Canon MP-E 65mm Macro Lens Sample Pictures

A single remote flash placed close to the spider creates dramatic lighting in this picture.

When your lens can focus close enough to completely fill the frame with the subject, there is no longer a concern about what the background looks like. In this particular composition, I was attempting to make the lines of the tulip curve through the frame.

Give me a rose, the Canon MP-E 65mm Macro Lens and a flash and I can get lost for hours. At this super-close focus distance, the DOF (Depth of Field) becomes extremely shallow. I chose to keep the edge of a petal in focus and to allow the rest of the rose to smoothly blur into transitions of color.
 
At this focus distance, even a macro flash results in some shading. Here, I used this shading to my advantage.

This shot represents the minimum magnification of this lens on a 1.3x body.

This shot represents the maximum magnification of this lens on a 1.3x body.

A lens having up to 5x magnification available takes you into another world of compositions. Here, I cut part of a tulip flower away to gain a perspective seldom seen. A macro flash makes lighting in tight spots easy.
 
EXIF information does not tell me what magnification was specifically used for this shot, but 3x is my guess.

A super-macro lens allows a new perspective on a common flower - a Grape Hyacinth in this case.

This was a patient spider. As it was January, he probably wasn't feeling like moving much.

Botanical Tulips are amazingly beautiful. The biggest problem I have with them is that they immediate close when I cut them and bring them into my studio.
 
My studio strobes apparently cause them to open slightly - making them ideal macro subjects. Note the various color transitions within the flower petals. A macro ring flash tends to hide textures in subjects, but the variety of colors in this subject takes over the image.
 
To hold cut flowers in the studio (or anywhere else), I use a water tube commonly found on flowers purchased from a florist. I attach a flexible clamp to this tube for positioning.

Your kitchen cabinets contain a huge supply of subjects for a macro lens. Even though the Canon MP-E is capable of up to 5x magnification, any good 1:1 or 1x-capable macro lens lens can make your salt look like this.
 
Lighting for this shot is from a non-modified Canon 580EX II positioned just outside of the frame and remotely fired.
 
The salt was not so pure white - DPP's clone stamp tool was used to remove the brown spots.

The shadow circling the center of this flower gives away the light source used to capture the photo of it - a macro ring flash.

Cut away the side of a tulip flower and get close - SUPER close. The tulip itself provides the brilliantly-colored background.
 
Lighting in tight spaces can be very challenging. In this situation, a macro ring flash is ideal.

Going beyond what normal macro lenses can do, the Canon MP-E 65 1-5x here shows what table salt look like at 3x magnifcation. 3x magnification means that the image is rendered 3x life size on the sensor - which means it is huge when displayed on a monitor.
 
As with the 1x salt picture, lighting for this shot is from a non-modified Canon 580EX II positioned just outside of the frame and remotely fired.
 
The salt was not so pure white - DPP's clone stamp tool was used to remove the brown spots.

This picture is just one of many available in a common yellow rose - if you have the lens for it of course. Then (men) boost you wife's support of your passion by giving the roses to her.

A Botanical Tulip begins unraveling its beautiful packaging. This picture was taken at 1x magnification - at the longest focus distance available on this lens.

You didn't know they had so many eyes, did you? Looks like this spider needs a shave! This shot represents the maximum magnification of this lens on a 1.3x body.

Epsom Salt is not as cubular as table salt, but it provides unique shapes to light. I used a remote Canon Speedlite that was simply laying on the table beside the salt for the lighting.

A small piece of Epsom Salt appears as large as a bolder when imaged at 5x on a high density APS-C sensor. Tack sharp images are elusive at 5x. Diffraction becomes noticeable at the f/16 aperture setting I used to get adequate depth of field.

How smooth do your finger tips feel? They don't look so smooth at 5x!

My wife hates these. :)

A small amount of Epsom Salt can provide perhaps even hours of macro entertainment.

Lichens looks like something from another planet at this magnification.

Up close, spiders look like a movie monster.