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  Reviews by: stevei  
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Canon Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX

mr14ex_1_
Review Date: May 25, 2004 Recommend? yes | Price paid: Not Indicated | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: Huge improvement on using a standard flashgun for macro shots - soft shadows instead of harsh shadows. Designed specifically for the Canon 100mm macro, which has a groove at the end for the flash to clip onto (possibly other lenses too). Good manual control over flash output. Makes it very easy to take great macro shots.
Cons:
Makes the camera heavy when combined with the Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro. Still results in some shadowing - additional lighting from behind the subject may sometimes be beneficial. Recessed rubber buttons are a bit awkward to push. Can't put anything on the lens while the flash is clipped on - no filters, no lens cap.

I love this flash unit. For close-ups of insects, spiders etc at as close to 1:1 as I can get, an aperture of at least f/11-f/16 is needed to get enough depth of field. I also want to use ISO 100 to get the cleanest, most detailed image possible, and have as fast a shutter speed as possible to avoid shake. Flash is the only way to achieve all this, and the Macro Ring Lite delivers far better results than a normal flash gun. I consider this and my 100mm macro lens to be a single unit, I wouldn't dream of not using this flash for macro shots now I have it.