Hi
I'm just pondering about macro lenses, and when they would be used. Without get ting too technical, what do they actually do? For example, do they allow you to magnify a subject (make equal or greater than life size), but with shorter bell ows extension and a greater lens to subject distance than a normal lens? I trie d to photograph (and fill the frame with) a sea-shell (about 1" in diameter) on my 5x4 with a 90mm and 210mm lens a few months ago, and had extreme difficulty g etting enough depth of field, not to mention the trouble I had lighting the subj ect. I messed around with semi-silvered mirrors, but I gave up in the end.
I'd like to photograph some flower heads, and am wondering if a macro lens would reduce the stress... I have both 5x4" and 10x8" cameras, so I'm not sure about the 'ideal' focal length, if indeed there is such a thing for macro lenses. My current lenses are Rodenstocks (bought new), so I would probably stick with thi s brand unless some other make was universally declared as being 'better'.
Thanks in advance
David Nash
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