There are a number of tools available that will allow you to focus closeup on a subject. These tools range from lenses, to extension tubes, macro bellows, closeup filters, reversed lenses, double reversed lenses, macro lenses, specialty macro lenses, and microscope objectives and adapters. This page discusses each of these tools and includes some of the advantages and disadvantages of each.

And, of course, you can crop the resulting image to give the impression of higher magnification.

Note: A number of references are made below to camera and lens manufacturers such as Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, Tamron, Sigma, and Laowa. There are also many price references to products on Amazon. These references are for comparison purposes only. They should not be viewed as recommendations by me or Trillium Photographic Club.

Close Focusing Lenses

Many lenses have close focusing capabilities. For lenses that display the focusing distance on the outside of their barrel, as you focus closer and closer, you will reach a point when the focusing distance says “Macro”. This is not true macro; depending on the lens, the closest focus may produce a magnification of 1:4, 1:3, or in rare occasions, 1:2.

Close focusing lenses may vary from full frame equivalent focal lengths of 24 mm or less through 100-400 or 100-500 mm telephoto zooms.

Advantages

  • You probably already have one or more of these lenses, so there is no added cost to you.
  • You have the full range of focusing distance (closeup to infinity) available at all times.
  • Little reduction in light reaching the film or sensor.

Disadvantages

  • Magnification is limited to the closeup range (typically 1:4 or 1:3).
  • There is a slight effect on image quality as you focus closer and closer to the front of the lens.

Extension Tubes

Extension Tubes. Unknown Photographer. Released into public domain.

Extension tubes are hollow tubes that are attached between the camera body and a lens. They usually come in a set of three tubes of different lengths. You achieve higher magnifications by using the longest extension tube or multiple tubes together. The focal length of the lens also affects the resulting magnification. The shorter the lens focal length, the higher the magnification. However, this comes at the expense of working distance; the shorter the focal length, the closer the plane of focus will be in front of the lens. For shorter focal length lenses and longer extensions, the plane of focus may be inside the lens.

Many extension tube sets come in lengths of 13, 21, and 31 mm. Using all three tubes and with a 50 mm lens attached, you can achieve greater than 1:1 magnification.

Advantages

  • Relatively inexpensive. Amazon has sets of extension tubes for between $10 and $100, with $30 — $40 being typical.
  • Many come with electronic connection pass-through, so autofocusing and aperture controls are available.
  • Because extension tubes are hollow, there is no additional glass to affect the image quality.

Disadvantages

  • The amount of extension, and therefore the magnification, is limited to specific values.
  • The plane of focus may be very close to the front element of the lens, or even inside the lens.
  • Extension tubes greatly reduce the amount of light that reaches the film or sensor.
  • The focusing range provided by the lens is very short. Focusing is generally done by moving the camera back and forth.
  • Images taken using extension tubes may exhibit some colour fringing.

More Information

Extension Tubes in Action: How to Get Beautiful Close-Ups with Your Regular Lens

How to Calculate Extension Tube Magnification

Macro Bellows

Camera with bellows

Camera With Bellows. Photo by Joaquim Alves Gaspar. CC-BY-SA 3.0

Like extension tubes, macro bellows are hollow. They attach between the camera body and lens. Bellows provide a continuously variable range of extension from about 25 mm to 100 or even 150 mm, so they can produce much higher magnification than extension tubes.

Advantages

  • Relatively inexpensive. Macro bellows are available on Amazon for between $20 and $100 depending on the camera mount, the bellows manufacturer, and the seller.
  • Provide continuously variable range of extension, and therefore, magnification.

Disadvantages

  • As the bellows are extended, the plane of focus approaches the front element of the lens, and depending on the lens, may be inside the lens.
  • The amount of light reaching the film or sensor would be even less than for extension tubes.
  • There is no electronic connection pass-through, so the lens functions only in manual mode. For lenses whose aperture is only controlled by the camera, this functionality is lost. It is usually possible to set the aperture while the lens is attached directly to the camera, but this involves detaching the lens while the camera is still powered on.
  • As with extension tubes, images taken using macro bellows may exhibit some colour fringing.
  • The focusing range provided by the lens is very short. Focusing is generally done by moving the camera back and forth.

More Information

How to do Extreme Close-Up Photography with a Macro Bellows

Closeup Filters

Tamron Closeup Filters. Photo by Joe Ravi. CC-BY-SA 3.0

Closeup filters are lenses that attach to the filter threads on the front of a lens. They come in a few different powers, and may be stacked to provide even greater magnification. The longer the focal length of the lens that the filters are attached to, the higher is the resulting magnification.

Because you are adding glass in front of your lens, the resulting image quality will be less, but it may not be noticeable unless you are a pixel-peeper or use low quality filters. See The best close-up filters in 2025: macro photography on a budget for Digital Camera World’s recommendations.

