Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens - experiences?

[Zephyr]

Hello TP'ers and an early merry christmas to every one of you.

A question - when it comes to the MP-E macro lens, I have considered purchasing one, however i have a few things i'm intrigued about:

How is it for handling? Is it a hard lens to get used to?
Is it worth the price or would i be better with something like the raynox attachment?? (DCR-250?)

Trying with a 1:1 macro lens by itself is hard to get close to bugs without frightening them off - how does one do this effectively? Some of the shots i have seen on here of hoverflies, bees and the like are OUTSTANDING, and I really wish to be able to take these.

Is the flash extention like the MT24-EX a necessity for this lens? And has anyone recommendations in regards to diffusers?

I'll do some more research in the meantime but i look forward to hearing your responses. The world of macro is a beautiful thing

 

[modchild]

Unfortunately, I wont be able to answer your question until tomorrow when I get mine. I tried it out for about half an hour when it arrived but the weather then was awful and couldn't get much done. I've got a 100 f2.8 L macro already and this will take over where that leaves off. I can't wait to try it out tomorrow, we've had decent weather forecast up here for tomorrow so I think I'll be disappearing into the garden for a while.

 

[Zephyr]

Unfortunately, I wont be able to answer your question until tomorrow when I get mine. I tried it out for about half an hour when it arrived but the weather then was awful and couldn't get much done. I've got a 100 f2.8 L macro already and this will take over where that leaves off. I can't wait to try it out tomorrow, we've had decent weather forecast up here for tomorrow so I think I'll be disappearing into the garden for a while.

Wicked, cheers, let me know how you get on

Thank you

 

[Splog]

Hello TP'ers and an early merry christmas to every one of you.

A question - when it comes to the MP-E macro lens, I have considered purchasing one, however i have a few things i'm intrigued about:

How is it for handling? Is it a hard lens to get used to?
Is it worth the price or would i be better with something like the raynox attachment?? (DCR-250?)

Trying with a 1:1 macro lens by itself is hard to get close to bugs without frightening them off - how does one do this effectively? Some of the shots i have seen on here of hoverflies, bees and the like are OUTSTANDING, and I really wish to be able to take these.

Is the flash extention like the MT24-EX a necessity for this lens? And has anyone recommendations in regards to diffusers?

I'll do some more research in the meantime but i look forward to hearing your responses. The world of macro is a beautiful thing

Its certainly not a lens to begin macro photography with. Have you considered hiring one to see how you get on with it?

 

[Zephyr]

Its certainly not a lens to begin macro photography with. Have you considered hiring one to see how you get on with it?

I owned a 100mm macro L for a while, and played with it but i didn't feel it had enough magnification for my liking. Used it on manual focus with a 430EX II flash.

 

[Canon Bob]

Is the flash extention like the MT24-EX a necessity for this lens? And has anyone recommendations in regards to diffusers?

You'll be very disadvantaged if you don't have an MT-24 and I'd say that >95% of my shots with the MP-E have used the flash as the focussing aid and light source.....2:1 and beyond needs some additional light. Don't be fooled by the f/2.8 aperture value specified, this is nearer f/64 (relativelly speaking) at the high end magnifications.

Bob

 

[Zephyr]

You'll be very disadvantaged if you don't have an MT-24 and I'd say that >95% of my shots with the MP-E have used the flash as the focussing aid and light source.....2:1 and beyond needs some additional light. Don't be fooled by the f/2.8 aperture value specified, this is nearer f/64 (relativelly speaking) at the high end magnifications.

Bob

Yes, isn't F/16 at 5x the equivalent of something like f/96, making the viewfinder v dark and any sensor dust present very apparent???

Thanks for the input, guess if i go for one, i'll have to get the macro flash (MT-24). Any recommendations on diffusing the light???

Cheers.

 

[Canon Bob]

I've got a couple of Sto-fens on mine and I stuff a few layers of kitchen roll in them to diffuse the light a little more.

