capture then virtually any macro lens will do. (As long as they have enough working distance to allow adequate illumination of the bugs) <br>

Live bugs don't like camera lenses shoved into their face though. They are very shy and very flightly (especially flying insects!) so they tend to instantly dissapear just as you manage to focus on them! The solution is to use a macro lens with a long focal length and therefore with a large working distance, so that the end of your lens doesn't need to be so physically close to them to see them close up.<br>

I use a Nikon Micro Nikkor 200mm f4 ED IF AiS because it is very sharp and it has a relatively large working distance. </p>

<p>It also depends on the magnification. At the higher magnifcations the main way of increasing magnification is by putting tubes or bellows behind the lens. The amount of extension for a given increase in magnification is directly proportional to the focal ength of the lens. This means that there is a compromise between maintaining working distance and moderating the amount of extension. Lens weight also comes into consideration for obvious reasons.</p>

<p>Instead of using cumbersome bellows another solution to increasing magnification is to use screw on "close up lenses", which screw onto the filter thread on front of your macro lens. <br>

Don't be tempted to buy cheap, single element CU lenses, as they will degrade image quality.<br>

I have two 52mm Canon 500D 2x multi element CU lenses. They are optically excellent bits of glass with very little to no noticable drop in image quality or macro sharpness at all. They come in various sizes to fit the filter thread size of your macro lens.<br>

The Micro Nikkor 200mm f4 has a macro magnification of 1:2 at around 10 inches working distance. Screw on one 500D and you get 1:1 magnification with only a slight loss of working distance...Screw on a second 500D and you get 2:1 magnification, again with only a slight further loss in working distance. Using Nikon extension rings like the PK-13 as well results in even higher magnification (typically 4:1-5:1) but the lens setup gets quite long and of course as the magnification increases you will start to need a tripod for sharp results, whereas at 1:1 sharp hand held macros are relatively easy.</p>