I have a few lenses, but if I could only keep one it would be the Fujifilm XF 80mm macro. It isn't my bird lens and it isn't the flashy one, it's just the one that keeps surprising me, and the one I reach for when I want to slow down and really look at something.

What it actually is

It's a true 1:1 macro, which means it can render something life size on the sensor, so a small subject fills the frame. On my Fujifilm APS-C body the 80mm frames like roughly a 120mm lens would on full frame, so it works as a short telephoto too. It's weather resistant and stabilized, which matters more than it sounds when you're leaning in on a breezy morning trying to hold a tiny subject steady.

Why I love it

A few reasons it earned the favorite spot:

• It opens a whole small world. Getting in close turns ordinary things into something else: a dewdrop on a leaf, the scales on a lizard, the texture of a feather, the eye of an insect. Once you start seeing at that scale it's hard to stop.
• The working distance. Because it's a longer macro, you can fill the frame without putting the front of the lens right on top of a skittish subject. Dragonflies, anoles, and butterflies let you stay back a little, which means they stay put.
• It's genuinely sharp. Crisp where you want it, and the out of focus areas fall away softly, so the subject sits cleanly against its background.
• It does double duty. That 120mm equivalent reach also makes it a lovely lens for details, textures, and the occasional portrait, so it doesn't just live in the macro corner.

How it fits the rest of my kit

I think of my bag in two halves. The Tamron 150-500mm handles the far stuff, the birds and the gators across the water. The 80mm macro handles the near stuff, everything small and close and quiet. Between the two of them I can cover most of what I actually want to photograph, and there isn't much overlap to think about in the field.

What I shoot with it

Mostly the little things the long lens can't reach: reptile and insect detail, flowers and leaves, water and texture, the odd close portrait. A lot of the close, detailed frames in my galleries came from this lens. It's the one that rewards patience and a steady hand more than anything else I own.

A few frames from the 80mm

Every one of these came from the XF 80mm macro. Little things, up close.

An honest note

It is not a birds in flight lens, and I don't ask it to be. That's what the Tamron is for. But for slowing down and finding a picture in something most people walk straight past, nothing else in my bag comes close. If you shoot Fuji and you've been curious about macro, this is the one I'd point you at.

Curious what it and the rest of the kit have produced? Have a look through the galleries, read more about what gear I actually use, or check the FAQ. If you'd like to use or print one of the photos, the contact page is the place to start.