What does my digital camera's "macro mode" do?

What does my digital camera's "macro mode" do?

Mark Comon (Vice President, Paul's Photo, Torrance, CA) gives expert video advice on: What does my digital camera's "landscape mode" do?; What does my digital camera's "night mode" do?; What does my digital camera's "kids and pets" mode do? and more...

The close up mode, or macro mode, is generally denoted by a picture of a flower, and that's what you use it for: flowers, insects, stamps, things like that. So, if you want to get close, you use the close up mode. You have to be very careful, and you have to go to the instruction book on your camera which will tell you where the close up mode is active. Most cameras, if you're on your compacts, have a very finite distance. Between 2.5 centimeters and 8.4 centimeters you can shoot close ups. On the SLR cameras, you'll have a lens that focuses down to a certain range like 1.2 feet, so you can go 1.2 feet all the way to infinity. Where the macro mode is just depends on the camera or the lens you're using.