Great shots Adrian
That MP-E 65 seems to be a great lens. I've been told that rookies like me should stay away from it. Is it really that hard shooting with this lens? I'm seeing the most amazing pictures taken with this lens all over this forum.
matuka wrote:
Great shots Adrian
That MP-E 65 seems to be a great lens. I've been told that rookies like me should stay away from it. Is it really that hard shooting with this lens? I'm seeing the most amazing pictures taken with this lens all over this forum.
Hi Matuka, The MP-E is a truly superb lens in all respects. I think much would depend on the individual involved as to whether or not to buy this lens especially if they were new to macro, there is much to learn in using it but its well worth the effort.
I personally started with Canons 100mm macro and a set of Kenko extension tubes which gives a magnification up to 2x, the combination worked very well and it helped me a great deal in learning about focus and exposure at close range. It was however only about six months later that I decided to buy the MP-E and I never looked back, its my main lens now and the 100mm is now used for shots less than life size.
As well as the MP-E you would also need some form of flash, I use a single 580EX diffused with the bottom of a plastic milk bottle but also have Canons excellent MR 14 EX ringflash.
When the MP-E 65 is used at lower magnifications i.e. up to 2x, I personally think its easier to use than a 100mm macro plus a set of extension tubes, its at the higher magnifications that it becomes more of a beast to control, if you can get to a friendly Canon dealer try to get a hands on demo with your camera and the lens, it would at least show you some of the quirks of the lens that may help you decide if its for you at this time. Personally I would say if its within your budget and you are sure that a dedicated macro lens would get plenty of use (remember that the MP-E has no infinity focus and can only be used for shooting in the 1x - 5x range) then go for it, once mastered it will reward you well.
Matt OHarver wrote:
Can I assume that everyone that uses this lens at that magnification uses a tripod? Thats some amazing colors focus and detail found in that lens.
Matt
Hi Matt, for insect shots most people here hand hold the camera, the short duration of the flash is usually enough to stop any motion blur, a tripod would be simply too slow and cumbersome to use.
Thanks for the reply Adrian! I know there will be some trouble mastering this lens, but the results are awesome. I'll see if I can try one out for some time.
At the moment I'm using the same set-up you used to have: the 100 mm + tubes and a MR 14 EX ringlite. Putting the tubes on makes focusing a bit difficult, everything gets quite dark. How does that work with the MP-E? Is it 2.8 at all magnifications? If so, that should be great.
matuka wrote:
Thanks for the reply Adrian! I know there will be some trouble mastering this lens, but the results are awesome. I'll see if I can try one out for some time.
At the moment I'm using the same set-up you used to have: the 100 mm + tubes and a MR 14 EX ringlite. Putting the tubes on makes focusing a bit difficult, everything gets quite dark. How does that work with the MP-E? Is it 2.8 at all magnifications? If so, that should be great.
Basically the MP-E is a lens with built in variable extension tubes and the viewfinder does darken considerably as magnification increases.
Now I hope I get this right, I'm no expert when it comes to the technical side of things but as far as I know the MP-E is always wide open whilst focusing whatever the magnification but the effective aperture does change as the magnification increases and the distance to the subject decreases, hence at 1x an indicated f2.8 is effectively f5.6, at 5x with an indicated f2.8 the effective aperture is f16.8 hence the darkening in the viewfinder.
If I have made any incorrect assumptions above hopefully someone will soon correct me.
And BTW: No responsible person will ever recommend the MP-E as a first macro lens, for good reasons. And buying one, thinking you'll automatically have pictures like these produced here by Adrian is a fairly naive idea, to put it politely
Thanks a lot Adrian for the information. Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but hey, nothing is as easy as it looks. I'll see what I will do. Before even considering buying one I'll try one out at my Canon-dealer. Thanks again.
And BTW: No responsible person will ever recommend the MP-E as a first macro lens, for good reasons. And buying one, thinking you'll automatically have pictures like these produced here by Adrian is a fairly naive idea, to put it politely
Thanks for the remark Eyvind. Sounds like good advice to me And I can assure you: I don't think it's easy at all. I'm having enough trouble right now when I put all the tubes on.
Wonderful lighting and detail on all these shots 