Canon Macro MP-E 65mm Macro Lens Advice

R

Randell John

Active Member
Hi everyone,
A good mate of mine let me borrow his MP-E 65mm f2.8 macro lens. It was in his attic collecting dust as he couldn't get on with it.

After having a bit of a bash at with it trying to photograph bees in my garden, I can see why I had to blow the cobwebs off this piece of glass.

I just found it practically impossible to focus on anything. And got really frustrated after a couple of hours.

Besides using a tripod, using mirror lock up, and a remote shutter release, is there anyone out there that can help me to overcome my problems with this lens.

I own a 100mmL 2.8 Macro and love it, and don't have any real problems focusing and actually like the way some of my portraits turn out.

Am I doing something wrong or does this lens need special handling?

Any help appreciated.
 
I REALY need to get Alistair (header photo) back on here for this ... I think he even goes as far to offer formal training ... So I'm sure he would be able to get you started if I could get hold of him...

What sort of shutter speeds are you shooting at?
Have you managed to narrow it down to motion blur over just not being in focus?
 
I was shooting in open shade at 1/60 sec, f2.8 to f4.0.
It a problem with actual focus. Fully open the depth of field is so critical as you'd know, but I just can't seem to get anything sharp with this lens.
I hate to blame my tools, but after having a telephone chat with my pal I'm beginning to wonder if lens is a duffer.
 
Thanks for posting a link back to my original question Hamish, hoping to get some really good advice from Alistair. His photos are amazing.
The close ups of these insects are quite disturbing in many ways. Apparently Ridley Scott got his inspiration for his 'Alien', creature from looking at macro photos of insects. I can see why now.
 
Hi John,

I take it your not shooting with Flash? If you plan on shooting active insects then you definatley need to be shooting with flash and at appeatures between f10 and f13 and the shutter speed at 1/200, you will find that flash will transform your experience with this lense and will enable you to shoot handheld which is essiental as most subjects wont tolerate the disturbance of getting a tripod into position with the small working distances of this lense. I seriously doubt the lense is a duffer;) Shooting at f2.8 and f4 the area of sharp focus would be so small that 99% of the image would appear soft.

IMHO you simply cannot get handheld or tripod mounted natural light shots of active insects with the MP-E 65mm because of the effective aperture. An indicated aperture of f11 at 5x life-size, produces an effective aperture of f80. Using the sunny "f16 rule", even under maximum bright daylight at ISO 3200, this would give a shutter speed of about 1/125s, and half that at f16. In reality it would be impossible to get this much light because of shading. The magnification at 5x, means the shake is gigantically magnified. You cannot photograph fast moving macro subjects with a tripod, and there is a good reason why all quality high magnification shots you will see of active insects, are taken with flash. I have seen some superb natural light images taken with the MP-E 65mm, but they are all of static subjects.

It is very difficult to catch sudden action with a tripod natural light set-up, as the movement is too fast to capture. Flash acts like a virtual high speed shutter, and the flash duration can easily be 10-20,000 sec, giving an effective shutter speed in this range, impossible with ambient light.

You will also need to get the flash off camera using either a custom bracket or buy buying the MT24ex twin flash specifically designed for this lense but not essential for getting good results. I used a 430ex with a custom diffuser for a year or so before buying the MT24ex mainly because it felt more balanced.

I have shot with this lense pretty much exlusivley for the last 3 years and it really is a joy to use and very addictive.

This is just a quick reply as i felt the fact you are trying to shoot natural light shots at very open appeatures was your main problem. |m sure you will have more questions and i will be happy to answer them.

Alistair.
 
Thank you so much for responding to my question Alistair. You've hit the answer bang on the head with this one. I was trying to shoot at at f2.8 - f4.0, using a tripod, with a slight breeze blowing. Impossible. This is a very specialised lens and one I have no real experience of. My usual 'macro' (with a small 'm'), have consisted of shooting flowers, wedding rings and plastic brides and grooms atop wedding cakes. lol

I did have a go at using an MR-14EX Macro Ring Lite, which my pal lent me at the same time (Forgot to mention this in my original post), but when I realised I was having such problems even focusing correctly, I took it off the lens to try and simplify things and try and work out what I was doing wrong. I mistakenly thought that a wide open aperture would assist me in focusing correctly (Just by having more available ambient light).

I have since managed to photograph static objects indoors with some success. But now you've pointed out my basic mistake with DofF, I shall put my tripod away and start chasing those pesky bees again as soon as they show up in my garden.
I'll post any reasonable shots I get (if any), here, so that you can have a chuckle at my attempt to photograph or tiny nectar loving friends.
Sincerely, many thanks for responding, much appreciated.
 
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Heh Randall, I don't think anyone will be laughing at any attempt! I can barely get to grips with my 60mm macro lens never mind one of these 5x jobs ... If you can get anything half decent then ten you should be pleased I think ...

I think I might get my 60mm macro out and see if I can get anything .. I have given up so many times after just being overwhelmed with failed shots ... I always go in with a "how hard can it be" attitude, and come away with a "I bloody hate this hobby" attitude ... Everytime!

Good luck with it Randall, don't be afraid to post any more naff shots if you think it might help identify where you might be falling short ... I certainly won't judge you on them :)
 
I look forward to seeing some of your shots too Randall.
I have the Tamron 90mm Macro and I'm struggling a bit with that to be honest, I'd hate to think what I'd be like with a 5x macro lens:o...lol.
 
Alistair - fantastic write up on the kit and best practice - really appreciate it
 
Sorry gents I haven't had a chance to use the MP65-E this week as I've been on an off camera flash course with Richard P Walton, at Margam Park. Got two biggish jobs this weekend so it's going to be next week before the bees have my un divided attention.
Richard shared some of his photoshop techniques today, I've had a bash. Please see the attached.
16480271_tqKNX
 
It was shot with one 580 exii, with no light modifier, shot at f5.6 1/125 ISO 400.
The whole course was on using off camera lighting on a budget. The guy who was teaching Richard P Walton, uses very basic gear and doesn't own an 'L' class lens.
He showed us how he balances ambient light with flash, and how he places the light in the correct orientation to the subject.
Also learned some new photoshop tips using five curves adjustment layers and a coloured fill set to 'overlay', you get some real funky results, which as you can see from some of my photos, I kind of like.
 
Sounds interesting! Should you care to share the process's in depth, I'd love to read about them ... Gonna try use some off camera flash for wedding stuff this year I think ...
 
If you know how to do it I'll send you a copy of my actions so that you can have a go yourself. I'm not sure if I could just e-mail you a copy of the actions files or not or if I could burn them onto a disc and post them to you. Maybe you'll know how to do it.
But basically I use 5 Adjustment curves named 1. Lighten 2. Darker 3. Over exposed to Grey 4. Under exposed to lighter 5. Punchy Contrast - which is basically and exaggerated 'S'Curve.
Fill all your layer masks with black and then just paint on the adjustments where you want them to go with a white brush, adjusting the opacity as required. Create these settings as an 'Action'. I also assigned a custom hotkey for them. Simples!.
 
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