Might sound .... stupid Question ?????

[muralikrishna]

I am new to photography , need your help on this .... while taking photos in Macro mode , what difference does it make when you Zoom to the Subject ? Will there be any noice ? I use Nikon D3000 - 18-55 mm ... Sometimes i can't take my camera very close to the subject , coz it wont' allow me to click or focus . ..

[BCampbell]

"macro" functionality is really a property of the lens, not the camera. So "macro mode" does not technically allow you to take "macro" photos by itself.

That said, "macro" is a jello term. It's a little flexible. What's happening for you is that you're running into the minimum focus distance of your lens before you can get close enough to do any major magnification.

"Macro" really just means high magnification; every lens has a magnification rating, usually expressed as ".##x" or "#:#". In the first case, 1.00x would mean that the subject on the sensor/film is the same size as in real life, or .25x would mean the subject is 1/4 the size on the sensor ; in the second, "1:1" is the same, or "1:4" is 1/4. Anything stronger than .5x or 1:2 is generally considered "macro".

The minimum focus distance on your lens is .28m and the maximum magnification is .31x. Not bad, but not quite enough for macro shooting; your subjects, at most, will show up on the sensor about 1/3 the size they are in real life.

So, you could get a dedicated macro lens, not a problem. This 60mm macro lens would work for you, it has a minimum focus distance of .22m and 1:1 magnification. For $475. If you just want to experiment with taking macro photos, there are a couple cheaper ways to do this. Now, if you were able to physically move the lens further from the body, you'd be able to shorten the minimum focus distance, which would allow you to raise magnification. Other people figured this out already and there are extension tubes you can buy to do this. Another, dirtier method is to get a reverse ring adapter to let you mount your lens backward. Think about looking into a telescope at the wrong end and you'll get an idea of why that works.

Neither of these will give you the same quality as a dedicated macro lens, but they are vastly cheaper solutions.

[muralikrishna]

Nicely explained .. Greatful to your answer.. Thank you so much

[BCampbell]

No problem, if you're interested in macro photography there's a ton of information out there if you google, at the more technical ends you'll have to learn some lighting as well. You might want to take a look at a few books too.