Close-up lens

In <a href="/facts/Photography/ezLPT43M">photography</a>, a close-up lens (sometimes referred to as close-up filter or a macro filter) is a simple <a href="/facts/Secondary_lens/rpJnaW1M">secondary lens</a> used to enable <a href="/facts/Macro_photography/sPKYgzQl">macro photography</a> without requiring a specialised primary lens. They work like <a href="/facts/Reading_glasses/qRBkxeM5">reading glasses</a>, allowing a primary lens to focus more closely. Bringing the focus closer allows the photographer more possibilities.
Close-up lenses typically mount on the <a href="/facts/Filter_thread/H1EXnTbX">filter thread</a> of the primary lens, and are often manufactured and sold by suppliers of <a href="/facts/Photographic_filter/H1EXnTbX">photographic filters</a>. Nonetheless, they are lenses and not <a href="/facts/Photographic_filter/H1EXnTbX">filters</a>. Some manufacturers refer to their close-up lenses as diopters, after the unit of measurement of their optical power.
Close-up lenses do not affect exposure, unlike <a href="/facts/Extension_tubes/JAJNr0qD">extension tubes</a>, which also can be used for macro photography with a non-macro lens.

Close-up lens open-in-new

Close-up lens