mp-e lens help

[whaleomeloette]

hello
i used to be a pro photographer but gave it up after i fell out of love with the industry and had a breakdown with it and sold all my equpiment

however i wouldnt mind getting back into it for pleasure now iv had time away from it
what is the mp-e like and how much did yours set you back?
anywhere that has them cheap(ish)?

ill be using a canon prob be using a 40/30d i need to re buy a camera also
any suggestions on cameras for this would be appriciated. probs a 600ish limt on camera price

[Words]

There's a thread on the mp-e from a little while ago over here: Extreme Macro (Canon MPE-65)

A 30D/40D would be fine. Both are now discontinued so you can pick them up for a quite reasonable price if you can find one.

[slimrbp]

I have had the MP-E for a couple of years now and it is a great lens as long macro is your thing!

It's not the easiest lens to get to grips with but once you have the results are impressive. You will need to consider lighting as well to get any reasonable depth of field apertures of f13 and above are the norm, an external light source is handy as the viewfinder gets pretty dark as you increase the magnification.
The depth of field is extremely limited so choice of focal point is crucial and you might want to consider focus stacking.
The working distance is quite small as well so you have to be patient as quite often your subject will leg it before you get the shot!

I use it in the field and prefer the flexibility of shooting handheld so I use the MT-24EX twin lite as well. I can't remember exactly how much the combo cost but it wasn't cheap.
I have used it with a 40D and it was a good combo.

I don't have any examples in the Gallery but there is a set on my flickr photostream with the MP-E shots in (I would give a direct link but I can't get into flickr from work).

Flickr: Richard Parker's Photostream

In the recent images the grasshopper nymph and damselfly close up were taken with the MP-E.

Cheers,

[whaleomeloette]

Originally Posted by Words

There's a thread on the mp-e from a little while ago over here: Extreme Macro (Canon MPE-65)

A 30D/40D would be fine. Both are now discontinued so you can pick them up for a quite reasonable price if you can find one.

yeah i used to have both of those ad well as 5d but im not familiar with the 50d, ill go have a look

[whaleomeloette]

[quote=slimrbp;641016]
You will need to consider lighting as well to get any reasonable depth of field apertures of f13 and above are the norm,

**********ill probs be using a mini ringflash, maybe brackets but prob ringflash********

The depth of field is extremely limited so choice of focal point is crucial and you might want to consider focus stacking.

*****il have a mess about whn i eventually save up for one, i think the limited dof suits its self to insect photography though- so your eye is drawn to the area in question****

[glsammy]

I've been using mine for a couple of years now. I find it both exceptional and frustrating. I rarely use it away from my own garden at the moment for two main reasons.
Firstly I find that flash light is essential, and a tripod is also a good idea if you want to use it at anything greater than 3:1. I now tend to use two flash guns, with a home made bracket. I used to have a Sigma Ring flash but that had a major flaw in its use with that lens. When you tried to use the lens at anything greater than 3:1, the subject was within the actual flash ring or in other words too close for the flash to be effective. My set up is a bit cumbersome, hence why I don't usually take it away from my own garden.
The effective working distance ranges from about 1" to 4". That's often a big problem, especially out in the field where you can't control your surroundings or subject.
I usually use mine with my monopod, which works fine up to 3:1, but for me at least it's tripod only for anything greater. I can get the odd lucky shot at higher magnifications using my monopod but it's certainly not reliable.
As for working apertures, I find that I need F13.0 @ 1:1, F10.0 @ 2:1, F8.0 @ 3:1, and F6.3 @ 5:1. any more and diffraction becomes too obvious.
I also don't have much success trying to stack images when using it. Because the lens doesn't focus the only way you can get a different area in focus is to physically move the camera either nearer or further. For me this leads to all sorts of problems with the stacking software. I've no doubt others have successfully stacked images with the lens, but I struggle badly with it. I've had the odd success but again not something I'd rely on.
Having said all that I wouldn't be without it!

A few example images taken recently.

[whaleomeloette]

ahh ty for info on use of ringflash with this, ill try diff type of flash with it when i get one.. prob many moons from now! im a carer for someone and only get 80 a week :'( when i went to the bank and asked for a 50 quid over draft they said 'when you get a propper job you can have one'
cheeky ********

i think ill go begging haha! i want this lens alot
fab photos btw