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Best M4/3 lens for magnification?

Started May 6, 2016 | Discussions thread
TomFid Veteran Member • Posts: 4,000
Re: Best M4/3 lens for magnification?

Jim Salvas wrote:

carlo14 wrote:

Thank you. Does that mean that the minimum focusing distance is irrelevant then, you just need to take note of the magnification figure?

The magnification factor is most important, but minimum focus distance gives you an idea of how much working room you have. That's important in macro, because it becomes difficult to light your subjects at very close distances. In general, longer focal length lenses give you more working distance.

Right. There can be too much of a good thing though. Working distance on the 100-300 is something like five feet, which is great if you're shooting an angry hornet. It also gives nice background separation. But the long focal length makes you work a lot harder with static subjects like flowers that don't need the distance.

by the way, I misspoke on the 12-50mm. It's maximum magnification figure is 0.36x, still better than other non-macros in m43.

... which is still pretty respectable, when you consider that it's .72 ff equivalent.

The 12-40 is also pretty respectable in terms of close focus. It's not a true macro, but it's good for wildflowers and things like that, with 0.3x magnification.

My favorite is a legacy Canon FD 50mm that I picked up in mint condition for $60. There are quite a few similar lenses floating around. They're a cheap option if you don't mind manual focus and aperture.

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