Canon D40 and Canon MP-E 65mm 1x-5x Macro Lens

Has anyone out there tried this setup? A Canon D40 and Canon MP-E 65mm 1x-5x Macro Lens. I am looking to setup a high end coin photo setup and I need to be able to shoot VAMs without a microscope. I have seen some stunning shots from this lens and I understand how it works. I just need to know it can stand up to lighting and shot distances for coins.
I saw the thread on the EF 100mm Macro and I think I would get that lens for my standard full-coin shot lens.
Ash Harrison
I saw the thread on the EF 100mm Macro and I think I would get that lens for my standard full-coin shot lens.
Ash Harrison
Ash Harrison
President, Society of Silver Dollar Collectors
Governor, National Silver Dollar Roundtable
President, Ashmore Rare Coins
President, Society of Silver Dollar Collectors
Governor, National Silver Dollar Roundtable
President, Ashmore Rare Coins
0
Comments
This was shot with a reversed 55mm lens on a bellows
Nice work.
Herb
I was considering the new Nikon D300, with an older PB-4 bellows. However, the body is very expensive compared to the Canon D40, not to mention it's not available until later this month. I'm looking to purchase before the 19th of the month.
Does Canon have a good bellows? Surely they do.
What setup did you use on that pic?
Thanks.
Ash
President, Society of Silver Dollar Collectors
Governor, National Silver Dollar Roundtable
President, Ashmore Rare Coins
President, Society of Silver Dollar Collectors
Governor, National Silver Dollar Roundtable
President, Ashmore Rare Coins
Coin's for sale/trade.
Tom Pilitowski
US Rare Coin Investments
800-624-1870
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Does Canon have a good bellows? Surely they do.
Ash >>
Actually, they don't. The MP-E is their solution replacing the bellows for EOS cameras. (The manual focus FD mount was a different story, but the EOS mount superceded it 20 years ago, and there is no practical compatibility between the two.)
You might be able to find a Novoflex bellows that has the capacity to work with the Canon EOS, but I recall that it is about as expensive as the MP-E itself. Since the EOS has always used electronic signals for aperture control, using indirect methods of lens mounting like bellows or reversing rings is going to be a technical challenge.
ash
President, Society of Silver Dollar Collectors
Governor, National Silver Dollar Roundtable
President, Ashmore Rare Coins
NSDR - Life Member
SSDC - Life Member
ANA - Pay As I Go Member
As for a microscope substitute, this picture is pixel-for-pixel what came out of the camera at the corner of the frame (did I say how sharp the lens is?), without post-processing, shot from over 1 foot away. I'm not sure why I don't have a more interesting picture, but here it is:
If I needed to get closer, I could with a cheap extension tube and still not be very inconvenienced in the lighting department. If you're using a short lens reversed, you have a fixed focus lens, since all the focusing ring will do is give you a lens shade. You'll need a bellows. You'll also be very close to the coin in question (note the long shadows in Mark's picture), making lighting tricky. One way to light a coin like this is to lay a fluoroescent tube ringlight down around the coin, which should give you nicely lit edges, but dark surfaces. Since this is the opposite of what you typically want to show someone, invert the image for presentation. The pitted reverse varieties photograph especially well this way (see 1897 VAM 6A picture in the Top 100 Attribution Wizard -- I'll post the picture later).
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
President, Society of Silver Dollar Collectors
Governor, National Silver Dollar Roundtable
President, Ashmore Rare Coins
President, Society of Silver Dollar Collectors
Governor, National Silver Dollar Roundtable
President, Ashmore Rare Coins