Aliens, or some recent MPE-65 macros...

[Dennis]

Hello,

My confidence with the (manual focus) Canon MPE-65 macro lens is slowly increasing and today, I managed to push it out to 2:1, where an object say 1 mm in real life will be recorded as 2 mm on the sensor.

This fly was extraordinarily cooperative, resting on the lip of a plant pot saucer so I managed to get a series of nice shots, with most in focus somewhere in the frame. I loaded the better frames into CS6 Layers and using Layer Masks, blended the in-focus parts of the Layers to generate a composite with most regions in focus.:)

The ants and spider are from the previous day where I was shooting at 1:1 although that was tripod mounted; I still had my training wheels on!:lol:

Thanks for looking and I hope they don’t appear too ghoulish and scary!;)

Cheers

Dennis

[LightningNZ]

They're incredibly impressive is what they are!
Well done, training wheels or not. :)

Cheers,
Cam

[Larryp]

Great macros!

[ourkind]

I can't stop looking at them!! I can't wait to see more!!

[Osirisra]

Holly cow! they are amazing!!!!

[Dennis]

Thanks Cam, Laurie, Carlos and Ken, I appreciate your comments.:)

For stability, I used a broom pole in my left hand and by relaxing my grip, I can slide the macro rig up and down the pole. When I am at the right level, I then tighten my grip which steadies the camera and lens combo. It’s then just a matter of slowly swaying in or out until the insect is in sharp focus in the viewfinder, then hoping that the shot is in focus!:)

Cheers

Dennis

[troypiggo]

Lovely collection there. The MPE certainly is a beast to control, and you've done extremely well. Wish I had the time to get out and shoot :(

[leon]

Very impressive indeed, beautifully captured.

Leon

[Dennis]

Hi Troy

I reckon you’ll have more fun with Hayden crawling around in your back garden that I had grabbing these macros! I guess there’s a time for family and with the classical division of the 24 hour day into 8/8/8 hrs. for work/sleep/family, right now there’s not much left over for chasing insects, but I’m certain the time will come.

Just look forward to having a willing photo assistant to help carry the gear!:)

Cheers

Dennis

[Dennis]

Thanks Leon, it was good crawling through the shrubs and getting dirty!;)

Cheers

Dennis

[Geoff66]

Very nice shots - looking forward to when you remove those training wheels.

EDIT: not that you need them, of course :) The photos inspired me to get a MPE-65

[UniPol]

Fantastic images

[astroboy]

Stunning shots Dennis , I never new a fly could look beautiful .

Zane

[Dennis]

Thanks Geoff, Steve & Zane, the MPE-65 is a very competent lens although it has a reputation of being challenging to use. The lens operates from 1:1 to 5:1 and is manual focus only, so you set the magnification you want, say 2:1 and then you sway in or out until the subject is in focus.

The depth of focus is razor thin and I have noticed that if I stop down below F11, I begin to see evidence of diffraction on the finer detail, such as the hairs on an insect’s body.

As you get past 3:1 the viewfinder becomes darker as the field of view shrinks and your subject takes on the proportions of something out of a horror movie!:lol:

Cheers

Dennis

[multiweb]

Unreal macros Dennis. Professional grade. :prey2:

[Dennis]

Thanks Marc – I’ve had plenty of practice with the dreary, cloudy nights permanently parked over SE Qld for the past 6 months or so…:(

Cheers

Dennis

[lacad01]

:bowdown: Outstanding Dennis!

[E_ri_k]

Amazing photos! So clear and detailed. Well done.
Erik

[Dennis]

Thank you to everyone for your nice words of appreciation, I am enjoying an unusually long run of good luck with flies in our back garden at the moment. I’m not sure if they have just got used to us being around the shrubs and plants, but they seem to be more relaxed and stay in one spot or region so I can slowly approach them and take some remarkable close shots.:)

It’s almost as if they are posing for me and they even occasionally land on me if I spook them as they jump away from the camera.:)

Cheers

Dennis

[gary]

Dennis,

I would never have thought a photo of a fly could take my breath way, but these
are amazing!

[StephenM]

Another fantastic set Dennis! Very well done. I'll have to give the MPE a go one of these days.

Cheers,
Stephen

[Dennis]

Thank you Gary and Stephen, these back yard forays between the rain and clouds of the past few months have been quite refreshing and stimulating.:)

Cheers

Dennis

[bloodhound31]

Lovely work Dennis. I am once again, inspired.

Can you share what your setup was for lighting? What was your aperture and shutter?

Baz.

[rcheshire]

Nice macros Dennis. That lens will do 5:1, or so I read?

[04Stefan07]

These shots are out of this world! I am guessing that these macro lenses are expensive to do something like this. Would love to do this!

[Dennis]

Hi Barry

Same set up previous (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=598271&postcount=9). :)

Cheers

Dennis

[Dennis]

Thanks Rowland, the lens starts at 1:1 and goes all the way to 5:1, although I’ve only managed to get to between 3:1 and 2:1 due to the diminishing FOV and DOF focus once you get above 2:1.

Cheers

Dennis

[Dennis]

Hi Stefan

For anyone wanting to get into the world of macro photography, I would look at the more traditional macro lenses, such as the Canon 100mm F2.8 and the Tamron 90mm F2.8 that Stephen Mudge uses. They will provide years of fun and exploration and have auto focus and can be used as normal lenses for portraits, etc.

The MPE-65 is a highly specialised macro lens and is manual focus only. The closest focusing distance is approx. 10cms so it is useless for anything else.

Cheers

Dennis

[RB]

These shots are excellent Dennis, well done.
That lens is quite difficult to use properly but you're managing it brilliantly.

:thumbsup: