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Adrian Jones
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p.1 #1 · Dung Flies

A few Dung Fly shots from today.

Canon 20D + MP-E 65 + 580EX with milk bottle diffuser.

ISO 100, 1/250, f11.

All full frame uncropped images.

C&C welcomed as usual.

This image is copyrighted by the owner

Adrian

Oct 03, 2008 at 07:50 PM

Eyvind Ness
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p.1 #2 · Dung Flies

Ooo, very nice Dungs, indeed! I love the two last shots

Wonderful lighting and detail on all these shots

Oct 03, 2008 at 07:57 PM

matuka
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p.1 #3 · Dung Flies

Great shots Adrian

Oct 03, 2008 at 07:58 PM

packrobottom
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p.1 #4 · Dung Flies

nice warm colors and detail

yah I regret now taking advice here and getting 100mm. I should have got the mpe to start with. too often I can't get close enough. Oh well.

Oct 03, 2008 at 08:13 PM

Adrian Jones
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p.1 #5 · Dung Flies

Eyvind Ness wrote:
Ooo, very nice Dungs, indeed! I love the two last shots

Wonderful lighting and detail on all these shots

Thank you Eyvind, much appreciated.

Adrian

Oct 03, 2008 at 08:17 PM

Matt OHarver
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p.1 #6 · Dung Flies

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

Oct 03, 2008 at 09:02 PM

Adrian Jones
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p.1 #7 · Dung Flies

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.

Adrian

Oct 03, 2008 at 09:05 PM

Adrian Jones
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p.1 #8 · Dung Flies

packrobottom wrote:
nice warm colors and detail

yah I regret now taking advice here and getting 100mm. I should have got the mpe to start with. too often I can't get close enough. Oh well.

Thanks packrobottom, appreciated.

Have you tried adding a set of extension tubes with the 100mm, the Kenko ones would let you get to just over 2x relatively cheaply.

Adrian

Edited on Oct 03, 2008 at 09:19 PM · View previous versions

Oct 03, 2008 at 09:07 PM

Adrian Jones
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p.1 #9 · Dung Flies

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.

Adrian

Oct 03, 2008 at 09:13 PM

matuka
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p.1 #10 · Dung Flies

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.

Oct 03, 2008 at 09:24 PM

Tim Dollear
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p.1 #11 · Dung Flies

very nice series. Good question on the aperture on the MPE-65, btw.

Oct 03, 2008 at 09:39 PM

Adrian Jones
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p.1 #12 · Dung Flies

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.

Adrian

Oct 03, 2008 at 10:11 PM

Adrian Jones
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p.1 #13 · Dung Flies

Tim Dollear wrote:
very nice series. Good question on the aperture on the MPE-65, btw.

Thanks Tim, appreciated, hope I got the info on effective aperture correct in my reply above!

Adrian

Oct 03, 2008 at 10:13 PM

michael kilner
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p.1 #14 · Dung Flies

great shots Adrian esp the last

Oct 03, 2008 at 10:19 PM

LordV
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p.1 #15 · Dung Flies

Excellent series

Brian V.

Oct 04, 2008 at 05:28 AM

Eyvind Ness
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p.1 #16 · Dung Flies

Adrian Jones wrote:
Tim Dollear wrote:
very nice series. Good question on the aperture on the MPE-65, btw.

Thanks Tim, appreciated, hope I got the info on effective aperture correct in my reply above!

Adrian

You did, Adrian! It's in the manual, effeective f = f x (magnification + 1)

so, f2.8 at 5x = 2.8 x (5 + 1) = f16.8

Also, in the manual the DOF table for different magnifications and f-number:

At 5x, the DOF is 0.095mm at f5.6, and 0.134mm at f8 (!) Any higher, and the Diffraction Troll will eat your shots alive.

Ref. Brian's excellent diffraction post here:

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/684385

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

Oct 04, 2008 at 08:37 AM

Pixel Perfect
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p.1 #17 · Dung Flies

Beautifully diffused lighting and superb shots.

Oct 04, 2008 at 12:02 PM

matuka
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p.1 #18 · Dung Flies

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.

Oct 04, 2008 at 01:17 PM

Adrian Jones
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p.1 #19 · Dung Flies

michael kilner wrote:
great shots Adrian esp the last

Thanks Michael, much appreciated.

Adrian

Oct 04, 2008 at 03:29 PM

Adrian Jones
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p.1 #20 · Dung Flies

LordV wrote:
Excellent series

Brian V.

Thank you Brian, much appreciated.

Adrian

Oct 04, 2008 at 03:30 PM

Adrian Jones
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p.1 #21 · Dung Flies

Eyvind Ness wrote:

You did, Adrian! It's in the manual, effeective f = f x (magnification + 1)

so, f2.8 at 5x = 2.8 x (5 + 1) = f16.8

Also, in the manual the DOF table for different magnifications and f-number:

At 5x, the DOF is 0.095mm at f5.6, and 0.134mm at f8 (!) Any higher, and the Diffraction Troll will eat your shots alive.

Ref. Brian's excellent diffraction post here:

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/684385

Thanks for the confirmation Eyvind, appreciated.

Adrian

Oct 04, 2008 at 03:33 PM

Adrian Jones
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p.1 #22 · Dung Flies

Pixel Perfect wrote:
Beautifully diffused lighting and superb shots.

Thank you for the kind words Whayne, much appreciated.

Adrian

Oct 04, 2008 at 03:35 PM

Adrian Jones
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p.1 #23 · Dung Flies

matuka wrote:
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.

Whatever you decide good luck matuka, just remember that what you see on forums like this are the best of the shots that we take, any images with errors in focus etc are quickly consigned to the trash can and never see the light of day again, and believe me, on some days the missed shots can greatly outnumber the perfect shots even when you are used to the MP-E. If you do decide to go for it just have fun using it, thats probably as important as getting the perfect shot!

Adrian

Oct 04, 2008 at 03:42 PM

WesDigital
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p.1 #24 · Dung Flies

I especially like the last shot.

Oct 04, 2008 at 04:38 PM

Fizzog
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p.1 #25 · Dung Flies

Lovely detail and excellent control of the light.

Oct 04, 2008 at 07:18 PM


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