Advantages

  • Can provide magnifications of 1:1 or greater.
  • Filters may be provided in different diameters so you can match them to a specific lens. Alternatively, it may be possible to use step-down filter adaptors.
  • Less expensive than macro lenses. Prices on Amazon vary between about $20 and $200 for a set of 1, 3, or 4 filters depending on manufacturer and diameter.

Disadvantages

  • Because you are adding glass in front of your lens, image quality will be degraded. The amount depends on the number and quality of the filters used.
  • The range of focus decreases with the power and number of filters used. Focusing is often performed by moving the camera back and forth.

More Information

Macro Photography on a Budget: An introduction to Close-up Filters

Reverse Lenses

Camera With Reversed Lens. Photo by Teresa Trimm. CC-BY-SA 2.0

Reverse lens adapters are screwed into the filter threads on the front of the lens and connect into the lens mount on the camera. Adapters are inexpensive, costing between $8 and $40 depending on lens mount and material (plastic or metal).

The resulting magnification is determined by the focal length of the lens being used. The shorter the focal length of the lens, the higher the magnification.

Advantages

  • Inexpensive. As noted above, they can be purchased for between $8 and $40 on Amazon depending on lens filter size, lens mount, construction material, and manufacturer.

Disadvantages

  • Exposes the back element of the lens. This element is not normally as well protected as the front element of the lens. Also, there is no protective filter that can be added to protect the lens element.
  • There is no electronic connection pass-through, so the lens functions only in manual mode. For lenses whose aperture is only controlled by the camera, this functionality is lost. It is usually possible to set the aperture while the lens is attached directly to the camera, but this involves detaching the lens while the camera is still powered on.
  • Focusing is performed by moving the camera back and forth. This requires mounting the camera on a focusing rail, or you could attempt to take a number of photos handheld by moving the camera back and forth.

More Information

Reverse Lens Macro Photography: A Beginner’s Guide – Covers both reverse lenses and double reverse lenses.

Double Reverse Lenses

Camera With Double Reversed Lenses

Camera With Double Reverse Lenses. Photo by Christian Fischer. CC-BY-SA 3.0

In this setup, one lens is mounted as normal on the camera, and the second lens is mounted in reverse on the front of that first lens. Magnification is determined by the relative focal lengths of the two lenses. In the setup in the photo, the lens attached to the camera is 90 mm and the lens on the front is 28 mm. This produces a magnification of about 3:1. Mounting the 28 mm lens on the camera and the 90 mm lens reverse on the front would produce a magnification of about 1:3.

Advantages

  • Very inexpensive because the adapter has filter threads on both sides. There is no need for a camera mount on one side. On Amazon, prices vary from $8 to $30 depending on the filter thread size and the material that the adapter is made from.

Disadvantages

  • There is no electronic connection pass-through, so the front lens functions only in manual mode. For lenses whose aperture is only controlled by the camera, this functionality is lost. It is usually possible to set the aperture while the lens is attached directly to the camera, but this involves detaching the lens while the camera is still powered on.
  • Some limited focusing is possible if the front lens is manual. Otherwise, focusing is performed by moving the camera back and forth.
  • Exposes the back element of the front lens. This element is not normally as well protected as the front element of the lens. Also, there is no protective filter that can be added to protect the lens element.

More Information

Reverse Lens Macro Photography: A Beginner’s Guide – Covers both reverse lenses and double reverse lenses.

Macro Lenses

Macro lenses focus from infinity down to at least 1:1 magnification, and sometimes 2:1. Lenses that are manufactured by your camera manufacturer, and some third-party manufacturers, are autofocus and control their aperture through the camera as with normal lenses. Other third-party lenses are completely manual. One of the main advantages of macro lenses is a longer working distance than for the other tools listed on this page.

Macro lenses are about the same size as the same manufacturer’s lens of the same focal length and maximum aperture. However, macro lenses focus much closer than the equivalent normal lenses. In addition, macro lenses are the sharpest lenses across their entire focusing range.

Macro lenses are typically available in the full-frame equivalent focal lengths of between 90 and 105 mm depending on manufacturer. For example: Canon macro lenses have a 100 mm focal length; Nikon macro lenses have a 105 mm focal length. Fujifilm, which produces APS-C cameras only, makes macro lenses of 60 mm and 80 mm, which are equivalent to 90 mm and 120 mm. Macro lenses for Micro Four Thirds cameras have a 50 mm focal length, which is equivalent to 100 mm on a full-frame camera.

180 mm is another typical focal length for macro lenses. The advantage of the longer focal length is greater working distance for the same magnification.

There are also macro lenses with shorter focal lengths, even down to 15 mm. These lenses capture more of the subject’s environment at the cost of working distance.

Advantages

  • Longer working distances than the other tools discussed on this page.
  • Sharpest lenses made.
  • May provide autofocus and aperture control through the camera, though you may find the autofocus capabilities of limited use.

