Life originated in sea and has evolved enormously since then. Oceans provide a myriad of opportunities to the people with a photographic eye with the diversity that covers every inch of the expanse. Super macro photography is close-up photography where the image projected on the camera sensor is greater than the original size of the subject. This is also defined as capturing images with reproduction ratios greater than 1:1.
This extent of resolution is however achieved by combining the normal close-up lens with additional specialized tools to obtain a ratio of 2:1 or greater.
This can be achieved when the sensor gets closer to the subject than the human eye, to yield larger images. Therefore, super macro photography is essentially close-up photography with greater depth. The technique is generally used to bring out the minor details of the subject and thus requires high degree of sharpness.
Additional super macro tools that are used to achieve greater than 1:1 magnification include diopters and teleconverters. Underwater photographers generally use 105mm/60mm and 100mm/60mm lenses as macro lenses. Since the depth of field is very small while shooting super macro, focusing needs to be done either in continuous mode, manual focus mode at maximum magnification or with the help of a focus ring. While selecting the tools, it is essential to keep in mind the factors like magnification level, tool versatility, its weight, water clarity and cost.
The images captured using super macro photography provide utmost details and thus can be used for the purpose of comparison and study of the minor details. This feature enables the photographers to explore a world that is usually imperceptible to the naked eye. Photographers generally use four ways to achieve better results with super macro, which include the use of normal macro lens, diopters or close-up filters on the macro lens, wide angle lens in front of a longer lens and bellowing or use of extension tubes.
The accessories for super macro photography include:
Teleconverters – They are the optical tools used to maintain the working distance of the lens by inserting them between the lens and the camera body. They change the focal length of the lens by a multiplication factor without disturbing the working distance. For example, a 50mm f-2.8 lens will become a 100mm f-5.6 lens if a 2X teleconverter is used. This results in producing larger images.
Diopter – It is a close-up lens that is fit on the macro lens to achieve images that are larger than life-size. Wet diopters are generally used for underwater photography.
Extension Tube – This is used to shift the focus range by moving the lens farther from the sensor plane. This helps in increasing the focus range and capturing larger images.