Help request on new 65 mm MP-E Macro

[takingflight]

I just purchased a new system to pursue my interest in macro photography...a 50D, Canon 100 mm Macro, Canon 65 mm MP-E, and Twin Lite.

At this point, I'm just testing and training myself, but I'm not sure I'm getting the sharpness that I would expect, especially from the 65 mm.

Is there someone on this forum with that lens who is getting the results they want from it and would be willing to exchange a few photo files so I can compare my results to their?

See a full resolution test shot close-up of a quarter at this URL:
http://www.takingflight.net/2009/IMG_0604.JPG

This is nearly 5x, f/8, with flash.

Thanks,
Paul in Colorado

[LordV]

Hi - this lens takes a lot of practice to shoot at high mags . Your shots look pretty good for 5:1 but there is some camera movement evident. When I'm doing high mag "test" type shots I arrange it so the subject and camera are effectively on the same surface (not using a tripod) by holding the camera down whilst shooting - often sitting on books etc to get the right angle and height.
F8 is reasonable for 5:1 but your shot will be sharper around F5.6 (you get a lot of diffraction softening with this lens at higher mags caused by the high apparent apertures)

Brian V.

[John_B]

takingflight,
Keep in mind you are seeing a used, abused and dirty quarter at 5x life size (a FOV of almost 8x). Then you are using 400 ISO and your color settings (saturation) are too high for a colorless subject. Also your lighting is too low (quarters are silver not dark gray), might be because you had the camera in Av mode. Try setting your camera to manual, use a faster shutter speed ex. 1/250th and take the photo again and it will probably give a better lighted subject.

Also when looking at your image at 100% it is similar to looking at a 66" (5.5ft) x 44" (3.6ft) print up very close.

Keep at it, because it isn't usually easy at that magnification to get excellent sharp results. :)

[bokchoi]

I find that taking pictures of coins, especially head-on, is especially difficult and tends to make photos appear less sharp than they really are, mainly because it is difficult to line up the thin DOF with the texture of the coin (the lower half of "TRUST" in your photo is conspicuously more in-focus than the rest of the image), and it is also harder to judge sharpness due to the flare from the flash-lit areas and the darkness of darker areas.

John_B is also correct in that you should be shooting at a lower ISO and shooting in manual, since high shutter speeds are critical at high magnification (the flash, especially if held closely, will compensate for the exposure).

I would try to shoot the coin at a slight angle as to capture light reflected from the flash, or to use a tripod or bracket mount and use live view to ensure that the coin is perfectly lined up with the focus plane. Of course, there are lots of other subjects you can shoot as well to judge the sharpness of the lens (plants, printed text, office supplies, etc).

[dima1109]

From what I've heard, the conventional aperture boundaries are shifted with this lens, as the effective aperture = set aperture x magnification. So at f/8, you are essentially shooting at f/40, which would produce some awful diffraction. Try to get it down to something smaller, f/5.6 or f/4. Also, as others suggested, stabilize your camera as much as possible. Use live view and move the object to get the focus spot on. Then I would use either a timer or a cable release coupled with mirror lockup to reduce mirror slap.

[takingflight]

Thank you all for your tips and your time. I am experimenting further along the lines of what you've suggested and will report back in a few days.

Paul

[macro junkie]

give your self 1 year in the feild using the lens every day...only then will you be use to it..Takes alot of getting use to.specially if u are like me..i never shot past 1X untill i got mpe-65

[takingflight]

To macro junkie. I took a look at your flickr gallery. Very nice macro work. Do you mostly handhold, like Lord V or are most of those from a tripod, and if tripod, which one? Are you using focus-stacking? What software?

Paul

[macro junkie]

To macro junkie. I took a look at your flickr gallery. Very nice macro work. Do you mostly handhold, like Lord V or are most of those from a tripod, and if tripod, which one? Are you using focus-stacking? What software?

Paul
never use a tripod..all taken hand held but i rest it on something like my hand..i use same stacking softwhere as lordv - http://www.hadleyweb.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/CZ5/combinez5.htm

[takingflight]

I pulled out my 65mm Macro today. I have not used it much since I got it, and for the first time since I purchased my 50D 2 years ago, noticed what appears to be many dust spots. They are in the same location on each image, though they do not appear there when using my 100mm macro. Two questions: What would explain dust spots that just show up with this lens? And...Is there some way I can clean it myself, wherever that dust is? See: http://www.stillstonevisions.com/img_0001.JPG

I still seem to only get soft-focus results with this lens, not the stunningly sharp results some of you are getting. This shot is at f/13.0. I know that the lens is theoretically sharper when wider open, but it seems pretty soft to me at all settings.

[monty28428]

Looks like your sensor is dirty to me Paul.

Have you tried a shot at say f/16 with another lens -- they will probably show up in that shot as well.

[flakspammer]

Another thing to remember is that this lens is really hard to use. When it might seem like you've got something in focus when you shot it, it could be less than a millimeter out at 5x. Learning to brace yourself on high magnification shots really helps a lot. I think this is one of the lenses that requires them most practice to use because it completely lacks auto focus. Yes that also does look like sensor dust so try out the suggestion monty gave.

[takingflight]

Thank you both for your responses. I will do the suggested testing and report back.

If it is a dirty sensor, can I blow it clean myself with an air can, or do I have to ship it to Canon for cleaning or what? It's only 2 years old and I've been quite careful with it when changing lenses.

Paul

[macroshooter1970]

Clean the sensor yourself. Your local camera store should carry this stuff. Will take you maybe 20 seconds to do it.

http://www.photosol.com/eclipseproduct.htm

Also did you clean the glass off on the 65mm

[takingflight]

I found this in answer to my dirty sensor question. Not great news, but it seems trustworthy.
http://photo.net/equipment/digital/sensorcleaning/

[macroshooter1970]

I found this in answer to my dirty sensor question. Not great news, but it seems trustworthy.
http://photo.net/equipment/digital/sensorcleaning/
You'll be ok, just clean that puppy up :)