Macro Lens help??

Question:I love to pretend that I'm a good photographer...but when it comes to the specks and technical terms of all the equipment and stuff I must admit I'm still an amature!

I just bought a Tamron AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 lens for my Canon rebel xti. I am so excited about it but when I recieved it today I noticed that it says "LD Aspherical (If) Macro" on the box. I didn't notice it saying anything about it being a Macro lens on the website! My question is...am I still going to be able to use it for everyday photography? I really bought it for telephoto shots because I will be traveling to Rome soon. I don't know...the word "Macro" just scares me...can someone define it for me?

Thanks!

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I love to pretend that I'm a good photographer...but when it comes to the specks and technical terms of all the equipment and stuff I must admit I'm still an amature!

I just bought a Tamron AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 lens for my Canon rebel xti. I am so excited about it but when I recieved it today I noticed that it says "LD Aspherical (If) Macro" on the box. I didn't notice it saying anything about it being a Macro lens on the website! My question is...am I still going to be able to use it for everyday photography? I really bought it for telephoto shots because I will be traveling to Rome soon. I don't know...the word "Macro" just scares me...can someone define it for me?

Thanks!

Your new lens will be fine for your trip. If you will READ & STUDY the Manual that came with the lens you'll quickly appreciate the "macro" setting and find innumerable uses for it.

NOTE: In reality, no zoom lens is truly a macro lens. IMO they should be labeled "close focusing".

A true macro lens will give you a 1:1 (life size) image. A zoom with close-focusing will usually give no more than a 1:4 (1/4 life size) image.

A true macro lens is designed with a flat field of focus which is useful for copying stamps or other flat documents. It also has superior center to edge sharpness.

Yes it can be used as an ordinary lens, but will focus a lot closer than a non macro.

You may find the macro function is only on the 250mm end of the zoom range.

Chris

Macro photography is close-up photography. The Tamron 18-250 is a macro lens. the Tamron 90mm or the Tamron 70-300mm are also macro lenses.
The LD is Low Dispersion, IF is Internal Focusing, macro is close up (with a 1:3.5 ratio at 250mm.) Try it out, narrow your focus (250mm) then focus on something 12-20" away.

Also, the brochure says it is a macro.

Taking close-up pictures of small things is called "macro photography."

The best macro lenses are the latest autofocus mount models made by Canon and Nikon, typically in focal lengths ranging from 50 to 200mm. Although it's a bit heavier, you can easily shoot the moon or capture the bear claw without having to stop to change lens or screw in filters.

I have the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens which is labeled macro as well and it works perfectly fine with nature, wildlife, and sporting events.