Blog / Resources / Cinematography

Macro & MikroMak Lenses – all you need to know.

,

Introduction

I am no longer surprised at seeing the sceptical look on cinematographers’ faces when I tell them that a group of macro primes exist which don’t follow the usual rules of depth of field and close focus because they are based on microscopy and telescope images principles.  It is only when they see the images for themselves that the penny drops and they become excited to use these for themselves.

This is the why in late 2024, having taken delivery of the UK’s first set of MikroMaktm prime lenses from Infinity Photo-Optical in Colorado, that I sent a group email “seeking curious cinematographers to test some new MikroMaktm macro lenses” and 30 excited willing participants said “yes!” 

Thus started the MikroMaktm project, to investigate learning all about these new lenses, understanding how best to use them and discovering what they are might be best suited to. 

This article was written as a collaboration with these same cinematographers and their feedback, views, clips and images have been included for your benefit.  Whilst Jay Margolis, the inventor and President of Infinity Photo-Optical, the manufacturer of these lenses, has been an active participant during this process, this project has neither been subsidised, nor funded by them and is all of our original work. 

Quick Index

Lighting for Nelsonian Lenses

No Iris Control

Using the MikroMaks in the field

Err, the MikroMak/RO and RO with 55mm Expander is actually a conventional lens

Credit Duncan Telford. Across these four clips I’ve used all of the lenses, shot them with a Chronos 2.1 (which it has to be said doesn’t perform well in shadow detail without a lot of light) at 25fps for the cymatics and 1000fps for everything else.
Credit Duncan Telford.
Credit Duncan Telford.
Credit Duncan Telford.

What are MikroMak Lenses

VMI’s website blurb states that the Infinity Photo-Optical MikroMaktm Full Frame primes are different to normal primes because their design is based on microscope principles, which allow them to deliver exceptional clarity and quality.  There are eight Full-Frame primes in the set (in fact there are 6 x primes with 2 x alternative screw-on lenses to create 8 individual primes) which are designed to generate deep focus, forced perspective and up to 6x macro images. Extreme depth of field means that pulling focus is often unnecessary.  These are provided in PL mount and produce world-class images comparable to the best zoom microscopes and cover Full-Frame/Super 35mm.

The MikroMaktm set includes 6 individual lenses plus 2 x optional fronts to make 8 distinct focal lengths.

6 of these are Nelsonian lenses and the two RO variant lenses are conventional spherical primes.

This image shows the RO lens, which can be converted from its native 120mm, to a 55mm with the 55mm lens front (right).

The 25mm front (left) fits to the 40mm MikroMaktm lens to convert it into a 25mm focal length MikroMaktm.

Image of a 25mm MikroMaktm of the camera position shown above, to generate a very large DoF. (Note that this is a screenshot, so for illustrative purposes only). Credit Barry Bassett

Microscope Principles What?

Conventional lenses focus optical images onto a sensor, so each lens will be specifically designed to work with a specific sensor size, else you face the problem that the image will be too small for the sensor (vignetting), else the image will be too large for the sensor (a crop will be required, wasting some of the image).

Instead, the MikroMaktm lenses are special spherical macro lenses are based on microscopy principles, which are projection lenses, able to focus images of S-35, FF, or in fact any size – I am told that simply by adding extension tubes to the lens, you would be able to project images covering an entire wall or even an auditorium screen, though these would be very dark.  However, what is clear to the viewer, is that the images produced by these lenses achieve extraordinary clarity and quality but it is the process of how these lenses work, that explains why regular depth of field charts don’t apply and is the reason how they can produce images previously considered impossible.

This group of lenses are described as Nelsonian lenses, named after Edward Milles Nelson, who was president of the Royal Microscopical Society and an early pioneer of microscope optics in the early 20th century.

Dollar Bill Shot with MikroMaktm 125mm (unsupported)

Another familiar subject is what happens if you are shooting macro but there is some depth of the object? Often the limited DoF of macro lenses makes this difficult to shoot, Here we see Charlie Paul shooting an irregular subject in 6x with the 125mm MikroMak. 

