what is the difference between a shot taken with macro lens and other one taken with telephoto lens?

Answer 1

I think I got the intention of your question. You are asking what the difference would be by taking a photo with a macro lens while you are very close to your subject, and taking the same picture with a telephoto lense and NOT standing so close.

I used to try doing that, when I shot with a film camera. Sometimes the results were okay, and other times, not so much. The telephoto has limitations on how close you can get to the subject and still focus. Sometimes, the image was, just, not close enough to fill the frame the way I wanted. Depth of field adjustments were also limited.

The use of the telephoto also lessens the amount of light that reached the film. I had to, either, slow down the shutter speed, or lower the f-stop to get enough exposure.

My first macro lens was, actually in my first digital camera. Once I learned how to use it, I was delighted with the "new" world it opened up for me. I had much more control over my images, they were much steadier than could be by a hand held telephoto and, well, it works so much better than having to make do and settle for compromises because I was not using the right tool for the job.

Answer 2

Macro shots are taken from a small distance. Instead of using a long telephoto lens and standing far away from the subject, they usually use a normal or moderate telephoto lens and photograph the details of a subject from up close. I don't think there is a specific distance from where it is considered a macro shot, it's more the ratio of the actual size of the object and the size of its image. "Real" macro lenses are able to reproduce the object at its actual size, and any enlargement of the frame will make the object appear larger than it actually is. For example, if you enlarge a 24x36mm (traditional 35mm film) frame to ten times that size (a roughly 10x15 inch print), whatever you photographed will appear ten times as large as the actual object.

Answer 3

A macro lens is what you would use to take a picture of something really close, while holding the camera close to it, such as a fly or a penny or something. A telephoto lens would be used to take a picture of something that is far away from you.

Answer 4

A good thing you can do is attending a comprehensive photography course. If you can't afford it there are many online courses available.

I recommend this great web site: http://learnphotography.toptips.org

It has very well made and explained video lessons that will help you a lot.

Answer 5

Excellent and accurate answers above, but.....

See if you can tell which are done with a real macro lens and which are done with a telelphoto lens:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/1887954874/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/1296244675/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/948091056/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/935595819/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/935486613/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/814790123/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/515054905/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/487790706/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/409564880/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/412244168/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/408446616/

My point is, maybe if you can't tell, you can accomplish what you need with either. Read the caption or tags to see what focal length was used and figure out why something looks "macro."

For REAL macro work, there is simply no substitute, but for "better than average" close-ups, you have a few choices open to you.