If you’re interested in mastering macro, and perusing a comparative review of techniques and equipment, particularly in relation to Fujifilm gear, then you may well enjoy this article.
The journey
I began my journey into close-up nature photography using Pentax film cameras and extension tubes. Typically, I’d use 50mm of extension on a 50mm standard lens to achieve life size magnification. I’d employ a small manual flash that I’d calibrated for correct exposure at f/11. Mostly I’d use this set up with either ISO 50 Velvia or ISO 64 (and 25) Kodachrome slide film. Generally, I’d use a Pentax LX (one of the best film cameras ever made).
The pictures I captured (or at least their scans) are still more than good enough to use and be competitive in 2026. However, the reality is that there is no going back – digital capture is easier and more cost effective than film. Still, I produced some of my best macro images with my Pentax LX, Pentax 100mm macro f/2.8 lens and Pentax AF280T TTL flash gun. This TTL set up worked so well and seldom failed to deliver great slides. Although I still think of this as my all-time favourite macro set up, I’ve now moved on to using a Fuji macro system that is altogether a different beast. Enroute, I had a long phase shooting macro with Canon EF equipment. I have little to complain about, but there were a couple of issues. I had three Canon macro lenses; EF 50mm f/2.8 macro (0.5x life-size only), EF 100mm f/2.8L macro USM, and the EF 180mm f3.5L macro USM. The 50mm macro got little use for close-up nature and I used it mostly for landscape. I wasn’t much of a fan of this slow lens. The 180mm macro is a beautiful optic, but is simply too big and way to heavy to be considered as a convenient lens. It is a challenge to use, but takes truly magnificent images. The winner in my book is the Canon 100mm macro – I used this in exactly the same way I used my Pentax 100mm macro with film, but obviously using a digital sensor. I used TTL flash on a bracket for exposure and this worked very well with APS-C or FF sensors.
Canon DSLRs were bulky and as I got older, I saw the obvious benefits of using the smaller and lighter Fujifilm system. The Fuji glass is optimised for the smaller APS-C sensor and is super sharp with Fuji JPEG colours reflecting my early use of Velvia and Provia film, and in my opinion, the colours are second to none in the industry. What follows are my thoughts, specifically on Fuji close-up photography.
The slide show below shows butterflies taken on Pentax film equipment with the Pentax 100mm f/2.8 macro lens (or Tamron 90mm) and the AF280T TTL flash
Fujifilm options
While my primary close-up lens is the amazing Fujifilm XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR macro, I also have the Fujifilm XF 60mm f/2.4 R macro (see slide show below). Optically, both lenses are as sharp as a razor across the frame from wide open when focused at both close and far distances. They are both truly stellar lenses. The 60mm lens is long in the tooth now and gets a bit of criticism here and there. This is beyond silly as this lens is optically fantastic, as light as a feather and doubles as a great landscape and even greater portrait lens. Its downside is that it isn’t a true macro lens as it only focuses to 0.5x life-size. So what! Most subjects in nature don’t require 1:1 magnification. It’s a cheapish lens and is one of the best lenses in the Fujifilm XF stable.
There is one other lens, the 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR macro. I’ve never used this shorter focal length lens, and see no point given I own the 60 and 100mm lenses. It gets a bit too challenging when you have such a short focal length as you are typically a bit too close to your subject. The 80mm macro is the equivalent of 120mm on full frame and is perfect. What I like about this lens is it has very effective image stabilisation, and maintains a comfortable working distance to your subject. In the past I’ve always used manual focus, rocking the camera back and forth to achieve focus. However, Moreso with the Fuji 80mm macro than with other systems, I find I get a good hit rate with the lens set to autofocus, so I tend to switch between auto and manual focus according to need. My key default settings tend to be ISO 200, f/11, max sync speed of the camera I’m using, with flash set to TTL. However, there are some other little secrets that breed success and reflect how much things have evolved since my earliest macro successes with my Pentax kit during the 1980s.
Dressing up your camera for success
For as long as I can remember, the “experts” have advocated for ring flash to expose close-up nature images in the best way possible. Contingent upon this advice I bought the Canon ring flash many years ago, but while it simplifies everything and provides great TTL exposure, it also creates absolutely horrible doughnut shaped circles on shiny or wet surfaces – i.e. skin, insect elytra etc. So, what is the best practise for macro lighting in 2026?