The dollar bill, un supported and not flat to camera @12,800, with a 2.5k at 1.5m.

Shot at 3fps – then sped up 1000% in Premier Pro.

This was a good result, showing that the depth of field is kind with these type of lenses and works with this kind of shot.

Credit – Charlie Paul, Itch Films

What can you achieve with MikroMaktm lenses?

In short, the lenses are physically very small – think of the form factor of Laowa 24mm probes but they will allow you to shoot a greater distance to your subject (depending on the focal length chosen), enabling you to light more easily and without the bulk of the lens getting in the way, as is the case with conventional macros.

Increasing the depth of field means that more of the image will remain in focus and you will avoid that awkward situation of having to decide which part of the image you want in focus.

As with conventional lenses, the longer the lens focal length, the shallower is the depth of field and the shorter the lens, the greater the DoF but this also changes the field of view, so you as the DP can decide what kind of shot you want to achieve and experiment with different focal lengths, until you achieve the image that you want.

LEFT – Screen Shot from BBC Silent Witness Series 28: 10. I Believe in Love. Part 2.  The short DoF from a conventional macro means that much of the image is out of focus.
RIGHT – 25mm MikroMak shot of lego bricks, to demonstrate the much larger DoF of Nelsonian lenses.


Deep Focus Mode

Whilst a regular 62 tooth follow focus gear is provided for every lens, the beauty of the MikroMaktm design is the capability of very large depth of field, so for the most part, you may not need to set your focus, which Jay Margolis describes as ‘deep focus mode’. 

Jay claims, “Set it– and forget about it!”. The idea is that provided you have set focus within the deep focus range, then everything from that point onwards will be in pin sharp focus. All MikroMaktm Lenses must be set to Infinity before use. Here’s the process; focus on the farthest object you can see. There is a witness mark on a moveable ring and you align the witness mark with the INFINITY symbol on the focus barrel. You can then lock this ring in place with a small thumb screw. 

Then you will have a massive range of distances for which the image is in focus and needs no adjustment. The MikroMaktm is now set for deep focus from Infinity to inches from the front element. As you move closer to an object you enter into the Macro range and you will focus accordingly.   (For the technically minded, the system is focussing parallel light rays and at some point, these change to converging rays, hence why you need to manually focus). 

The charts give calculations for deep focus mode, though I feel that these are a bit optimistic, so treat them with some care, however I find that the close focus points are accurate and the lenses will allow you to pull focus to that point.  (Note that the distances given are to the front of the lens, not to the sensor, as is usually the case).  Charlie Paul of Itch Film noticed that the focus points required for his motion control shots were greatly less than he had expected with regular macros and sped up shooting massively.

Pen Shot using MikroMaktm 125mm lens by Charlie Paul of Itch Film during MikroMaktm testing. The lens is remarkably stable on our rig! The depth of field is remarkable at the macro and then micro part of the journey. In this following clip we used the 125mm minimum focus, but amazingly the lens was still 3 inches from the pen nib— allowing plenty of room for light and hand artists change of direction. This depth of field is what makes the 125mm a really great lens to use at the closest focus. To be able to follow a pen nib around at this distance and keep focus is incredible

