Trying to shoot some dew drops this morning with the MPE-65 and the MR14EX ring light. The reflection of the ring into the dew is just ugly. Anyone know of a good way to diffuse the light? I tried a tissue, but the ring still shows through and ended up onto the dew. Also, on shiny subjects, the ring relection shows up as well, such as lady bugs. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrg!!!!!!!!!!
My take is that MR-14 is at one end of the convenience vs. control spectrum in the universe of macro lighting options. While I played around with some diffusors, for sujects with specular reflections I never really have been able to get rid of the telltale half-moons. For most shots it's not as objectionable as the one shown above, and the compactness and convenience of the 14 make it a good choice for me as a macro light source in my hiking kit. That said, for best control and avoidance of unnatural hotspots you probably want an MT-24 and some diffusors for the heads.
Oh well, I guess the ring light is not meant for the MP-E65. I tried various way of diffusing it and still the 2 half circle ring still shows up, as by example above. I guess I'll have to make a bracket for my 430EX II, and use that for now.
I own both the MR-14EX and the MT-24EX and I don't recommend the MR-14EX as the sole light source for macro. The flash heads are too close to the plane of the lens, and the flash heads are too close together, so that ratio control (or even adding diffusion) doesn't make any difference.
It does work well if you're trying to balance natural light and flash (although a standard camera flash works just as well).
