Close-up lens

Set of three close-up lenses
Typical close-up lens
Optical scheme of close-up photography.
  • 1 - Close-up lens.
  • 2 - Camera objective lens (set to infinity).
  • 3 - Camera.
  • 4 - Film or CCD plane.
  • y - Object
  • y" - Image
Photograph taken with a 3 diopter achromatic close-up lens: Pentatomidae-hatchlings underneath a purple beech leaf

In photography, a close-up lens (sometimes referred to as close-up filter or a macro filter) is a simple secondary lens used to enable macro photography without requiring a specialised primary lens. They work like reading glasses, allowing a primary lens to focus more closely.[1] Bringing the focus closer allows the photographer more possibilities.[2]

Close-up lenses typically mount on the filter thread of the primary lens,[3] and are often manufactured and sold by suppliers of photographic filters. Nonetheless, they are lenses and not filters. Some manufacturers refer to their close-up lenses as diopters, after the unit of measurement of their optical power.

Close-up lenses do not affect exposure, unlike extension tubes, which also can be used for macro photography with a non-macro lens.[4]

  1. ^ Meehan, Joseph (2006). The Magic of Digital Close-Up Photography. New York: Lark Books. p. 59. ISBN 978-1-57990-652-8. For real close-up work, some cameras need help—their own version of reading glasses.
  2. ^ Timacheff, Serge (2008). Canon EOS Digital Photography: Photo Workshop. Wiley. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-470-11434-6. ...a variety of accessories increase your creative options. Additional components include Canon Softmat filters and close-up lenses,...
  3. ^ Busch, David D. (2009). Digital SLR Cameras & Photography for Dummies (3rd ed.). Wiley. p. 84. ISBN 9780470466063. A lot of available add-ons can help you focus close, including filter-like close-up attachments that screw onto the front of the lens,...
  4. ^ Busch, David D. (2009). Digital SLR Cameras & Photography for Dummies (3rd ed.). Wiley. p. 139. ISBN 9780470466063.