Credit Charlie Paul, Itch Film

Cupboard Shot using MikroMaktm 50mm lens by Charlie Paul of Itch Film. This used a 50mm MikroMaktm lens all the way in from 12 foot to 5 inches. The cupboard is 1.2m high and the horse is 11mm high Shot twice, door in and door off – cross faded in post. With only 4 focus points This was also shot on the rig ‘Live’ at 6 frames per sec, then sped up in post 500% – No stabilisation. The lens is remarkably stable on our rig! The depth of field is remarkable at the macro and then micro part of the journey. In this following clip we used the 125mm minimum focus, but amazingly the lens was still 3 inches from the pen nib— allowing plenty of room for light and hand artists change of direction. This depth of field is what makes the 125mm a really great lens to use at the closest focus.
Yes one shot, but I had to go through the glass with the camera- so I did it in two, on with door in- and one with door out-
The one shot looked lame because the door was open at the beginning.
Credit: Charlie Paul, Itch Film
Here are some insects! Shot on the 125mm. I was particularly interested in the focus on the lettering and the insects backs- as these are between 15mm and 25mm apart- also looking at the way the whites and dark colours hold together, as flare is always a Macro problem without matt boxes! Looks good, there is a promist feel to the 125mm in white glare situations. Again the lens feels stable in simple boom arm actions- looking at the rushes with the LUT on I could have shot this with a stop more light to see into the insects colour.
Credit: Charlie Paul, Itch Film
Micro Observations clip shot using MikroMaktm 125mm by Charlie Paul of Itch Film
This is the 125mm at minimum focus- lens is about average 5 to 8 cm from subject, focus feels like I can see what’s a foot away. Things 6 inches away are recognisable.

The horses really are this small!

Model Shot using 125mm MikroMaktm by Charlie Paul of Itch Film
Finally from this testing session we looked at model work, this is a big part of our macro filming. This clip is moving the rig around a one foot house model, on the 125mm. We used the 125mm to get the rig away from the model, and therefore create less lighting issues. This worked. The deep depth of field meant only 6 focus points where needed to drive a shot around a very deep subject. This was us throwing a move at this model, and within minuets this shot was like this, Impressed, so we are going to do some more model. Work tomorrow and look at how the lenses look inside models and how much light we need in there!
Pencil pan, small, shot with MikroMaktm 125mm by Charlie Paul of Itch Film.
We did a day of looking at a few things – all of which I will try to post, 
Yes Tommy we have shot mostly at 12,800 sometimes 3200 when tiny shot has a 5k close up on the FX3.
And also we agree the stop seems around the f30 mark.
They are a lot of fun to use once you get a hang of how they work. We luckily can use the rig to move the lenses slowly and smoothly at full Mikro on the 125mm.
35mm Film Inverted Shot with MikroMaktm 125mm by Charlie Paul of Itch Films

What’s very helpful is the 125mm gets you inside the picture area of a piece of 35mm neg without seeing the camera in its reflection. 
Super Macro Shot Move into a model house, shot with MikroMaktm 125mm by Charlie Paul of Itch Film
And this is how bonkers the 125mm can be…  Charlie Paul.

PL Mount as standard (though also provided with optional EF mounts)

The MikroMaktm lenses are supplied in a neutral T-2 mount allowing the use of almost any Digital still or motion camera system mounts. VMI decided to supply their lenses in PL mount, to reflect the productions they are likely to be used on. However, because we live in the real world, we are also including a couple of optional EF mounts which can be changed in the field.

MikroMaks aren’t the first Nelsonian Lenses

The first Nelsonian lenses manufactured by Infinity Photo-Optical was called the TS160 Infiniprobe, which VMI has stocked for many years and which is very popular for natural history applications, since it has a phenomenal macro capability to shoot 16x magnification images.

The TS160 Infiniprobe can achieve much that the MikroMaktm primes can but the format is for one common one lens body to be used with 5 separate lens fronts with unfamiliar names such as SFX1, SFX2, SFX3, Micro HM (High Magnification) and Macro, which may be unfamiliar outside Natural History production spheres.  The MikroMaktm prime set containing 6 x separate 25mm – 125mm focal lengths is thus likely to be be more familiar to cinematographers, though the RO and RO front field expander lenses might need some explanation.

This is an image of super-high magnification using the TS160 with Micro HM lens. The image is of the Lego figure’s eye. (Note that this is a screenshot, soincluded for illustrative purposes only). Credit Barry Bassett

Lighting for Nelsonian Lenses

If your lens is very close to the subject, then lighting the scene effectively becomes quite difficult, especially if you want to shoot with a small iris (which needs more light) because you want to maximise your depth of field.  The nature of Nelsonian lenses means that you are able to shoot from further away from your subject than conventional lenses, which ought to make lighting your set easier and enable you to bring your lights closer to the subject.

