Whats the difference between....

aFlabbyPanda

a macro and a prime lens? or are they the same thing essentially? sorry if this seems an obvious question.

melekalikimaka

i think a prime don't have no zoom, but macros do

andy1249

A macro lens is designed to get close to, and to focus on the subject in order to fill the frame with the subject , typically on a 1:1 basis ideally ,
This means you can get close ups of insects , flowers , and other small objects.
Focus distances can be in millimetres for some lens,

A prime lens on the other hand , for instance a 50mm , gives the same view as a fixed focal length and is meant to mimic human eyesight , so a 50mm lens on a 35mm frame gives about the same field of view as your own eyesight.

While most lens do have a "Macro" focus distance , they are typically much further away from the subject ( 1.5metres for a 50mm prime ) and cant capture that fine detail that a genuine Macro lens can.

Oriel

Yeah, primes are fixed lenses with no zoom.