Caleb PM wrote:
Thank you for the advice. I assume I can find the model numbers for these lenses on the Samsung site.
A little about my photography skills: I've been using cameras for years, but mostly on automatic settings. I don't have a clear understanding of F-stops, etc. My macro photography is of products: I put jewelry components on a plate on my desk, stand over them and shoot (in aperature-priority mode, F5.6, which I found gives me the sharpest shots). I hold the camera about 20-22 inches above the desk surface. I am zoomed out when I do it.
This brings me to another topic: The camera settings for macro photography have always confused me. My kit lens is always in the wide position when I photograph, but I have read that some experts recomment zooming in. As you know, the NX1100 doesn't have a macro mode, so the camera does the focussing for me. So if I'm using my kit lens in wide mode to do my macro photography, why can't I use a prime lens for macro photography, since the prime lens is always in wide mode?
Of course, with the camera at least 20 inches above the jewelry components, some might consider my jewelry shots to be more portrait than macro.
By the way, the 30mm lens is 30mm on the camera, or is there a conversion factor?
Thanks!
Let me try to put things in perspective, for focal lengths. Samsung NX cameras use APS-C size sensors, so there is a 1.54x crop factor relative to "Full Frame" 35mm sensor cameras (e.g. Canon 5D).
Samsung Focal Length 35mm Equiv. Length (approx.) Category/Common Use
12-24 18-36 Ultrawide zoom, landscape, architecture
16 24 Wide prime (note: pancake)
20 30 Wide prime (note: pancake)
30 45 Normal prime, general shooting, environmental portrait
45 67.5 Short Telephoto, half length portrait
60 90 Short Telephoto, happens to be a macro lens
85 127.5 Short Telephoto, portrait (headshot)
18-200 27-350 Wide to Telephoto Zoom, anything you think it's sharp enough for (this lens in not sharp T.T)
50-200 75-350 Short Telephoto to Telephoto Zoom outdoor football match
50-150 75-225 Short Telephoto to Telephoto Zoom
etc..... There are of course more properties of the lenses to consider, but maybe that gives an idea of the focal lengths.
For macro, "true macro" will refer to a 1:1 magnification ratio, where the size of the image projected on the sensor is the same size as the object in real life. This is achievable for these lenses only at their closest focus distance. For almost all zoom lenses the highest magnification ratio will occur when at the longest focal length and closest focus distance (e.g. on your 20-50 things will be most magnified at 50mm, set to manual focus and moved to the closest focus and then move the camera to focus). There are occasionally lenses that will focus closer than 1:1, like the Laowa 60mm that goes to 2:1 (double life size) and is the only lens to do with while still being able to focus on far away objects. There is also the Canon MPE65 that allows up to 5:1 magnification (practically a microscope) and does not allow focusing on far objects. Then there are a group of lenses that may be advertised as macro or close up lenses but do not achieve at least a 1:1 magnification ratio, these are often longish zooms and might reach a magnification ratio of 1:4, 1:3, or 1:2 in a really good case.
The jewelry shots as you describe them would I guess be product photography, I don't think many people would use portrait for shots of inanimate objects and they also wouldn't use macro for a shot with such a low magnification ratio. The 30mm will be able to handle such shots just fine.
"So if I'm using my kit lens in wide mode to do my macro photography, why can't I use a prime lens for macro photography, since the prime lens is always in wide mode?"
Ah, I think this misconception comes from using some non-interchangeable lens cameras with a macro mode. In this mode the lens often seems to be zooms out the most, but they move internal elements of the lens to allow very close focusing, a normal zoom lens for an ILC is not designed to be able to do that (though 1 exception does come to mind). So, there's two ways to get a better magnification ratio, either a longer focal length, or a shorter minimum focusing distance. These use the later method and to get the highest magnification your objects needs to be extremely close to the lens, sometimes even right on the lens' surface (like in the case of my SX10IS). This is obviously a problem is you want to shoot closeups of insects that aren't happy being that close. A macro doesn't need to be any particular focal length but the lens needs to be designed for it, the NX 30mm is not but the 60mm is. You can find macro lenses in a variety of focal lengths though, Canon has one as long as 180mm (means you can get 1:1 magnification while being further away) and Laowa has one as short as 15mm, for which you need to be practically touching the lens to the subject for full 1:1 magnification (similar to the non interchangeable lens cameras).
