difficulty deciding about the mpe-65

hi there

over various periods I have been considering the mpe-65 just because I really like the macro work - though I can't say that I am very good at it.

I have found that the results of my 1:1 is acceptible in my eyes, but anything more than that - I have far fewer acceptible results. I get to 2:1 and more with e.tubes and with reversed 50mm lens tricks (straight on camera as well as stacked on other lenses) I rarely use the reverse lens tricks, but I have....

Anyway, my basic question is this: if I cannot get acceptible results from the above despite real attempts and practice - would the mpe make the capture of 2:1 and up easier (even by a little bit) ?? I am "this close" to just giving up the idea - and just enjoying all your skills and efforts.

thanks for any insights

The MP-E will not make you a better macro photographer, it is quite an expensive way to frustrate yourself. It may motivate you to work out what skills and knowledge you need to be a macro photographer. But it's a rather hit and miss way of learning what you should ideally know before you get it.

Nikon shooters get by without the MP-E, so there's a vast world of macro that can be tapped before you launch into that kind of expenditure.

ceriltheblade wrote in post #16867104
hi there

over various periods I have been considering the mpe-65 just because I really like the macro work - though I can't say that I am very good at it.

I have found that the results of my 1:1 is acceptible in my eyes, but anything more than that - I have far fewer acceptible results. I get to 2:1 and more with e.tubes and with reversed 50mm lens tricks (straight on camera as well as stacked on other lenses) I rarely use the reverse lens tricks, but I have....

Anyway, my basic question is this: if I cannot get acceptible results from the above despite real attempts and practice - would the mpe make the capture of 2:1 and up easier (even by a little bit) ?? I am "this close" to just giving up the idea - and just enjoying all your skills and efforts.

thanks for any insights

No, the MP-E won't make 2:1 macro any easier. Are you trying to hand-hold at that level? Good effing luck with that! Have you asked this in the Macro Talk forum here? Most guys there give up handheld shots above 2:1 or so. I wouldn't even try it unless I had a surgeon's hands. The highest I've managed hand-held is about 1.5:1, and that's with a flash and braced against a wall or something.

hi there.

thanks for then answers.

I think snowyman misunderstood me. I did not mean to imply that the mpe would make me a better photographer. I meant to see if the mechanism of the mpe would make it easier to capture the same scene than a "rigged" rig. I was thinking someone would say (yes/no) the mpe (does/does not) allow me to get the picture easier because of the physics of the lens being only a single lens.

Archer1960 - so many people speak about not using a tripod for their higher mag work - but maybe that is my problem. I will have to try it more often with stabilization and see if my keeper rate goes up. it'll just makes the "sway" more difficult. I am not partial to flash/no flash - so flash macro photographry doesn't bother me. I will redouble my efforts and

It'd be helpful if you can post a few of your macro images here. Do you use flash in your macro photography? With full flash, it's not that difficult to get sharp images even at 2:1, 3:1 etc.

As Kurt says with flash it is not that difficult to hand hold all the way up to 5:1
MPE will make life easier for shooting the smaller subjects as its a simpler rig than combining tubes and reversed lenses.
There are some fine examples of natural light work with the MPE but then you will definitely need a tripod. Nikola Rahme for example does multi stacks typically at around x2 to x4, f5, 1/3 sec ISO 200. You cant beat that early morning light with noiseless low ISO.

The only problem with the MP-E is finding the subject when you have the magnification turned up.

I almost always handhold the MP-E, mostly with flash, but I have occasionally used natural light.

The MP-E is a bit of a different way of working, you have to find your subject whilst already at 1:1, you can't start lower and move in.

In some ways it is easier to handhold than use a tripod with live insects subjects, you have more possibilities to tune you position and shooting angle and thus optimise the focus plane without spooking your subject.

Show us some example shots with the EXIF data.