{"id":13557,"date":"2018-07-30T08:14:41","date_gmt":"2018-07-30T07:14:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/?p=13557"},"modified":"2025-08-19T09:08:18","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T08:08:18","slug":"guide-to-macro-lenses-for-the-sony-a7-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/guide-to-macro-lenses-for-the-sony-a7-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Guide to Macro Lenses for the Sony a7 series"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In this Guide to Macro lenses David and Phillip give you all the relevant information you need to find the right macro lens for your Sony Alpha 7\/9 series camera. No matter if you are just an occasional macro shooter or pretty serious about macro.
\nLast update<\/strong>: July 2020<\/em><\/p>\n

Macro lenses allow you to capture much smaller objects so you can reach outside of our normal human perception. They can be found in many camera bags because they do not only excel in capturing tiny insects but they also perform quite well in other roles like portrait and landscape photography. You couldn’t buy a more universal prime.<\/p>\n

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Sony FE 2.8\/90 used as a landscape lens<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So which one is right for you? At first you should decide for yourself where you want to put your focus. Do you want to capture nothing but tiny insects? Or do you want to use the lens for other purposes most of the time and only capture occasional macro images?<\/p>\n

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A macro lens used to capture something really small<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Things to consider when buying a macro lens<\/span><\/h1>\n

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1. Reproduction Ratio<\/h2>\n

The typical measure for how small the subects you can capture will be is the reproduction ratio. A macro-lens with a maximal reproduction ratio of 1:1 used on a Sony a7 series camera will allow you to fill the frame of an object which has the same size as the sensor which is about 36x24mm. This reproduction ratio is called life size. On a 1:2 lens your subject can be as small as 72x48mm (half life size). There are also lenses with a magnification ration greater than 1:1 which usually can’t focus to infinity.<\/p>\n

Here is a series of images of a Hellebore flower to give you a sense of the magnifications. The series starts at 1:5 which is the kind of magnification you might get with a non-macro lens which nevertheless has closer than usual focus. You can see you get the whole flower. The series then goes to 1:2, the magnification which is the best some “macro” lenses can achieve. The jump to life-size, 1:1 is a dramatic change in the image, it no longer looks the way it is easy to visualise with the naked eye. The next two magnifications are twice life size (2:1) and five times life size (5:1). These are only achievable with specialists macro lenses that generally can only be used in the macro range.<\/p>\n