What exactly does the macro switch do? Decrease min focus distance? Does it actually move an element in the lens? eg. what is the difference between shooting an insect at 250mm with or without the macro switch enabled? What exactly does the macro switch do? Decrease min focus distance? Does it actually move an element in the lens? eg. what is the difference between shooting an insect at 250mm with or without the... » Read More What exactly does the macro switch do? Decrease min focus distance? Does it actually move an element in the lens? eg. what is the difference between shooting an insect at 250mm with or without the macro switch enabled? « Show Less
1806287
The macro switch opens up focus closer to the lens when the lens is at 200-300mm, and it prioritizes close focusing. Without it enabled, the DoF (depth of field) is at 2 meters to infinity, so your insect would have to be at that range. Enabled, the distance is halved, meaning you can have that insect at 1m (or just under 3 feet) and still be within the DoF.
1806288
The switch allows you to move closer to your subject, i.e. it does decrease the "minimum focusing distance" of the lens, which in effect turns it into more or less of a magnifying glass so you get far more detail than using the standard zooming function of the lens. What's cool is if you pick up some inexpensive magnification filters you can get quite fine detail of small objects in combination with the macro feature. I don't know if any elements are moved inside the lens.
595082
I can focus down to about 1/2" from the lens with very good clarity. The problem may be your ability to get good lighting on the object. I do not know how small your object is. I used a AAA battery as an object and got good focus. The camera does have a macro function for close shots.I recommend backing off about 6-8 inches and using a little zoom for a close up. Auto focus produced a good image on my camera.
699729
Yes, it works just fine. The folks who dinged it in reviews didn't read the product description carefully. You'll need to use manual focus, and your FD lens won't focus to infinity. On the other hand, you're not introducing another optical element of questionable quality. Use it for macro.
505749
I also have not seen this reference in any printed material. All true macros should have this. I have been satisfied with the image quality. My only problem is on auto focus. If the focus has to search and cannot lock focus it falls back to infinity focus even if the close limit is chosen. Otherwise it is a fine lens.
2155739
There is a sliding button on the barrel of the lens that switches the lens from normal to macro. Switched to Full allows the lens to do macro photography or 1:1 which means macro. The focal length at this setting is 6 inches to 1.6 ft. I normally do not change the switch from Full as this is an excellent lens and produces the best fine art images at that setting. Go to the following website for more help. http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/systemcamera/gms/lens/dg_macro_45.html Hope this was a help.
1845477
It can focus pretty close at all focal lengths, but it doesn't have a formal "macro" position. There's a discussion of this on cameralabs site, see the review of this lens. He claims a magnification ratio of 1:2.6 is possible. I haven't measured it myself, but it is a good lens for closeups.
986507
There is no specific macro mode - but the lens will focus down to about 10 inches from the subject. The lens does not give true macro 1:1 size but does give excellent close up photographs
170722
I just got an Alpha 58 and put my ancient 70-210 zoom on. Not only did it work, but when I turned it to full zoom (AKA "macro" position) and focused close, the screen lit up a green "MACRO" mode indication with the little flower. So it properly recognized a specific detailed function from a 25-year-old lens!
1915106
Correct; you unscrew the smaller lens to access the macro lens. These lenses are garbage, but to get the desired effect you have to be right on top of the subject you want the picture of.
138092
Hello Hugh, It focuses super fast, zooms from wide-angle to super-telephoto, and gets close enough for macro shots. However, this is not a replacement for macro lens. Suggestions for Canon macro lens - Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS or Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L. If you looking for cheaper options - Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM or Canon EF 50mm f/2.5.
1344486
Under the manual focus setting, you can still press the button half way down as normal, then fine tune your focus with the wheel. You will be able to then turn it to the area needed for macro range.
160523
I wasn't aware Sigma made this same lens in a "macro" version? Becarefull believing the discriptions as some "used" products are misrepresented. Any how, macro will allow for a shorter minimum focus distance. Good luck
2024379
35mm macro is a macro lens, in other words optimized for extremely close up shooting; is made of metal and great build quality. The other lens is a general purpose lens, mostly plastic type material. The macro lens can hunt for focus if you switch from focusing on something close to something further away so its not good for shooting on the fly. Both will take great pictures, the macro is sharper but unless you want it for macro shooting, its not necessary.
1767794
It doesn't really help what is normally considered zoom - if you attach it to a lens it won't make things look closer - it's for macro (taking close up images of fine details) - so with this attached you can focus much closer than your lens would normally - you can take pictures of a penny and tell if Lincoln needs to tweeze his eyebrows. As with everything else in life, there are trade-offs, though. It 'reduces the focusing range', which I originally thought you just wouldn't be able to focus out to infinity (no big deal), but with all the rings stacked onto a 70mm lens I don't think it will focus from one end of that same penny to the other - if it isn't focused where you want it you need to slide the camera. Also note that it DOES NOT support ANY electronic features of most current lenses - no autofocus (which wouldn't be worth much) but more importantly no electronic aperture, so you really need to use it on older lenses that still have a manual aperture control (nothing that has a 'G' in the model number). Also note that it takes a LOT of light to get through the longer tube to be able to see what you are shooting well enough to focus on it. These are all issues inherent in macro tubes in general. This particular product is made of aluminum instead of plastic, so it should be relatively sturdy, although the production quality isn't exactly what one is accustomed to with Nikon equipment, so it can be a challenge to get mounted. I found it worked, but was so restrictive and awkward to use that I bought a 'real' macro lens (the Nikon 105mm), which is OUTSTANDING, and although it costs literally 100x more was a much better value for my money (if for no other reason than because I actually use it).
1770840
It really depends on how close a macro shot you are looking to take. I tried to use this lens for some really close macro shot and it did not focus well. Have to use manual focus. This is overall a very good lens but if you are looking for specific lens to take exceptionally good close macro shots then it is better to get a true macro lens.
156434
It appears that it holds the focus for a set range--if you focus on an item at a particular distance, depress the Flash button, it will hold focus at that distance for the next frames!
933401
Many lenses are described as having "macro" capabilities, but this only refers to their close-focus distance and magnification. A true macro has 1:1 magnification; the 35-70 was 1:5.6, and the 24-70 is a little better at 1:3.7, but neither are true macros.