Saturday, 19 January 2019

Why is 1:1 desirable for a macro lens?


Why is 1:1 desirable for a macro lens? I know it means that you can print a picture of something and it will be the same size on paper as it is in real life, but why is this such a desirable feature over, say, a lens that magnifies even more?



Answer



You're close on what 1:1 means but slightly off. A 1:1 macro lens means that the size of the subject is projected onto the sensor (or film) at the exact same size it is in real life. You can blow up the print as large as you like :)



The ability to go to 1:1 is just a metric and there are a lot of compromises that come with being able to enlarge a subject to 1:1 the most obvious one being focusing speed since there is a larger range (distance) over which the lens can focus. There are lenses that go even closer, the MP-E 65 goes from 1:1 to 5:1 magnification, its a manual focus only lens though :)


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