Originally posted by DSims Why do you say this? According to "typical" macro usage, greater DOF is often used, so I don't imagine that's the issue. What is it, then?
Because of the Q's small sensor you need to stop down the lens far less to get equivalent depth of field to an APS-C based camera.
The Q would be well suited for handheld macro shots because:
A) the sensor size makes compact super-telephoto lenses easy to make compared to APS-C
and
B) the depth of field is much deep from the start because of the sensor size.
I am not sure of the specifics but an f/1.8 macro on the Q's sensor might actually give decent depth of field. Therefore handheld 1:1 macros could be feasible because of the speed of the lens would not automatically mean shallow DoF.