Kit guide
A macro kit for close-ups
A macro lens focuses close enough to fill the frame with a coin, a flower or an insect. Here is the lightest life-size lens for each system, and how close you stand.
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Canon RF
1,105 g ready to shoot
Canon EOS R50 + Canon RF100mm F2.8 L MACRO IS USM
1.4x magnification, focuses to 26 cm · 1,105 g with the camera · 67 mm filter
Drawn beside it: the RF-S18-45mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM, 130 g more; the bag then weighs 1,235 g.
Sony E
541 g ready to shoot
Sony a6400 + Sony E 30mm F3.5 Macro
1x magnification, focuses to 10 cm · 541 g with the camera · 49 mm filter
Drawn beside it: the E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS II, 107 g more; the bag then weighs 648 g.
Nikon Z
810 g ready to shoot
Nikon Z50II + Nikon NIKKOR Z MC 50mm f/2.8
1x magnification, focuses to 16 cm · 810 g with the camera · 46 mm filter
Drawn beside it: the NIKKOR Z DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 VR, 135 g more; the bag then weighs 945 g.
Fujifilm X
633 g ready to shoot
Fujifilm X-T50 + Fujifilm XF30mmF2.8 R LM WR Macro
1x magnification, focuses to 10 cm · 633 g with the camera · 43 mm filter
Drawn beside it: the XF16-50mmF2.8-4.8 R LM WR, 240 g more; the bag then weighs 873 g.
What life-size means
At life-size (1x, or 1:1) a subject as big as the sensor fills the picture: about 23 × 15 mm on these cameras, the size of a postage stamp. Each pick reaches it on its own, without extension tubes or close-up filters:
- Canon EOS R50 with the RF100mm F2.8 L MACRO IS USM: at 1.4x a subject 1.6 cm wide fills the frame, with the front of the lens at most about 9.2 cm from it (less if the lens grows longer as it focuses or zooms)
- Sony a6400 with the E 30mm F3.5 Macro: at 1x a subject 2.4 cm wide fills the frame, with the front of the lens about 2.4 cm from it (Sony's figure)
- Nikon Z50II with the NIKKOR Z MC 50mm f/2.8: at 1x a subject 2.4 cm wide fills the frame, with the front of the lens about 5 cm from it (Nikon's figure)
- Fujifilm X-T50 with the XF30mmF2.8 R LM WR Macro: at 1x a subject 2.4 cm wide fills the frame, with the front of the lens about 1.2 cm from it (Fujifilm's figure)
A longer macro lens gives the same magnification from farther back, which keeps your shadow off the subject and is less likely to scare an insect away.
The sharp zone is thin
At life-size and f/8, only about 0.6 mm of depth is sharp on the EOS R50. Stop down to f/8 or f/11, focus by moving the camera slightly rather than turning the ring, and use a tripod, a bean bag or a steady elbow. Close up, less light reaches the sensor than at a distance (up to about two stops at life-size), so the camera picks a slower shutter speed or a higher ISO; daylight or a small flash helps.
Keep the standard zoom
A macro lens is a specialist. The kit zoom stays in the bag for everything else, and each kit on this page includes it.
Build your own kit · Lenses by subject
Facts from the makers' specification pages. How we check