Disadvantages

  • Macro lenses are more expensive than regular lenses of the same focal length and maximum aperture from the same manufacturer. Macro lenses from camera manufacturers vary between about $1200 and $2000, and are usually towards the upper price range. You may be able to purchase third-party auto macro lenses in the $1000 range. Manual macro lenses are typically priced at $500 or so.

More Information

What is a Macro Lens? A Complete Guide to Macro Photography

Specialty Macro Lenses

Laowa 25 mm 2.5:1 to 5:1 Macro Lens. Photo by Bachrockt. CC_BY_SA 4.0

Specialty macro lenses are just that: specialty lenses. They have magnifications of 2:1 or higher. For example, the lens in the image above has a magnification range from 2.5:1 up to 5:1. Laowa has a range of specialty lenses, including probe lenses with magnifications between 2:1 and 50:1. Unfortunately, I could not find a photo of any of their macro probe lenses in the public domain, so I could not include one here.

All specialty macro lenses have some common features:

  • They have magnifications of 2:1 or higher.
  • They do not focus to infinity.
  • They are all manual focus lenses.
  • The probe lenses all have a small, fixed aperture, typically f/14.

Advantages

  • Higher magnifications than the other tools on this page are possible depending on the specific lens.
  • Larger working distances for the same magnification than other tools on this page that give the same magnification.

Disadvantages

  • Manual focus only.
  • Many have a small, fixed aperture. This makes them very difficult to focus if you use them on a DSLR. It also means that long exposure times are needed.
  • Can be costly. While the lens in the image above is about $570, the Laowa 10x to 50x probe lens is $3300 or so. That is a lot of money for a lens that you are unlikely to use often.

More Information

Laowa’s latest macro lens instantly makes all rivals obsolete – A review of the Laowa 10x – 50x macro lens. The prices quoted in the article are low.

Microscope Objective Lens Adaptor

I could not find an image of a microscope objective lens adaptor in the public domain, so no image is provided here.

Microscope objective lens adaptors allow you to use a microscope objective lens with your camera. Most or all adaptors are for M42 interfaces, so you would also need an M42 to camera lens mount adaptor for your camera.

Because there is very little light transmitted at high magnifications, the aperture of objective lenses is fixed at a fairly large value;  At these apertures, the depth of field is extremely small. A macro focusing rail would aid greatly in focusing. This focusing rail must be mounted securely, such as on a tripod.

So, you need five things:

  • An M42 microscope objective lens adaptor.
  • An M42 to camera mount adaptor for your camera.
  • One or more microscope objective lenses of various magnifications.
  • A macro focusing rail. The depth of field is very shallow.
  • A solid tripod to mount the focusing rail on.

Each microscope objective lens has a fixed magnification. Objective lenses are available with magnifications between 1:1 and at least 100:1.

Other than the tripod, each of the items listed above are not expensive individually. However, the combination of costs does add up. The two places to spend the most money are on a good quality macro focusing rail and a good quality tripod. These are the two pieces of equipment where you tend to get what you pay for.

Advantages

  • A good kit for using a microscope objective lens for taking macro photos with your camera would cost about $200 + the cost of a good tripod, assuming you purchase a good quality macro focusing rail. This is considerably less than the cost of even a manual focus macro lens if you already have a tripod.
  • High magnifications are possible with a high magnification objective lens.
  • Different magnifications can be obtained by changing microscope objective lenses. These lenses are available for $8 to $100 depending on the manufacturer. All have the same thread diameter and threads per inch, so there is no worry about having to purchase additional adaptors.

Disadvantages

  • You cannot focus to infinity or even very far at all.
  • Depth of field is very shallow, and essentially nothing when using a high magnificaction objective lens.
  • The only way to focus effectively is to use a macro focusing rail mounted on a tripod.
  • At high magnifications, the amount of light reaching your camera is very low. This makes focusing very difficult on an SLR or DSLR.
  • M42 to camera mount adaptors are not yet available for most mirrorless camera systems.

More Information

Extreme macro photography: the magic of microscope objectives

What To Choose If You Are Just Getting Started in Closeup and Macro Photography

There are a lot of tool choices discussed above. They range from simply using a lens you already have to options that exceed $3000. That is a lot of money to spend if you are not even sure how much closeup and macro photography you will do.

Here are my recommendations:

  1. If you are just starting out and have a lens with so-called macro capability (i.e. have a lens which will give you 1:4, 1:3, or 1:2 magnification, use that at or near its closest focus distance and then crop the resulting image as needed.
  2. To get higher magnification, on the order of 1:1, purchase a set of extension tubes and use them with a lens with a focal length of 50 mm or so. They will work even if you only have the kit lens that came with your camera.
  3. Only after you have determined that you really like closeup and macro photography should you consider purchasing a macro lens.
  4. Once you have determined the limitations of normal macro lenses and want higher magnifications, consider one or more of the tools listed above, such as specialty macro lenses or microscope objective lenses and adaptors. This is a slippery slope; the magnification range of specialty lenses and microscope objective lenses are often fixed, so you end up purchasing multiple lenses.