Well, I’ve become a vocal advocate for the Cygnustech diffuser used in combination with the Godox V860III (Fujifilm variant) on my Fuji camera with 80mm macro lens attached. This is without question the best system I’ve used to modify electronic light for close-up nature photography in the field. My hat goes off to Brendan James who developed the Cygnustech diffuser. Brendan lives in Cairns close to some of Australia’s finest rainforests with their rich creepy-crawly biodiversity. I urge you to visit Brendan’s website and read more about his product and see some of the images he has in his gallery (https://www.cygnustechdiffuser.com/shop/p/cygnustech-diffuser).
The Godox V860 is a powerful flash that uses a single Li-Ion battery that is so powerful it can discharge 480 full power flashes with a recycle time of 1.5 seconds. You can vary the power output for very fast recycling and have the usual choices of TTL and Manual etc. It works with the Godox 2.4G wireless X system for multiflash off camera sync.
Brendan manufactures the Cygnustech diffuser to fit a specific camera-lens-flash set up. It’s a great service. You email him your specs and he will make the diffuser to fit your system. I can’t praise this product enough – given the quality of output and ease of use, it gets 10/10 stars in my book.
A word of warning, the final assembled set up does take a bit of getting used to – I still sometimes bump the diffuser into branches and trees etc. You’ll soon get used to it though.
The final dressing I’d advocate you adopt is the Raynox DCR-250. This is a quick click on lens that bumps your 1:1 macro reproduction up to around 1.7x life-size. This super macro conversion lens certainly slows things down in the field, and you’ll definitely want to shoot with manual focus engaged, but it is really sharp and renders great images. It works well with the Fujifilm XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR macro lens. I just wish it would show up in the metadata as I often can’t recall where I used the Raynox – still a small price for such a useful accessory. The optics are Japanese and are top notch.
Does Fuji have other close-up options
There are so many options for achieving close-up and macro images. The first photography book that I wrote almost a quarter of a century ago has a lot of detail on macro photography and how to go about shooting this genre (see “Photography for the Naturalist” by Mark Lucock [ISBN 1-86108-290-8]). There are a lot of nice photos, but also a lot of not so nice equations and physics, but it may be of interest if you can manage to get hold of a copy.
After the 80mm and 60mm Fuji macro lenses, my next favourite close-up lens is the Fujifilm XF 500mm f/5.6 R LM OIS WR telephoto. This is obviously not a macro lens, but it is a brilliant close-up lens. It’ll do dragonflies and butterflies with no problem, but truly excels at plants and flowers. It is brilliantly sharp and given its FF 750mm equivalence, it throws the background out and really isolates the flower. It makes flowers pop and provides outstanding soft bokeh. The compression that this focal length achieves provides a unique look that cannot be achieved with regular macro lenses. Having said that the out of focus background of the 80mm is still really nice.
Somewhere around the 2010’s I opted to replace my Canon macro lens when I travelled – I replaced it with the Canon 70-200mm and Canon 500D close-up lens (a double-element dioptre). I think that with a step-up ring this type of configuration would work well with the Fuji 50-140mm f/2.8 lens, although I have yet to try this option (this option would also work well with a 70-300mm or 100-400mm lens). The 500D is quite chunky, but significantly smaller and lighter than a full macro lens. It’s great for butterflies and reptiles as well as shooting at a zoo where you have closer access to birds and amphibians etc.
If you decide to go down the extension tube route, be aware that this limits you to a likely extreme reproduction ratio. So, when I used to use 75mm of extension on a 50mm lens to give me 1.5x reproduction, it would be a bit of a pantomime swapping over to 50 or 25mm of extension should it be required. For this reason, don’t ever underestimate the value that the flexibility of a macro lens can confer.
Today, there are some fascinating third-party macro lenses around that can go to well above life size and there is also the old favourite, now discontinued, the Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x macro lens. Definitely worth considering a S/H purchase if you still have a compatible camera.
Have fun chasing your subjects – you never know what you might find. Recently, I was shooting honeybees in my Aussie garden, and was trying to get a good flight shot, but not really getting anything worth keeping. Then I looked down at my legs, and I was covered in mossies. They were full of my blood, and I realised what good subjects they would be – a fascinating visual story of a garden nuisance and disease vector. I got some great macro shots on my Fuji with the Cygnustech diffuser, hopefully without catching Ross River Fever or Murray Valley Encephalitis (see slide show below). And yes, that red colour is my blood in the mossies’ abdomen!
If I were to offer a summary statement, it would be that I love both the 80mm and 60mm Fujifilm macro lenses. The 80mm lens is a must if you are invested in the Fuji ecosystem and enjoy studying and photographing flowers, insects, reptiles, and all manner of mini-beasties. It’s also part of a lightweight system and can double up to be a truly brilliant portrait lens.
