Dumb question for macro shooters

[Richard]

Can somebody explain what the magnification factor means? I see pictures of tiny insects and they look enormous on the screen, but the shooter says it was done at 3x. The image is certainly more than three times the size of the bug. Is it relative to the amount of area of the image sensor? I don't get it. :scratch

Thanks,

[pathfinder]

Yes, I think that is how it is determined. The ratio of the image size on film/sensor and the size of the object in real life.

Of course, the image can then be enlarged many times the real life size of the subject.