Macro question

[MrParts]

Okay I have a little point & shoot I use for everything since I haven't figured out what kind of big camera I want yet.

I'm wondering if my Macro photos are real Macros or are they just really really close close-ups?

I have been told if I don't use some huge expensive lens that my camera, even though it has a Macro setting so I can get within an inch of the subject, doesn't take real Macros.

[pathfinder]

MrParts,

You may get varying answers on this question, because there are varying opinions I suspect.

The classical answer is that Macro lenses create an image on a sensor that is equal in size to the subject, or 1:1

If your bug is 1 cm long, then the image on the sensor is 1 cm long, or 1:1

Lots of P&S and SLR lenses as "macro" do not really get this close as you suggested. But some P&S cameras do indeed get this close or closer, so it depends on your camera to a certain extent.

I must confess that I am not a purist in this sense - since almost all images of small objects, when printed or viewed on a screen may be larger than reall life. So I am ok with calling these things Macro, but I do know that they are not the same as the images captured with a DSLR and a full bore macro set up, which may include much more than just one lens, but lights, macro adapters, extension tubes and formal macro lenses themselves....