Tremont
New member
I rented this lens for a month to try it before I buy it, now it's nearing the end of that month and I figure a review is in order.
In my opinion, there are three requirements that should be met before you ever think about buying this lens:
1. You must be able to put your corals within approximately three inches of the glass.
2. You must have a lot of light. I get by using the same LED's I used with the 100 mm. I typically have an LED source literally a few mm out of frame on any given shot.
3. You must have a focusing rail. It is really the only way to adjust the focus on this lens.
If you can control your environment in this manner (and do basic things like, shut off flow and keep glass/lenses clean), I would say that this lens is the best macro lens out there, by a long shot. If I would have known what I know now, I would have never wasted my money on the 100 mm f2.8 lens, as I now use this lens exclusively.
At 1:1, the quality is on par with the 100 mm macro, but the power is in when you want to go higher magnification. With my f2.8, any time I wanted to modify the magnification, I would have to disconnect my lens and start attaching extension tubes. This is a time consuming step, and forces you to completely re-setup your shot. With the MP-E, it's like your extension tubes are built-in (just like a bellows), only now you can go all the way up to 5x (my tubes with the 100 mm give me 2x). Any time you want to adjust the magnification, you just do it by turning the ring, without breaking up your workflow. I find myself paying much more attention to framing and scale when I have the freedom to change it easily. Also, at 5x you see interesting details that I had no idea were there (for example, did you know that montipora polyps have tiny fibers with sticky bits on them, probably for catching food, or that chalices appear to deform their skin to funnel food into their mouths when tiny bits of food fall on them?).
I'm surprised I rarely see this lens discussed - I really don't think it is as difficult to use as people make it out to be, you just have to be aware of it's limitations (keep in mind that it's limitations are also what enable to be such a powerful lens) and cost. Ie. Don't get one because someone on a forum said it was a nice lens, make sure you know what you are getting into.
-Tre
In my opinion, there are three requirements that should be met before you ever think about buying this lens:
1. You must be able to put your corals within approximately three inches of the glass.
2. You must have a lot of light. I get by using the same LED's I used with the 100 mm. I typically have an LED source literally a few mm out of frame on any given shot.
3. You must have a focusing rail. It is really the only way to adjust the focus on this lens.
If you can control your environment in this manner (and do basic things like, shut off flow and keep glass/lenses clean), I would say that this lens is the best macro lens out there, by a long shot. If I would have known what I know now, I would have never wasted my money on the 100 mm f2.8 lens, as I now use this lens exclusively.
At 1:1, the quality is on par with the 100 mm macro, but the power is in when you want to go higher magnification. With my f2.8, any time I wanted to modify the magnification, I would have to disconnect my lens and start attaching extension tubes. This is a time consuming step, and forces you to completely re-setup your shot. With the MP-E, it's like your extension tubes are built-in (just like a bellows), only now you can go all the way up to 5x (my tubes with the 100 mm give me 2x). Any time you want to adjust the magnification, you just do it by turning the ring, without breaking up your workflow. I find myself paying much more attention to framing and scale when I have the freedom to change it easily. Also, at 5x you see interesting details that I had no idea were there (for example, did you know that montipora polyps have tiny fibers with sticky bits on them, probably for catching food, or that chalices appear to deform their skin to funnel food into their mouths when tiny bits of food fall on them?).
I'm surprised I rarely see this lens discussed - I really don't think it is as difficult to use as people make it out to be, you just have to be aware of it's limitations (keep in mind that it's limitations are also what enable to be such a powerful lens) and cost. Ie. Don't get one because someone on a forum said it was a nice lens, make sure you know what you are getting into.
-Tre
