Canon 50mm f/1.8..... Macro??

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Rosco88

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Ross
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Morning All,

I've got a 50mm f/1.8 for my 1100D, and I was wondering... is this classed as a macro??

Looking on the internet machine, theres a 50mm Macro lens at f/2.8....

But I can't tell what the difference is....


Help Please?? To save me splurging out unnecessarily

Thanks
 
Your 50 1.8 is NOT a macro lens. The 2.5 lens nearly is. Basically the 2.5 will close focus and give an image on the sensor of life size i.e. a 1:1 ratio, (subject to comments below) which is where technically it becomes a macro lens. The ef-s 60mm macro isnt technically a macro though (if memory serves me correctly) as I dont tink it goes life size image. Edit - oh yes it does (and my wife has one - oops!!)
Canon also do a 100 and a 180 macro lens, which allows greater camera to subject distance but still macro (life size) images.

All is not lost if you want to use your 50 1.8 for macro work though, you can get extension tubes which would make your 50 1.8 into a macro lens.

One other point, macro lenses are designed to be optimal at a close focus distance and flat field subjects, most "normal" lenses I think are designed to be at optimal performance at 50 times their focal length (or something like that anyway, but certainly not at close distance).

Matt

ps I also have canon FD 50 & 100 true macro lenses, which is why my brain fogged on the EF/Ef-s lenses, too much kit to remember what it all does unless its in my hand :)
 
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Macro lenses are normally those that can give 1:1 magnification or greater, so a 1cm thing will be recorded on 1cm of the sensor. Macro lenses tend to be f2.5 or f2.8. These days the term "macro" sometimes gets stretched to mean close focusing and you get lenses that don't give life size/1:1 images being described as such.

The 50mm f1.8 isn't a macro lens and it wont focus that close either but there are macro 50mm lenses to choose from. Canon do a 50mm f2.5 but it's not a true macro lens unless you use it with it's life size adapter, Canon do a 60mm EF-S macro and Sigma do a 50mm f2.8. If you'd like something longer there's lots of choice between 90 and 180mm.


PS. matt covered most of this :) but we posted about the same time so I didn't see his reply, but I think the Canon 60mm f2.8 does indeed go 1:1.
 
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