Lenses based on microscope principals require the object to be intensely illuminated by intense, directed, angular, light so that the diffracted orders fill the lens completely.  It will be strange for the cinematographer to learn that diffused lighting will cause images to be soft.  Use directional light and ‘bathe’ the subject in light from different directions to maximise resolution and avoid strong shadows.

Warning – No Iris control and you will need to set your camera up first to use them!

The first thing that cinematographers comment on is why MikroMaktm don’t have an iris control – this is because they are designed to ONLY work at a set iris point, called the Nelsonian point and this is preset on Mikromaks, so no adjustment is possible.  [Note that TS160s does have an iris control and the Nelsonian point is clearly marked with a white dot, so adjust this at your peril!].  DP Duncan Telford reckons that these lenses are set to around T32, though I am told that these doesn’t mean very much, since the amount of light transmitted depends on the image size projected… 

The very next comment from DPs concerns how dark the images are.  I want to bring this up early, because modern cameras achieve such low noise that pretty much each camera can be happily set at ISO3200 without any perceptible noise and this is usually enough to use MikroMakstm with ease.  Play around with ISOs and lighting levels and you will satisfy yourself that this is safe – trust me, it is worth it! 

Remember that light intensity is an inverse square (remember school physics?), so halving the distance that you light from, will increase the light level by 4 (2 squared), so if you light carefully, then you may not need to wind your ISO up as much as you think. 

No iris control on any MikroMaktm primes

And just like all other compound microscopes, MikroMaktm images are inverted.  (We have to mention this so as not to surprise you).  The nature of lens projection is an optical inversion, so you will need to preset your camera to flip the image.  Alternatively, turn the monitor upside down!  [For reference, VMI supplies the TS160 Infiniprobe with an optional extension lens called a FlipR, which optically corrects the image but it also extends the length of the lens.  We wanted these lenses to be a fit and go solution, so haven’t included one with the kit.

My advice is that before you shoot, set up one macro button on your camera to invert the image and another to set it to ISO3200 and then using these lenses will be painless. 

It may be interesting for the cinematographer to read VMI’s white paper on macro and micro cinematography and fully explains the principles behind Infinity Photo-Optical’s Nelsoniantm lenses.

Err, the MikroMak/RO and RO with 55mm Expander is actually a conventional lens

Sorry to confuse you but the MikroMak/RO is actually a 120mm regular spherical macro lens, which DOESN’T invert the image and require lots of ISO…  Sorry for leaving this until near last but this lens has been added because it is very compact and very fast ([what is the T stop of this lens] and both have a really close focus.

In fact, the MikroMaktm/RO 120mm achieves a close focus of just 10mm/0.39″ and achieves an impressive 3.5x magnification and by replacing the front lens shroud and screwing on the Front Field Expander, close focus becomes 17mm/0.67″ @ 1.5x magnification but importantly, the deep focus achieved is from 95mm/3.74″ – infinity.

To convert the 120mm RO to a 55mm RO, remove the front lens cowl and screw the 55mm lens to the front of the lens.

Using the MikroMaks in the field

Using MikroMaktm lenses is easy. 

  • Mount the lens to the camera.
  • Visually focus to infinity, or any object as far as possible (30ft helps and it really helps to have some light on the subject)
  • Undo the thumbscrew and rotate the witness mark (line) until it is opposite the infinity symbol and lock the thumbscrew.
  • The MikroMak is now “primed” for use and the depth of field is maximised, so that everything except the very closest subjects will be in focus, so you are now able to perform “Forced Perspective” modes and “Deep Focus” without making any adjustments. 
  • Anything closer than the ‘deep focus point’ will be out of focus but you will be able to pull focus up to the minimum closest working distance and in doing so, the magnification will be increased.
  • That’s it.

Applications for shooting with a large DoF

Shooting with a large DoF means that you can mount your camera to a motion control rig and not have to focus at all. Here is an example of this.

