Canon EF MP-E 65mm f2.8 1-5x Macro review

first off, this is NOT an easy lens to use. when you are at 5x , your focus point is about the between the size of a pin head and 1/2 dime size. That being said - you can get some absolutely STUNNING photos. It takes patience and practice, practice, practice. A macro flash is a MUST for this lens - especially at 5x -- because you need to be at f/16 to get any DOF at all. I have not purchased this lens - I am currently renting from local camera shop. I've had it 3 days, and I am addicted to it. I keep finding more and more things to gigantize. It is also must to have a good tripod and a trigger release. Pushing the button on the camera could EASILY move your subject out of focus. All that being said - this is an AWESOME lens. I will be saving my dimes and nickles up so I can afford not only this lens, but the MT-24EX flash as well. If you have the cash and like to play with macro photography - you will NOT be disappointed with this lens.

This is a completely specialized lens that does its job better than any other standard camera lens out there. First the bad news: You cannot use it for general picture taking. There is no focus ring, you have to either zoom in and out or physically move the camera to focus. External light is an absolute requirement. I prefer the macro twin light (for the separately positionable heads), but multiple speedlights, studio lights, or a ring light could work as well. Because of the difficulty focusing doing the majority of work on a tripod with a focusing rail would save lots of frustration, though I have found that for handheld work swaying back and forth very slightly and then timing the shot for the area of sharpest focus works, though it takes practice. There is almost no such thing as depth of field with this lens. In test shots of rulers I have had the depth of field so shallow that the front of a mm marking is in focus while the back of the marking is blurry (not the next mm mark, the same mm mark). Finally, your subjects can enjoy no privacy with this lens. You can not stand at a distance and take photos. For black widow studies that I have done I have had to be within an inch of the beautiful critters. Because of the difficulty focusing this means that if your subject moves even the smallest fraction of an inch you have to set up your shot all over again. Now the good news: No other lens can do what this lens does. In order to get magnification like this (up to true 5x) without this lens you would have to attach your camera to a microscope, and that is a heck of a lot more difficult than this lens, and nearly impossible in the field. If you want to get in close, nothing else will do. When I want to take nice closeups of flowers I break out the 100mm 2.8, but if I want to fill the frame with the smallest details of the bugs on those flowers, the 65mm is a miracle worker. . . . . A fussy, temperamental, irreplaceable miracle worker.

This is a completely specialized lens that does its job better than any other standard camera lens out there.
First the bad news:

You cannot use it for general picture taking. There is no focus ring, you have to either zoom in and out or physically move the camera to focus. External light is an absolute requirement. I prefer the macro twin light (for the separately positionable heads), but multiple speedlights, studio lights, or a ring light could work as well. Because of the difficulty focusing doing the majority of work on a tripod with a focusing rail would save lots of frustration, though I have found that for handheld work swaying back and forth very slightly and then timing the shot for the area of sharpest focus works, though it takes practice. There is almost no such thing as depth of field with this lens. In test shots of rulers I have had the depth of field so shallow that the front of a mm marking is in focus while the back of the marking is blurry (not the next mm mark, the same mm mark). Finally, your subjects can enjoy no privacy with this lens. You can not stand at a distance and take photos. For black widow studies that I have done I have had to be within an inch of the beautiful critters. Because of the difficulty focusing this means that if your subject moves even the smallest fraction of an inch you have to set up your shot all over again.

Now the good news:
No other lens can do what this lens does. In order to get magnification like this (up to true 5x) without this lens you would have to attach your camera to a microscope, and that is a heck of a lot more difficult than this lens, and nearly impossible in the field. If you want to get in close, nothing else will do. When I want to take nice closeups of flowers I break out the 100mm 2.8, but if I want to fill the frame with the smallest details of the bugs on those flowers, the 65mm is a miracle worker. . . . . A fussy, temperamental, irreplaceable miracle worker.

This is a great closeup macro for magnifications of 1-5x. It is a manual focus lens and takes skill and patience to use. At higher mags the light through the viewfinder is very dim (5x at F/16 camera setting is equivalent to F/96) so an external focusing assist light will be needed. Properly used the results are fantastic.

Like a microscope going from life size to 5 times larger than life. The higher the magnification the more shallow the depth of field becomes.

Be aware this lens is only for macro. at 1x (actual size your subject must be about 4 inches away from the lens, at 5x 1.6 inches.) The lens has no focus ring. You focus by zooming the lens or moving the camera on a focusing rail.

You will need to always use this with a tripod to get the best results. Also a focus rail is very helpful. There is a good one for about $40 on ebay. Search for "Macro Focusing Rail Slider for DSLR" and order one shipping from the USA and not China. I have ordered from China and it sometimes takes several weeks to arrive and I had one item that never showed up.

If you shoot outside you will also want a ring light flash which attaches to the lens. This will run you from $200 to $500. You will probably end up using the smallest aperture f16 to maximize the area in focus (which will still be quite small).

When shooting things so small at high enlargements the slightest wind or vibration can ruin your shot. I was shooting in my home studio and could not get a clear shot. I was using a remote shutter release so I was not touching the camera. Then I realized the slight air movement when the heat was running was enough to move the butterfly I was shooting and blur the shot. Also just moving my foot on the floor from one spot to another flexed the floor just enough to blur the shot. So it takes practice to get good shots.

This is probably the best lens available for macro photography.