The Spider's Surreal World

[sdommin]

Caught this guy hangin' out on his web yesterday. The dew drops remind me of little planets.

Canon 20D with 65mm MP-E macro lens...
http://home.att.net/~sdommin/spider1.jpg

[Sabina]

Beautiful! And I love the title - this shot really gives insight into what the world looks like to a spider. Boy, their world is very different from ours! How poetic, I really love this. Thanks for posting it.

[blu82]

Can anyone please tell me more about this lens. My wife is about to give me permission to get one.
Can you comment on using without focus rail etc.
Thanks in anticipation
Dave

[Rob612]

Thats really a lovely shot (and caption) ! Congratulations !

[Bald Eagle]

i love the composition, great photo and a great idea as well, very impressive.

[Leorooster]

Great shot. Love it!

[sdommin]

Can anyone please tell me more about this lens. My wife is about to give me permission to get one.
Can you comment on using without focus rail etc.
Thanks in anticipation
Dave

Hi Dave,

The 65mm is a great macro lens, but make sure you really want to do some serious macro work before you spend the money. Its not for casual use, because its very powerful. It starts at the 1:1 ratio, where most other macro lenses stop. The "high end" is at 5:1, which means that whatever ratio you use, you're going to have to get very close to your subjects. Lighting can be a problem because of this (you tend to block out your own light when you get that close), so you'll probably want to think about some sort of flash attachment. I have the MT-24EX twin-light, which works great (even though I didn't use it for this shot).

The lens doesn't really have a way to focus - don't panic, though! The ring on the lens zooms in or out, to set your ratio (1:1 to 5:1), then you focus by moving the camera closer to or farther from your subject. I don't use a rail or anything like that, though you could do that if you wanted. I just put the camera on a tripod, then extend only 2 of the legs. I rock back & forth on the 2 legs to move my camera to focus in & out. It is possible to handhold the camera if your subject is still and your grip is steady, but keep in mind that because of the extreme magnification, any little movement by either you or your subject is magnified, too.

I hope I haven't talked you out of this lens, especially if your wife is going to let you get one. For quality extreme macro work, it can't be beat! Here's a 5:1 close-up of an ant I did last year (handheld!), using the MT-24EX flash - hope it helps you with your decision!

http://home.att.net/~sdommin/ant1.jpg

[marie]

very nice

:cool:

[stoneylonesome]

Beautiful spider. love the colors on this one.

[chemicalbro]

very cool shot sdommin.............. I'm currently saving for either an mpe65 or an EF 100mm f/2.8 macro........... I'd be real interested in seing some more 5:1 shots..(to see if i really need it or not)........ with details on how close you really have to get to your subject.... i'm currently using some extension tubes with my kit lens and at 1:1 macro (55mm focal on 65mm extensions (so it's really X1.18)). i have roughly 2-3 inches of working distance from lens to subject... if i put just 52mm extension and set focal length to 52mm i get an extra inch or so of working distance... If i put my ef 90-300 onto all 3 extensions at 90mm focal I have about 3 feet of working distance (only equals X0.7 magnification tho).... Any help you could give on deciding which lens to get would be great (i've used the 100mm macro lens so i know roughly the working distances you get with it)

[Big_B]

What a wonderful photo!