Macro photography

[Tracey]

One of my children is interested in getting into macro photography.

What is the best way of doing this? What would be the best sort of lens to buy, a prime or a zoom?

Any advice for a complete novice?

[Hedgehog]

Never been into it myself but I believe that compacts are quite good at this (actually pseudo macro 'cos even DSLR sensors are too small unless photographing really tiny stuff). They have good long zooms for getting in close & tiny sensors which give an increased DoF for the same aperture where a DSLR might struggle... dedicated macro lenses can be very expensive... but if you're into experimenting extension rings can be a cheap way of getting in close with an ordinary DSLR zoom lens.

[Grendel]

I have used extension rings in the past. they work quite well.
Grendel

[Tracey]

Hedge... this son uses my older dSLR so we were looking at getting him a lens that could go into the 'family' kit.

**edited to add**
He's quite keen on photography and has been for a while now, and when I upgraded my camera last year, the older Oly became available for him to use. He's taken some lovely shots with just the kit lens, but he asked me if I would consider going "halves" on a lens that was suitable for macro use, but I really dont know what I should be looking for... is it best to get a prime lens, or is it best to get a zoom lens that has macro "capabilities"?