most lenses have close focus capability to 0.1-0.35x macro depending upon design but for macro work one usually needs at least 0.5x (1:2) or preferably, 1:1 and some of these may have tilt-shift capability.
your choice of focal length will determine your working distance from the subject and how wide the background is - most nature photographers tend to go for a short telephoto focal length to allow a longer working distance to avoid scaring live insects
More specialized lenses allow “ultra macro” from 1x to perhaps even 5x but these generally require special studio type set ups with micrometer stages and focus stacking (diffraction causes softening at apertures smaller than f/5.6 at this magnification and single images are thus extremely shallow in depth of field (DOF))
Beyond 5x enters the realm of photomicrography
AF macro lenses
native FE mount 1:1 macro AF lenses
Sony FE 50mm f/2.8 macro
$AU800
Sigma FE 70mm f/2.8 DG macro ART
9 rounded blades; dust and splash-proof construction
1:1 macro; close focus 25.8cm; focus by wire; 49mm filter; 13 elements in 10 groups;
55mm filter; not weathersealed; no AF/MF switch; no internal focus; MF by wire with an enormous focus throw; significant focus breathing as image zooms with focus; AF slow and noisy; some CA wide open but better at f/4; sharp wide open in centre and reasonably sharp in corners;
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro Lens - Sony (A-Mount) now discontinued
Manual focus lenses
native FE mount MF lenses
Yasuhara Nanoha f/11 Macro Lens 5:1
built-in, removable, USB-powered 3x LED lighting
focusing range 11-19mm giving 4:1 to 5:1 macro
f/11 - 32
$US399
Venus Optics Laowa 24mm f/14 Probe Lens
long probe style lens with 0.2“ diam front part waterproof to allow it to be placed underwater
close focus to 1.5' giving working distance of 0.8” for 2:1 macro
f/14-40 via 7 blade diaphragm
built-in LED ring light to aid in focusing at close distances
$US1499
Voigtländer 65mm f/2 macro APO-Lanthar
Voigtländer's “best ever lens”, announced July 2017
1:2 macro at close focus of 31cm when lens is extended to 125mm
625g; ten-bladed rounded diaphragm smallest aperture is f/22;
manual aperture design, but also features electrical contacts that enable the lens settings at image capture to be included in the Exif information plus the lens is installed with a distance encoder to enable support for 5-axis image stabilization on bodies with this feature, by providing distance to subject information used to compensate for camera shake.
extremely sharp; minimal if any CA; mild vignetting wide open;
EUR 999/$US1059
Voigtlander Macro APO Lanthar 110mm f/2.5
announced Feb 2018
10 blades; 1:1 macro; 165mm fov on APS-C; 14 lens elements in 12 groups; 58mm filter
very smooth MF with a large focus throw of some 450deg which is great for macro, workable for portraiture or distant subjects but very slow for anything around the 0.5m focus distance range
smallest aperture is f/22;
manual aperture design, but also features electrical contacts that enable the lens settings at image capture to be included in the Exif information plus the lens is installed with a distance encoder to enable support for 5-axis image stabilization on bodies with this feature, by providing distance to subject information used to compensate for camera shake.
length of the lens extends substantially from 100mm to just over 160mm when set to the minimum focusing distance of 35cm.
designed for APS-C but only get substantial vignetting on full frame when focused to subjects further than 1m away due to the recessed front lens element at those focus points and the rectangular hood within the lens barrel.
the only lens to offer a 2:1 life size reproduction without extension tubes and still have the ability to focus at infinity
rounded 14-blade diaphragm; nine elements in seven groups; 62mm filter;
close focus to 0.185m / 2.4“ giving 2:1 macro on full frame
no electronic contacts, thus manual aperture; pincushion distortion is obvious and could be problematic for portraiture;
as sharp as a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 macro L lens at f/5.6-11 in the centre; softer at edges and wide open;