Macro lens Vs. Telephoto Lens

MentalDragon · 10/16/2006, 11:02 AM

I'm new to photography and I want to take better close up pictures of my corals/fish.

I'm wanting to get a lense but I don't know what the differences are.

On ebay, there is a 3x Telephoto Lens that I could get, but there is also a 10x High Def Macro Lens.

Can someone explain to me what the differences are between a Telephoto lens and a Macro lens? Which one would you prefer to get if you can only get one for right now?

My camera is a Sony Cybershot H5.

The first pictures I took are in another thread below... I want it to be better!

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=951326

spline9 · 10/17/2006, 12:19 AM

Think of a telephoto somewhat akin to a telescope. Its for you to zoom in from far distances. Great for P.I.s, paparazzi and stalkers (oh, and nature/animal photography for when you want to keep your distance to prevent spooking your victims...er, I mean subjects).

A macro is meant for something a bit more than closeups. Similar to what you'd use a microscope for (but not quite so extreme). Excellent for photographing insects, action figures and that one really_wicked aptas- uh.. zoa in your tank.

For me, I find macro more fun and useful than telephoto. Especially now that I live with my gf, my telephoto just sits on the shelf. Haha. Its a joke people! No, really!

At 10x macro, you would have crazy magnification. Like, you could count the zits on an adolescent copepods face. Ok, well maybe thats exaggerating some but you get the idea...

supermarvin76 · 10/17/2006, 07:22 AM

Macro by defintion is easliy explained when thinking about film. When the shot is captured, the size of the image on the negative is exactly life size.

A penny on the film would be the same size as a regular penny.

I think that you are looking for / be more happy with a macro lens.

HOWEVER, do some resarch. I don't belive that there is a true 10x macro lens. Most likely it is a tele-zoom with a macro setting which will not give you ture macro results.

I hope that this helps more than confuses you.

MentalDragon · 10/17/2006, 11:45 AM

Great... I think I'm going to go with the Macro lens.

This is the one I was looking at... it's really cheap so it probably really isn't 10x Macro... but I'm thinking it will be better than what I have now.

Macro 10x Lense

Thanks everyone for the knowledge!

I'll definitely do a comparison to see if it actually does work!

Ebn · 10/17/2006, 03:36 PM

The "macro" lens that you linked to there isn't really a macro lens. It's more along the lines of a macro diopter. It's very similar to just putting a magnifying glass right in front of your lens.

BTW, the 10x that's advertised isn't really true 10x macro. It's a lot less than that, but at least it'll allow you to get closer to your subject.

The highest magnification macro lens that is around nowadays would be the Canon MP-65E, which gives you 1-5x. Beyond 2x, it can't really be handheld since the DOF is razor thin and your working distance is really narrow.

astrogazer · 10/18/2006, 08:48 AM

Watch out for your Depth of Field on that "10x" macro, it's liable to be virtually non-existant.

10/16/2006, 11:02 AM	#1
MentalDragon Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Lewis Center, Ohio Posts: 140	Macro lens Vs. Telephoto Lens I'm new to photography and I want to take better close up pictures of my corals/fish. I'm wanting to get a lense but I don't know what the differences are. On ebay, there is a 3x Telephoto Lens that I could get, but there is also a 10x High Def Macro Lens. Can someone explain to me what the differences are between a Telephoto lens and a Macro lens? Which one would you prefer to get if you can only get one for right now? My camera is a Sony Cybershot H5. The first pictures I took are in another thread below... I want it to be better! http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=951326

10/17/2006, 03:36 PM	#5
Ebn Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: San Jose Posts: 643	The "macro" lens that you linked to there isn't really a macro lens. It's more along the lines of a macro diopter. It's very similar to just putting a magnifying glass right in front of your lens. BTW, the 10x that's advertised isn't really true 10x macro. It's a lot less than that, but at least it'll allow you to get closer to your subject. The highest magnification macro lens that is around nowadays would be the Canon MP-65E, which gives you 1-5x. Beyond 2x, it can't really be handheld since the DOF is razor thin and your working distance is really narrow. __________________ Eric

10/18/2006, 08:48 AM	#6
astrogazer Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: SE Florida Posts: 1,196	Watch out for your Depth of Field on that "10x" macro, it's liable to be virtually non-existant. __________________ Save a reef ... Grow your own ~ GARF Current Tank Info: 65G Oceanic ... : ... 5G Nano

10/17/2006, 12:19 AM	#2
spline9 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Ventura County Posts: 808	Think of a telephoto somewhat akin to a telescope. Its for you to zoom in from far distances. Great for P.I.s, paparazzi and stalkers (oh, and nature/animal photography for when you want to keep your distance to prevent spooking your victims...er, I mean subjects). A macro is meant for something a bit more than closeups. Similar to what you'd use a microscope for (but not quite so extreme). Excellent for photographing insects, action figures and that one really_wicked aptas- uh.. zoa in your tank. For me, I find macro more fun and useful than telephoto. Especially now that I live with my gf, my telephoto just sits on the shelf. Haha. Its a joke people! No, really! At 10x macro, you would have crazy magnification. Like, you could count the zits on an adolescent copepods face. Ok, well maybe thats exaggerating some but you get the idea...

10/17/2006, 07:22 AM	#3
supermarvin76 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 319	Macro by defintion is easliy explained when thinking about film. When the shot is captured, the size of the image on the negative is exactly life size. A penny on the film would be the same size as a regular penny. I think that you are looking for / be more happy with a macro lens. HOWEVER, do some resarch. I don't belive that there is a true 10x macro lens. Most likely it is a tele-zoom with a macro setting which will not give you ture macro results. I hope that this helps more than confuses you.

10/17/2006, 11:45 AM	#4
MentalDragon Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Lewis Center, Ohio Posts: 140	Great... I think I'm going to go with the Macro lens. This is the one I was looking at... it's really cheap so it probably really isn't 10x Macro... but I'm thinking it will be better than what I have now. Macro 10x Lense Thanks everyone for the knowledge! I'll definitely do a comparison to see if it actually does work!