Small Wonders – Great Macro Lenses

Macro photography is a spectacular genre to explore, but to get the most out of it, you need the right gear for the job. Discover the lenses that will take you that little bit closer to your subject

Macro photography offers a unique and fascinating perspective on even the most familiar, everyday objects. By photographing so close, it is possible to frame details and textures that you would never see with the naked eye. Just imagine how awesome the results could be if you explored a little further!

Learn photography with Fujifilm, Small Wonders – Great Macro Lenses — Photo © Karen Hutton

If you’re going to make the very best of all the amazing potential images out there, you need the right gear for the job. This means a lens that is specifically designed to be able to focus as close as possible to your subject, otherwise known as a macro lens. The FUJINON XF lens lineup includes a number of options that not only offer close focusing distances but have a host of other of other handy features to help you create images that are sharp, bright, and vibrant.

XF60mmF2.4 R Macro

As its name suggests, the XF60mm is a lens designed to deliver great results when creating images at close focusing distances. It focuses down to just 26.7cm, so you can fill the frame with smaller objects, and it offers a 1:2 (half life-size) magnification ratio. This means that, whatever the object you’re photographing, the lens reproduces it at half that size on the X-Trans sensor.

Like other XF lenses, the XF60mm offers impressive image quality and you don’t have to use it solely for making macro images. It makes a great mid-telephoto lens that’s perfect for picking out details and creating flattering portraits. It’s also small, light, and highly portable.

XF80mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro

The XF80mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro lens offers 1:1 life-size reproduction, which ensures your macro subjects are the same size on the sensor as they are in real life. This means it’s easy to produce frame-filling images and is the option to choose if you’re really serious about macro photography.

Linear motors are used in the XF80mm’s design for a fast, quiet autofocusing performance. It also features Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) that keeps camera shake to a minimum and a weather-resistant design, which makes it possible to keep creating in dusty, damp, or below-freezing conditions.

A focus limiter, which helps keep the lens targeted in a preferred zone, is provided to speed up AF performance even further. Choose from 0.25-0.5m, 0.5m to infinity, or the standard full focusing range.

XF16mmF1.4 R WR

On the face of it, a wide-angle lens may not be the most obvious choice for macro work, but the XF16mm is a worthy close-up option by virtue of its impressive close focusing capability. It can focus down to just 15cm, which makes it very easy to get up close and personal with your subjects to provide some very interesting perspectives.

In addition, this lens offers high-quality results that are pin-sharp across the frame, while the wide maximum aperture makes it simple to concentrate attention on a very specific part of the scene. The weather-resistant design is also helpful if you like to photograph macro images outdoors.

Macro Extension Tubes MCEX-11 & MCEX-16

An alternative way to try out the world of macro photography is by getting one of these macro extension tubes. Available in two sizes – 11mm and 16mm – the tubes fit between an existing XF lens and the camera body and enable you to focus closer while still allowing all normal focus and aperture functions. The greater the extension, the closer you can get, making the 16mm more powerful than the 11mm in this respect.

While they work with most non-macro XF lenses as a cost-effective way to open up a world of extreme close-up photography, extension tubes can be also used in conjunction with macro lenses to allow you to focus even closer. For example, when the MCEX-16 is used with the XF80mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro, it is possible to achieve an awesome larger-than-life-size 1.27x magnification factor for stunning results! Also, the extension tubes can be stacked together for even more effect.