Bob

 

[Mike.P]

As someone who has done a lot of macro with my Pentax gear using dedicated macro lenses, extension tubes, Raynox DCR-250 and bellows I have to say the MP-E is in a different league entirely. I bought a one purely because I basically wanted everything I just listed in a lens and I aquired a Canon body (50D) purely to use it.

I haven't had much chance to use it what with the weather and work but can tell I am going to have a lot of fun with it come the summer. I shoot exclusively hand held and coming from Pentax with it's inbody SR I have found using the lens a bit hit and miss but it has certainly got better the more I used it.

You need decent lighting .. I have the MT-24 and 99% of the time I wouldn't bother even trying to shoot without it

 

[Zephyr]

I've got a couple of Sto-fens on mine and I stuff a few layers of kitchen roll in them to diffuse the light a little more.

Bob

Cheers, stofens are good, i use the equivalent for my 430EXII speedlite.

As someone who has done a lot of macro with my Pentax gear using dedicated macro lenses, extension tubes, Raynox DCR-250 and bellows I have to say the MP-E is in a different league entirely. I bought a one purely because I basically wanted everything I just listed in a lens and I aquired a Canon body (50D) purely to use it.

I haven't had much chance to use it what with the weather and work but can tell I am going to have a lot of fun with it come the summer. I shoot exclusively hand held and coming from Pentax with it's inbody SR I have found using the lens a bit hit and miss but it has certainly got better the more I used it.

You need decent lighting .. I have the MT-24 and 99% of the time I wouldn't bother even trying to shoot without it

Ah I see! A whole different league? After seeing this thread http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=371833
in the macro forum, and this person used that lens/flash setup, it has pretty much sold it for me, along with what you just said - i don't think it's beatable and everything i've ever wanted from a macro lens. The only problem i'll have is sneaking up/finding the bugs!!

Anyone else, thoughts?

 

[Dogfish_magnet]

Graeme the MP-e is a stunning lens but not the easiest to get on with (i still struggle to find the subject in the viewfinder at high magnification after a couple of years of use) , but if you put some time in with it it can produce some very rewarding images. When i first got the lens i had to wait a couple of weeks for the MT24-EX to turn up and using a normal flash was useless above about 2:1 so if you make the investment i'd recommend the MT-24EX as well, i'm on about my 20th ish version of diffuser and i'm still not totally happy at higher magnifications, light quality makes massive differences to IQ with this lens. (there's load of ideas on the web to get you started).

working distance ranges from 101mm @ 1:1 to 41mm @ 5:1

Its a big investment so you need to make sure your into macro - if you have a macro lens you might want to consider some tubes to get more magnification be for moving onto the MP-e - Your not to far from me (Eden Project) if you want to have a go with one first

 

[Zephyr]

Graeme the MP-e is a stunning lens but not the easiest to get on with (i still struggle to find the subject in the viewfinder at high magnification after a couple of years of use) , but if you put some time in with it it can produce some very rewarding images. When i first got the lens i had to wait a couple of weeks for the MT24-EX to turn up and using a normal flash was useless above about 2:1 so if you make the investment i'd recommend the MT-24EX as well, i'm on about my 20th ish version of diffuser and i'm still not totally happy at higher magnifications, light quality makes massive differences to IQ with this lens. (there's load of ideas on the web to get you started).

working distance ranges from 101mm @ 1:1 to 41mm @ 5:1

Its a big investment so you need to make sure your into macro - if you have a macro lens you might want to consider some tubes to get more magnification be for moving onto the MP-e - Your not to far from me (Eden Project) if you want to have a go with one first

Thanks, I may have to take you up on that offer. I'm in Falmouth, so not far away at all . Nice to meet someone else that lives down here also. Saw your pics on the Hoverfly thread and I have to say they are some of the best macro shots i've EVER seen. So congratulations. Is the MT-24 relatively easy to use, also?

 

[modchild]

Definately not the easiest lens in my bag to use but, I've had a bit of a play indoors with it this morning and managed to get a few good 5x photos in artificial light and am very pleased with them. I did a few of a £20 note and managed to get the Queens eye dead on, it's amazing the eyeball fills my 23" monitor screen. Took about 5 of a ice cold coke can and you can see the little blobs of condensation look like the size of golf balls.

