First Camera Recommendations

Firstly I freely admit that although I’ve done some macro photography I’m no expert in this topic and am happy to be corrected by wiser heads if I’ve got anything wrong. While I agree with the vast majority of the helpful advice given here I have to disagree with the people saying the lens is far more important than the camera body in macro photography. Macro is technically demanding and the three greatest challenges are depth of field, focus and lighting. The camera body can have a big influence here:

  1. Stabilization helps enormously but some manufacturers systems are better than others.

  2. Sensor size affects depth of field, this is one area where Micro Four Thirds cameras can have a distinct advantage over cameras with larger sensors. I should add the caveat that what you intend to do with your images is also important. Are they just for use on screen or do you intend to print them big and hang them on the wall?

  3. Articulating screen, macro photography often involves getting into tricky positions so a body with more flexible screen articulation can be genuinely useful; potentially even more useful if it’s a touch screen.

  4. Focus stacking, some cameras have a setting that aids focus stacking.

  5. Size, the smaller size of the body/lens combo of a smaller format can be advantageous in tight spaces.

I know you state that you want to buy the perfect camera at your first attempt, didn’t we all, but if you are new to macro photography it might be wise to buy a second-hand bridge camera with macro capabilities. Use that for a while and you will then have a much better idea of which features will be useful for your type of macro work and which won’t.