Scrub to 18m 42s for the scenes shot without ANY focus adjustment.

The Digital Cinema Society presents an exploration of Micro/Macro cinematography with three DPs including Bill Bennett, ASC, James Mathers, and Cameron Cannon. The cinematographers share their insights in behind-the-scenes coverage from the tests that were shot at The Camera Division in North Hollywood, CA.

Shooting at a distance

Macro lenses by definition shoot close objects but the process of shooting ‘deep focus’ is to begin by setting an infinity point, by focussing on objects far away and my personal experience of shooting at a distance using MikroMak lenses is that objects far away appear to be a little soft.

I brought this up with Jay Margolis, the President of Infinity Photo-Optical and this was not well received, so Ian Jackson (Assoc BSC) and myself, did a specific test to shoot some long shots in our warehouse.

We lit some objects far away (black cases, blue blastic tray and yellow sign) and lit this using a Nanlux Evoke 1200 at 100% output and we also lit some closer objects (silver cases), using a Nanlux Evoke 900C at 50% output. We used a Sony A7S Mk III set at ISO20,000 and used a 70mm MikroMak lens for this image.

We focussed carefully on the yellow warning sign but are still uncertain as to how sharp the objects are at 40ft – view a 4K image of this still and assess this for yourself.

As already mentioned, this shoudn’t matter at all, since close subjects are after all, the subject of Macro lenses and there is no doubt that these are sharp, besides which, the MikroMaks are still capable of such extraordinary depth of field as well as other advantages too.

This image was also taken using a Sony A7S Mk III at ISO 20,000, using a 40mm MikroMak lens (left). The setup is shown on the right, taken with an iPhone. The hand is about 3″ from the front of the MikroMak lens to demonstrate its extraordinary depth of field but in my view, the objects very far away look a bit soft. See the full res 4K image here.

Rider: Jay Margolis, President of Infinity Photo-Optical advised me that the reason that the distanced images weren’t as sharp as they could be in the examples above, is because I didn’t take the lens outside and focus at infinity (or at least buildings or clouds some considerable distance away). He advised that the witness mark be set to infinity and the lens focussed at this point. He stressed that parallel light from objects at inifinity to 16″ would result in parallel light at the rear of the lens projecting to the sensor, resulting in EVERYTHING from infinity to 16″ using the MikroMak 125mm remaining in sharp focus without adjustment. 5 March 2025

Attaching the 25mm Front Field Expander to the 40mm MikroMaktm. 

Take the 40mm MikroMaktm (Note this is incorrectly marked on the image!) and remove the front lens cowl. Insert the 25mm lens to the front of the lens and this becomes a 25mm MikroMaktm prime.

The 25mm MikroMaktm achieves an enormous DoF, which the charts claim is from Infinity to c. 20mm. My experience is that this is a bit optimistic but as the image shows, this lens really flattens images with a vast depth of field. Credit Barry Bassett

What did we think and what to be aware of when using them

Great work! I have nothing to add or change, as usual you show a very complex understanding and I think this is an extremely helpful guide. Hats off, respectful bow..!
Duncan Telford, DP

I’ve now have the idea now as to what these lenses can do, and also how to control their characteristics. They have a unique strength and I will use them again for exactly what I need them for, thanks to you. It’s been really fun, thank you.
Charlie Paul, DP

“I don’t think the low light is an issue as macro photography, as well as using a doubler on normal lenses is a scientific phenomenon. It doesn’t eat more stops because of the glass or the built. It eats two stops because of exposure surface as you have to compensate for for detail in the darker areas you haven’t seen before. The article makes it sound as if it’s a flaw with the lenses, but it’s like that on all lenses probes and macros and doublers, when it’s an actual factor scientific phenomenon like depth of field.  That is why an expander or a speed booster which doubles field of view gains two stops. 
Gerard Botha, DP