You'll notice that at 15mm there is often does not have the high 1:1 magnification of the subject because it is difficult to get them that close to the lens, e.g.: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eulfab/25495506543/in/photolist-EQX8R2-zQtwnj-JoV7tY-JEBehj-BGXPLe-GDEae5-JGQ5Xz-JPEMFk-HCGPqh-JPEKie-JGPYt2-JEB9WW-JEBdwS-uzu81f-GnQKQJ-JooTXC-EGbQZ-H1e4Lp-JepRFZ-7TvQUf-7TszVT-a5Su97-5ghyn-4JHQ1p-8GKRz5-8YFVQz-8NjJ6D-p4dAd4-4JN5tN-9N8aPz-7TsACr-5pwSwv-4JHPGB-8YG17x-8EyX59-4JHPEZ-4JN4fo-7Tszap-7TvRuj-E4hH7-4JHPKc-4JHP7t-7TvQXm-7sktP1-4JHP5H-7HJBDG-7TvRim-8YFNoc-7TvQC9-nswAdM
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nickadel/18756920570/in/photolist-uzu81f-GnQKQJ-JooTXC-EGbQZ-H1e4Lp-JepRFZ-7TvQUf-7TszVT-a5Su97-5ghyn-4JHQ1p-8GKRz5-8YFVQz-8NjJ6D-p4dAd4-4JN5tN-9N8aPz-7TsACr-5pwSwv-4JHPGB-8YG17x-8EyX59-4JHPEZ-4JN4fo-7Tszap-7TvRuj-E4hH7-4JHPKc-4JHP7t-7TvQXm-7sktP1-4JHP5H-7HJBDG-7TvRim-8YFNoc-7TvQC9-nswAdM-4JN3Tj-4JHPQP-8No5MC-nbjAtA-5Auags-7FwvEF-4JN523-7TvQz9-4JN47N-7TsAyF-6booWq-4JN4rq-4JHP3R
It's actually kind of difficult to find a 1:1 macro shot taken with it. Looking at 180mm shots: https://www.flickr.com/search/?advanced=1&tags=Canon%20180%20macro you'll notice some differences, the much narrower field of view shows much less background and what it does show is much more blurry. Shots that look equally magnified are actually taken from much further away with the 180mm. Common macro focal lengths include 60, 90, and 100. 60 often being for APS-C cameras that will be equivalent around 90 or 100 since their crops are about 1.6x for Canon APS-C and about 1.5x for everyone else.
Finally, macro tubes, they look like this: https://www.google.com/search?q=fotga+extension+tubes&safe=off&client=ubuntu&hs=FTf&channel=fs&biw=1535&bih=711&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiLzb340eHOAhUIAxoKHdk-AM8Q_AUICCgD#safe=off&channel=fs&tbm=isch&q=fotga+NX+extension+tubes
They often come as a set of two and are really just spacers between the lens and the camera with pass through connections for the electronics. The effect of putting in spacers like that is that you can't focus on far away things anymore but it makes the minimum focus distance smaller. How much of a difference they make depends on the focal length of the lens you're using them with, the small the more difference they make, but the more your chance of ending up with an unusable combo. For instance, a 20mm lens with 30mm of extension tubes added will have it's closest focus distance inside the lens, and probably it's farthest focus as well.... rendering the combo totally useless. 50mm with 26mm of extension tubes (the total for the two in the commonly available set for NX cameras) is still quite usable for macro but would be totally useless for shots of things at the distances you're shooting.
I put the extension tubes to use with the 18-55mm kit lens at 55mm here:
