You didn't mention which camera body you are using.
Canon makes three different "prime" (prime is a lens that does not "zoom") macro lenses with true 1:1 scale (meaning the image of the object being projected onto the camera's sensor is as large as the object is in real life).
These are
- EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
- EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
- EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM
They also make a specialty extreme macro lenses. Instead of being limited to merely 1:1 scale... it allows you to get so close that it can provide up to 5:1 scale (object is 5x larger on the sensor than it is in real life) but the "catch" is that this particular lens does not allow you to focus all the way out to "infiinity" (all the other lenses can focus all the way to infinity). So this specialty lens for extreme macro work is designed for very close-up photography only.
That lens is the
- MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro Photo
They also have a lens that only does 1/2x scale (1:2 macro) but you can buy an optional doubler that allows it to work at 1:1 scale (life-size). That lens is the
- EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro
All the lenses listed ABOVE will work on ANY Canon EOS camera body -- regardless of model.
However there are two additional macro lenses and these lenses are only available for use with Canon EOS bodies that have APS-C size image sensors such as all "Rebel" series bodies as well as the mid-range bodies (80D, 70D, 60D, 50D, etc.) as well as the 7D series. These lense do not work with any camera with larger sensors such as "full frame" bodies or Canon bodies that had APS-H size sensors. If you had any 1D, 5D, or 6D series bodies (regardless of suffix or revision) then you would not be able to use these lenses.
These include:
- EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM
- EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM (BTW, this lens has a built-in ring-light on the front of the lens).
There are other ways to do close-up photography such as by using close-up diopters. These screw onto the front of the lens like a filter (they attach to the filter threads) and allow for closer shooting. Canon sells the 250D and 500D diopters. The 250D are meant for lenses with shorter focal lengths and the 500D are meant for lenses with longer focal lengths (if you look up the products they'll tell you the range).
It's also possible to attach something called an "extension tube" -- this is a hollow barrel that goes between the lens and camera body and it's sole purpose to position the lens farther away from the camera body (which shifts the entire focal range closer to the camera).
Close-up diopters are very inexpensive.
Extension tubes are also reasonably inexpesive.
Dedicated macro lenses are more expensive becuase you're buying a whole lens.
There are also several "zoom" lenses that claim "macro" capabililty but read the specs on these ... I am not aware of any zoom lens that can do 1:1 scale macro... usually it's 1:4 scale and sometimes 1:3 scale... and that's about it.
Most lenses WILL list their closest focusing distance in the lens specifications. This distance is measured from the FOCUS PLANE MARK on the camera body (not from the front of the lens). If you look at the top of any camara body... somewhere you'll find a mark that looks like a circle with a straight horizontal line drawn through it. That mark indicates the precise position of the image sensor inside the camera body.
The distance from the front of the lens to the subject is sometimes referred to as the "working distance"... but that's not the same as the "focus distance" which is the distance to the image sensor itself (and Canon marks that position on the body in case you ever need to measure it. But it happens to be 44mm in from the lens-mounting flange on the front of the camera body (for all EOS SLR & DSLR bodies... the EOS Mirrorless cameras have a different distance.)
If you have a EOS "Rebel" series body then the EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM is a favorite.
If you have an EOS full-frame body then the EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM is a good choice.
Tim Campbell
5D III, 5D IV, 60Da
