the Editor says: Underwater photography is winning over more and more divers, and I'm sure many of you, just like the Editor, find your gear collection growing by the day. But when it comes to the add-on wet macro lenses that are essential for underwater macro shooting, how do you choose the right one — wisely, and without overdoing it? That question has genuinely been bothering the Editor. I'm thrilled that Robbin is willing to share his personal experience with selecting wet macro lenses. Come find the gear that suits you best and capture stunning shots! (Don't forget to give us a clap at the end of the article to show your support for BlueTrend)
More and more newcomers have recently joined the underwater photography community, and I'd like to thank everyone for appreciating, encouraging, and supporting my work.
The question I've been getting most often in private messages from newcomers lately is…
How do I choose a macro lens??
So I figured I'd just write a piece sharing my personal experience and recommendations on wet macro lenses.
If you've asked me before, feel free to read through again as a refresher — and if this is your first time, help yourself to my recipe.
Honestly, I'm not a specialist when it comes to researching macro lenses, so I can't give you a lot of technical jargon or alien-sounding specs. All I can do is share what I've experienced firsthand. Of course, what I say isn't definitive or absolute — it's purely a personal sharing of my own underwater photography experience. I'll keep things direct below; it might be a bit blunt, but don't mind that!
Macro Lens Recommendations for Beginners
Because beginners often already struggle with focusing alone, adding a macro lens will make the depth of field even shallower, leaving only a tiny sliver of usable focus distance. For that reason, I strongly advise beginners not to jump straight to a high-magnification macro lens — the frustration of trying to nail focus can be enough to make you want to give up underwater photography altogether. So hold off on anything in the +20-something to +30 range for now. Or if your budget allows you to pick one up, that's fine — just don't use it for practice. It'll be absolutely miserable.
As the saying goes: punch above your level and you'll die early! Haha!!
For beginners, I'd recommend sticking with a macro lens in the +10 to +12 range. The +5 ones don't magnify much and aren't really worth it.
The +10 to +12 magnification range is reasonably good, and the depth of field is still manageable — which is why I lean toward recommending them. I've used the video below to demonstrate the size difference between a +12 and a +30.
Subject: eggs of a Blue Damselfish
Actual size of subject: approximately 1mm long × 0.5mm wide
A gentle reminder from the voice of mystery: I know that after watching this you might feel like the +30 magnifies amazingly — but once again, punch above your level and you'll die early. Please use with caution.
After watching the video, you'll notice that with a +10 to +12 macro lens you can get about 5 to 6 rows of eggs in focus, allowing you to show off much more of what you want to present. As for the +30, the brutal magnification is crystal clear — and so is its signature bokeh effect, which is both a strength and a weakness: you can see how the eyes of the eggs just behind the focal point are blurred into shimmering little balls of bokeh. If you look carefully, you'll notice the +30 macro lens only brings two rows of eggs into focus. As I mentioned above, each egg is roughly 0.5 to 1mm — which means that at maximum magnification, your entire depth of field is less than 2mm. Doesn't that make you want to give up on focusing altogether?
While magnifying your subject is certainly a fantastic way to present it, personal experience tells me that composition is the most important element in telling a photo's story. Magnification is merely the icing on the cake. That's my experience, for what it's worth.
To avoid any appearance of advertising, I won't be mentioning any brand names for macro lenses here. If you genuinely don't know which macro lens to go with, feel free to send me a private message — I'll give you recommendations on the lens and brand based on your skill level.
Further reading:
