Macro photography compilation Canon 7D MP-E 65mm

[Mysticpuma]

Do you remember what setting you were using at 2m 55s where all the detail is visible in the fly's eye? I am just about to get a 7d and 65mm and will also be getting the flash too?

Cheers

[Naturaldefenceplant]

@Mysticpuma approximately 3.5-4x magnification. i used manual mode f/10 1/200s iso 100 and manual flash power on mt24ex approx 1/8th full power.to use high magification with this lens on insects it is best to use a flash,. it can be done with natural light but high iso, slow shutter speeds and wide apertures need to be used which is not easy on small moving insects :)

[oneyedthing]

Those are amazing macro shots. I'm planning to get an EF 100mm f/2.8L IS. Can it do the same quality macro shots?

[Naturaldefenceplant]

@oneyedthing These shots are done at higher magnificantion than the 100mm macro which goes to 1:1, you can get higher magnification by the addition of extension tubes. Check google for shots with 100mm macro and kenko extension tubes

[oneyedthing]

@Naturaldefenceplant

Great thanks for the reply. I also read about it.So which is better the Canon EF25 II Extension Tube or the Kenko 12+ 20+ 36mm Tubes????

Im using it for EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM on a 50d body.

I passed on the Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x for it is only used for macro photography. I'm looking for a close substitute.I chose a lens that can also shoot telephoto. So im opting for an EF 100mm f/2.8L . I just dont know which ext tube is better. the Canon or the Kenko ext tubes

[Naturaldefenceplant]

@oneyedthing yes you are right the mpe65 is a one trick pony :)

Canon 25mm tubes are better built than the kenko, however you only get 25mm. To get maximum magnification you want the greatest amount of extension tubes. Since the whole set of kenkos are same price as the 25mm the kenkos are a good deal. They maintain aperture control. There is no optical component so they do the job well imo. (I use kenkos on my other lenses with much success). Hope this helped.

[oneyedthing]

@Naturaldefenceplant

Wow thanks for the quick reply. I was looking for the cheapest Kenko ext tubes then I saw the Phottix ext tube. It also comes with a 3-ring 12 + 21 +31. And it is a little cheaper.

[Naturaldefenceplant]

@oneyedthing

One thing to look for is the extension tubes allow communication between lens and camera. If there are no contacts then the camer will not know there is a lens attached, and it wont be able to control the aperture so you will either have to shoot wide open (not ideal) or close the aperture manually, which means you have to focus with a narrow aperture which allows very little light and therefore difficult to focus also.

[oneyedthing]

@Naturaldefenceplant

Are you talking about the AF type ext tubes? Cause both Phottix and Kenko have AF features that allows communication with DSLR's. Unless you are referring some brands that may not communicate well with the DSLR even though they have AF features. I'll use what you recommended, the Kenko ones.

[MoreLov]

Very Nice compil Sphinx Natural :)

[reply4reply]

which lens can let me do macro photography from 30cm distance? the quality of the picture isn't needed as it'll be used like a microscope but it needs to cost less than $300

[Naturaldefenceplant]

@reply4reply what magnification do you need? A lens with longer focal thength will do good close ups at 30cm eg. sigma 180 macro or canon 180 macro. these are expensive though. You can get extension tubes and put them on a kit zoom lens but working distance will be short.

[reply4reply]

@Naturaldefenceplant thanks for getting back, the distance can vary from 25cm to 50cm the closer the bettwe because I'm trying to zoom really close to magnification level, but a lens less than $200 or anything really extention tubes or even a water glass cut. this video explains it youtube.com/watch?v=6PTBcJwfJp­w

[Naturaldefenceplant]

@reply4reply you are not being clear on what magnification you actually want to achieve. To achieve 1:1 magnification at 30cm you will need a long focal length and using a combination of extension tubes and teleconverters. A cheap lens such as a 70-300mm kit lens with kenko extension tubes will get you good magnification especially if you can crop a high mega pixel image. The reality is, a cheap len like that coupled with Exntension tubes will result in relatively poor optical quality.

[hoyt1993]

oh im sold. 7D is it. and i was leaning toward the 5D ($800 more) for a whole 3 megapixels! HA! stupid...

[Naturaldefenceplant]

@hoyt1993 you pay extra for the larger sensor on the 5dmk2. the 7D does a nice job with these shots but so does the 5dmk2. :)

[OneFabFisher]

Nice pics. I have seen some AMAZING work with this Canon lens on flickr

. It is truly a magnificent lens .. too bad Nikon doesn't have something like it. I have to use ext tubes.

[ginusha]

I know this lens it is really hard to take pictures because of limited focus distance is there in sri lanka there is only 2 lens that have here both in colombo campus and other in Peradeniya University i try one in colombo campus it is really hard to take pictures

[Robstar1619]

Excellent Macro captures!!

[manilashark]

Great work. Do the lens have Image Stabilization?

[Naturaldefenceplant]

@manilashark

The mpe65mm is a manual focus lens with no image stabilizer :)

[evilgeenius2]

Nice Shots! How do you take photos at this scale with a tripod??? Do you point it at a twig and wait for an insect to appear? 

[Naturaldefenceplant]

@evilgeenius2 just hand held with flash. You move close to the insect and take the picture, alot of the time they fly away.

[grapemartini]

Great job, amazing images!

[Peiselkopp]

Great macro shots.

[2DayistheDay]

Wow, great images you have made. What focus stacking software do you recommend?

[joertjoert]

@Naturaldefenceplant Amazing photo's. Really impressed. I have been thinking about getting this lens for myself (also to go with my 7D). I heard it's impossibly difficult to get shots like these for a macro amateur. Would you agree, or would you think with a bit of practice an amateur could get some shots worth the hefty pricetag of this lens?

[Naturaldefenceplant]

@joertjoert Not impossibly difficult. The difference between the mpe 65mm and any other lens is that you have to take some practise to use it, rather than just pick it up and be able to use it.

If you put in some practise, in a few weeks you can be taking good pictures. You need a flash, it doesnt need to be the most expensive setup, but it needs to be diffused well. Lighting is the biggest challenge in macro photography.

[r1ch4rd69]

absolutely amazing!!!!

[Naturaldefenceplant]

@r1ch4rd69 Thankyou! :)