Customer Reviews

Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5X Macro Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I got this lens a couple years ago and use it extensively. It is well constructed and easy to use with any Canon EOS body, though it must be focused manually. This is the only tool I know of that enables easy *field* photography above 2x magnification. I have stalked the tiniest insects and peered into the hearts of flowers with this astounding lens, and my images are crisp and clean every time. It comes with Tripod Ring B (same one as several other Canon lenses use, just in black), which greatly aids switching to a vertical format without having to reposition everything.

Buy the MR-14EX ring flash with this, as it is impossible to see *anything* in normal daylight conditions at 5x. Its focus lamps frequently help in obtaining sharp pictures, though even they can't provide enough light to help you much when the lens is stopped down. A focus rail is also helpful--I use the Velbon macro slider since it moves in two directions, not just one. Tripod use is essential, as 5x magnification only covers an area about 5mm by 7mm, and a macro rail will greatly aid focusing.

Since first penning this review, I have worked at using this lens with the 2x Canon teleconverter. This combination can be used, but one must be careful to not stop the lens down very far as diffraction effects quickly degrade image quality. Instead, compose the image with the lens wide open, and use adjacent f-stops to add just a touch more depth of field. With this setup, the object being photographed is too close for the Canon ring flash to illuminate, so you'll want a standard flash attached to an accessory cord to provide sufficient lighting. With the zoom racked out to 5x, one can achieve photos less than 2mm wide on an APS-C sensor, or somewhere between 15x and 20x. I recently photographed a cluster of spider mites this way.

The biggest advantage to owning this lens is that I travel less to do photography--I spent several hours on my patio this winter photographing white flies, moss, spiders, and anything else that visited the potted plants there. Plunk down in a field and *stay there* a while, and you'll start to notice the small things around you.

I had to knock one star off of the rating because this is lens is so difficult to use. It is definitely not for the point and click crowd. But once you get the hang of it, it's produces beautiful and stunning images. It's borderline microscopic photography, as you'll see details you can't see with your eyes.

Great images, but there's a lot of caveats...

First off, this is a manual focus lens in the old-school sense of the word. Meaning there is no focus ring and you adjust the focus by moving the camera or subject backwards or forwards. This wouldn't be that big of a deal except, as noted elsewhere, the focus distance is amazingly short. It's time consuming to manuever everything into place and get focus on the bit your interested in.

Also, you have to really stop down to f16. This produces two problems. 1) you need a lot of light on the subject. I'm using two 1000w strobes in soft boxes, which may be a little overkill, but not by much. 2) dust on your sensor is in razor sharp focus. This is a big problem, so make sure you know how to clean your camera sensor.

Finally, this is not a lens for running around and shooting. You need a tripod and you probably want a remote control, because the process of clicking the button will probably introduce some (if not a lot) blur. It's super sensitive to movement, so if you have the shutter open for any length of time, make sure there's no wind or the table doesn't shake minutely as you walk across the floor.

Bottom line is if you have the time and patience you can tease amazing images out of this lens. You don't need to be a professional, but you do need to understand the difference between professional images and point-and-shoot happy accidents is the time and thought that goes into creating the image. This lens will reward time and thought.

I mainly use this lens inside the studio, so I use studio lights to control the lighting of a subject. The higher the magnification, the more lighting is needed.

I use a tripod to photograph and either move the subject in focus, or change the magnification from the magnification ring of the lens. I set the aperture to f/16 (smallest aperture for this lens) to make sure I get maximum depth of field and sharpest result.

The magnification mechanism works by increasing the distance between the glass and the film/sensor. So if you move the magnification ring fast enough, you can feel some air flowing, just like the bellows. I used this lens on a Canon EOS 10D and forgot to clean the shutter chamber from dust, the magnification movement from 5:1 to 1:1 pushed some of the dust particles on the sensor, so make sure you clean the chamber.

I bought one of these lenses a couple weeks ago and found it easy to use. I've been shooting macro images for over 20 years and have used all sort of devices and techniques for getting images beyond lifesize. I find this lens much easier to use than bellows or stacks of extension tubes. Being able to simply press the depth of field preview button on the EOS camera body is nice. I wanted to know how this lens compared to my Zeiss Luminar 63mm macro lens for resolution. Under test conditions I found the Zeiss lens to be a bit sharper, but I had to enlarge the images many times and search for the tiny details. I did find, based on limited test subjects, I preferred the Canon lens over the Zeiss in color saturation. I also found at 3X the best resolution for this Canon lens was at f/8. At wide open the image is a bit soft and the corners are noticeably lacking, but stopped down everything improved significantly. At f/11 the image started to lose some sharpness. For the price of this lens I could easily get a used bellows and used Zeiss macro lens and make adapters to fit my Canon 5D (I know, I've done it), but I find I would grab this lens first just because it's so much easier and faster to use. I've used this both in the studio and out in the field. I find I can handhold it for most still objects I want to shoot but it's better to carry along a couple bean bags or tripod or whatever to hold it more steady. I think the next thing I buy will be one of the macro flashes, as getting adequate lighting is a bit tricky. If you are new to the whole macro world of photography and not sure about spending this much on a lens of this type I would recommend getting a used macro lens and some extension tubes, or bellows, and playing with those first. After that you'll really appreciate what this lens can do.

Almost everyone who used this lens is raving about it for good reasons. I really shouldn't have to repeat previous reviews, so I'll just say that this is the most amazing macro/micro lens accessible to normal consumers and photo enthusiasts that can provide greater than 1X repro ratio. However, it does have some issues that people should be aware of before buying this lens:

0) this camera will *not* go into infinity, it is a macro/micro only lens
1) this is a MANUAL FOCUS lens, meaning there is no focus ring but that you need to move the entire camera back and forth to focus, so either you need to have a very steady hand under bright sunlight, or you really should get a camera bracket. I use Manfrotto 454 with a sturdy tripod. If you're one of those young guys not used to the wonderful world of manual focusing and knowledge on uncertainty management, this lens will take some time to master.
2) as with all macros, you really should get a macro dedicated flash to get the best quality to minimize shaking, and to maximize light. Forget about e-TTL2!!! Your results will be very inconsistent. Set it to manual power, and learn the power settings. You'll learn something about exposure, and save time in the long run.
3) to minimize vibration, a remote is necessary
4) the sweet spot is around f/8 at 1X-2X, but even at that f-stop your depth of field is still too shallow. I highly recommend using depth of field stacking (just Google for focus stacking) software. At f/11 up to f/16, your pictures will become soft. I rarely use f/16. It's not f/16 at 5X anyways, and every little speckle of dust on your sensor that was invisible at f/8, will show up at f/16. Therefore, DoF stacking is necessary.
5) When you set to 3X-5X, the screen will be very very dark. Therefore, I highly recommend using a bright external light source for focusing. This also means you really need to crank up your macro flash to a really high level. At 3X-5X, f/16 is no longer f/16 anymore.

For 1:1 repro ratio, I usually prefer the legendary Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 VR along with the R1C1 kit and SU-800 since it's a lot easier to setup and to shoot (VR and Nikon TTL are amazing), but when I need more than 1X ratio, Canon MP-E 65mm is the way to go. The build quality of this lens is just as good as gold rim Nikon lenses, and the sharpness just as equal as Canon L-lenses and gold rim Nikon lenses.

As for flash, I actually don't have any of Canon flash systems. I'm on a mixed Canon and Nikon system so instead of purchasing yet another piece of flash equipments, I mount my existing Nikon SU-800 to my Canon body, and connect to my two Nikon SB-R200 flashes via SC-30 cables. This means exposure is completely manual, but that is perfectly fine because when you shoot macros, manual exposure will give a much more predictable and consistent result than e-TTL2 (which will change if you move the subject in and out of the center, as TTL is more center-weighted than matrix metered). The only problem with SU-800 is that it shuts down automatically if you don't use the flash for a while. But for most people on a single Canon system, get a flash dedicated for Canon will more than suffice.

Overall, I love this lens. It requires knowledge, a lot of setup time, and patience to use. Having that said, this is an amazing lens. It's a bit expensive, but you can get amazing deals on Craigslist or eBay from frustrated people who don't fully understand how to squeeze every little performance out of this extremely difficult to use but amazing lens. If you need to shoot jewels, diamonds, grain of rice, or similarly small things, by all means buy this lens, and KEEP IT because it's a niche lens that is unlikely to depreciate in value like camera bodies and common zoom lenses. For more than 1X, the MP-E 65mm is the only choice you have short of going to expensive multi-thousand dollar microscopic equipments. If you think you need it, just get it.

I have been into photography for many many year, and have always had a spot for macro pictures. I have used other macro lenses before, but nothing compares to this. It is a speciallity lens, and it can be used for nothing else than macro, but WOW it does it well.
It can produce images from 1:1 to 1:5 ! Yes, 5 times real life, that is CLOSE UP MACRO. It does not have any focus system, so all focus is manual, and can only be done by moving the lens and camera back and forth. I HIGHLY recomend some kind of focus rail system and tripod. ESSENTIAL for using this lens. It can be hand held with success, but it requires a steady hand. It extends to almost 25 cm when shooting at 5x and it is a bit heavy, so get a sturdy tripod.
DOF is very easy to control, and image quality is very high. Highly recomended to the serious macro photographer. Also, ring flash is a MUST HAVE item with this. Optionally one or two external flashes for better light control.

To those experienced in macro photography: I have no reservations or qualifications in recommending this lens.

If you're interested, you can see examples of what photos this lens can take at [...]
Manual exposure settings are given for each photo, so it can be used as a sort of guide for people just starting out.

A few notes to those new to macro photography: I have no hesitation recommending this, as long as you have patience.
*It takes a while to calibrate your senses so that you can locate an object with this lens. Don't doubt yourself during this process-- it will become second nature.
*Learn how to steady yourself using your own body and tree trunks, banisters, pillars, whatever is around you, so that you don't *need* to use a tripod. This way, you'll have more freedom shooting insects and spiders.
*You need a *lot* of very bright light, especially as you increase magnification. This is not an indoor lens, unless you have accessories.
*Up to 3x magnification, you can usually get away with using bright, natural, outdoor light. If you want to shoot at 4x or 5x magnification, you *need* reflectors, fill flashes, or ring flashes. It's not only the quantity of light that is low, but the quality is poor if you're relying on natural light at that magnification.

An anecdote: I was lying in the grass, looking through my camera at 3x magnification, focusing on some moss. When an ant ran past, I felt like I was on safari. It really is an experience using this lens. The first time I looked into a flower through it and saw individual grains of pollen, I couldn't stop myself from smiling. If you're inspired by nature and new perspectives, this lens is your window to a new world.

I finally got this lens, and they are simply amazing!

Their physical size is somewhat deceptive when they are at 1x, because once you zoom in, the lens are really long.

They are also quite heavy, so hand-held shots are complicated because of cramps.

What you get in the box:
- Lens
- Lens cap
- Tripod ring
- Manual

What didn't come in the box (but should have):
- Pouch

What must be used:
- A filter to protect the lens because of the narrow space between the front of the lens and the subjects, to avoid scratching it. (58mm)
- A macro ring flash or external (potent) light.

[...]

This is an incredible lens! For anyone who wants to shoot up to 5x, this is the lens to get. I am amazed how sharp the images are. Having tried all manner of bellows and extension tubes, this lens is the ultimate choice for this type of photography.

WOW, what a lens. Make sure to use a focusing rail if you use this lens. Very unstable beyond 3X, but the images you get are stunning if your camera is steady!

Excellent construction, and better than any other Macro lens I have used!

Remember to also get photo stacking software (Helicon Focus) if you are doing extreme macro photography. This will enable you to take multiple photos with varying depth of field and focus and combine them to get one awesome photo!

Summary: For macrophotography you will need

1. The canon MP-E65 Lens with filter
2. The Macro focusing rail (4 way preferably) & super sturdy tripod (Bogen?)
3. Professional grade DSLR (I use canon 1 DS MK iii) with remote shutter release
4. Photo Stacking software (Helicon Focus or comparable software)
5. A Lot of free time, patience and imagination