 

[Zephyr]

Definately not the easiest lens in my bag to use but, I've had a bit of a play indoors with it this morning and managed to get a few good 5x photos in artificial light and am very pleased with them. I did a few of a £20 note and managed to get the Queens eye dead on, it's amazing the eyeball fills my 23" monitor screen. Took about 5 of a ice cold coke can and you can see the little blobs of condensation look like the size of golf balls.

I can imagine it to be very rewarding though once you get used to it. Almost tempted to make the plunge- anyone know if onestop digital is any good? They seem the cheapest anywhere, assuming they're hk imports is that a bad thing? The flash and the lens there would save me £500 easily over the uk prices...

 

[eccles]

One stop has it as new for £520.

Cheers.

The web price is £738. I've just checked the T&Cs: They are based in Hong Kong so the price is exclusive of VAT and duty, but if you are caught by Customs and asked to pay this they will reimburse you. It is technically illegal to attempt to avoid import duty and VAT, but having said that I've never heard of anyone being prosecuted beyond a request for the duty and VAT payable.

 

[Dogfish_magnet]

Try kerso, he was offering the best deal when I got mine

 

[IGADIZ]

Not an easy lens to master by any means.
As it has been said, view finder can get extremely dark and, without the aid of external light source (that be an MT24EX or other) you will be essentially shooting blind.
Depth of field at high magnifications get you all of a couple of mm to play with so, shooting handheld at 5x is (and make no mistake here) and art that can take months to master.
To put things in to perspective, at 5X an ant head will pretty much fill your view finder so, if she moves, you will have a hell of time find it again.
All in, not for the faint hearted but, having said all that, if you are willing to put in the time, you will be rewarded with images which are just impossible to get with any other gear, period.

 

[DoctorBob]

You'll be very disadvantaged if you don't have an MT-24 and I'd say that >95% of my shots with the MP-E have used the flash as the focussing aid and light source.....2:1 and beyond needs some additional light. Don't be fooled by the f/2.8 aperture value specified, this is nearer f/64 (relativelly speaking) at the high end magnifications.

Bob

Why does so little light get in? Is it because although the aperture remains at e.g. f/4, due to the excessive magnification, instead of having a certain amount of light from each part of the scene reflected back at you, you instead have only the light from a tiny fraction of the scene reflected back, so it is "diluted" compared to normal?

 

[Canon Bob]

Why does so little light get in? Is it because although the aperture remains at e.g. f/4, due to the excessive magnification, instead of having a certain amount of light from each part of the scene reflected back at you, you instead have only the light from a tiny fraction of the scene reflected back, so it is "diluted" compared to normal?

Although the MP-E is an f/2.8 lens, the effective aperture is much less due to the extension employed to increase the magnification. Canon's formula is;
Effective Aperture = (Aperture Setting) + (Aperture Setting x Magnification)

Bob

 

[DoctorBob]

Although the MP-E is an f/2.8 lens, the effective aperture is much less due to the extension employed to increase the magnification. Canon's formula is;
Effective Aperture = (Aperture Setting) + (Aperture Setting x Magnification)

Bob

Ahh, cheers. Have they essentially built in extension tubes then?

 

[Canon Bob]

Ahh, cheers. Have they essentially built in extension tubes then?

It's a combination of inbuilt extension and some movement of the lens groups made possible by the fact that there's no lens groups to move for focussing.....it's essentially pre-focussed.

Bob

 

[dod]

please everyone, no trading outwith classifieds and definitely no trading on behalf of anyone else.

 

[modchild]

I've tried using the lens outside in decent light for the last couple of days, but there has been a sharp breeze around and it's almost impossible to capture anything moving quickly even with flash. I brought a little bit of moss from the garden wall and a dead fly (much to everyones disgust) to do some shots inside and they are so much easier. Will try again when the wind dies down and see what I can get then.