A lot of light as you say is relative. I have shot Robusto on Helium, EVA1, Canon ME20F-SH, Varicam LT, GH5S, Sony A7SII & III / FX3 / FX6 and Nikon Z9 / D850 in standard daylight outdoors or if indoors with close in lower output lights. In dual ISO cameras bumping to the second iso like 2500 or 5000 on the Panasonics was enough. Sony the second ISO is much higher at 12,800 so could even dial back but they chuck in their own NR as well unless output the signal externally. Relative to what people would shoot by default those are higher isos and the cameras (apart from Helium) are known for good high(er) ISO performance. It isn’t a negative thing and as you say a little NR in post goes a long way. Finding the sweetspots of camera and lens is part of the discovery. Put against the wonderful Mark Payne-Gill using an F3 telescope to film by full moon high ISO and ‘lot of light’ becomes very relative.
Phil Dixon, DP

I look forward to having a play when I have a client ready to pay.
John Martin White, DP

I plan to use them on on my next film, Gothic classic Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla in Venice, Sud Tyrol and Romania!
Paul Wiffen MA (Hons) OXON, Film Director/Composer/Drone Pilot/ Technical Writer

VMI MikroMaktm Package. 

VMI’s MikroMak lens package includes the following 8 focal lengths:

  • 125mm MikroMak.  0.5x — 5x Pulling Focus Range.  Close Focus: 60mm/2.36″ @ 5x magnification.  Deep Focus: 310mm/12.2″ – infinity.
  • 90mm MikroMak.  Forced Perspective and Deep Focus lens.  Close Focus: 34mm/1.34″ @ 6x magnification.  Deep Focus: 220mm/8.66″ – infinity.
  • 70mm MikroMak.  Extreme Depth of Field lens.  Close Focus: 27mm/1.06″ @ 5.5x magnification.  Deep Focus: 164mm/6.46″ – infinity. 0.5x — 5.5x pulling focus ranges
  • 50mm MikroMak.  Focuses from Infinity to c. 36mm.  Close Focus: 36mm/1.42″ @ 1.75x magnification.  Deep Focus: 105mm/4.13″ – infinity.
  • 40mm MikroMak.  Focuses from Infinity to c. 36mm.  Close Focus: 36mm/1.42″ @ 1.75x magnification.  Deep Focus: 105mm/4.13″ – infinity.
  • 40mm MikroMak with 25mm Front Field Expander. Focuses from Infinity to c. 20mm.  Close Focus: 20mm/0.79″ @ 2.x magnification.  Deep Focus: 57mm/2.24″ – infinity.
  • MikroMak/RO 120mm.  Compact and Powerful Deep Focus Lens.  Close Focus: 10mm/0.39″ @ 3.5x magnification.  Deep Focus: 219mm/8.62″ – infinity.
  • MikroMak/RO 120mm with Front Field Expander.  Deep Focus with Field Expander Front Lens Extension Close Focus: 17mm/0.67″ @ 1.5x magnification.  Deep Focus: 95mm/3.74″ – infinity.

Credit for article.

Special thanks to: Duncan Telford, Charlie Paul, Jay Margolis, Robert Hollingworth, Ed Stamm, Michael Bosold, Gerard Botha, Phil Dixon, John Martin White.

Another very interesting paper with amazing images and in depth instructions on how to get the most out of using these lenses was written by renowned macro authority, Paul Harcourt Davis: Instruction Manual for TS160 and MikroMaktm Lenses by Paul Harcourt Davies

This video highlights exactly what is so great about these lenses.  The Digital Cinema Society presents an exploration of Micro/Macro cinematography with three DPs including Bill Bennett, ASC, James Mathers, and Cameron Cannon. The cinematographers share their insights in behind-the-scenes coverage from the tests that were shot at The Camera Division in North Hollywood, CA.

Related articles

Shooting Anamorphic in Full Frame and S-35

Everyone appreciates the cinematic quality of shooting anamorphic.

With the popularity of Full Frame, it made sense for VMI to make more options available for capturing in both anamorphic and Frame. This is a new article to explore these options.

No Comments

Leave a Reply

VMI are proud sponsors of: