Pysanka Artist Loc: Rochester, NY

I am new to macro photography and have always enjoyed getting close to my subjects. I have finally purchased some equipment and was wondering if you could tell me if there is anything else basic I will need. This is what I have:

MP-E 65mm 1 2.8 lens
EF100mm f2.8L MACRO IS USM lens
Feisol CT-3442 tripod
7D Mark II
Leofoto LH-40PCL ball head
ISHOOT D Lens Collar 
SunwayFoto PCL-7DIIR L Bracket for Canon 7D Mark II DSLR Camera
100mm a/s plate
Yongnuo YN24EX macro flash
Canon tripod mount B

Would also appreciate any tutorials or books on how to proceed with macro photography!

Here's something I shot hand held with my 100mm.

(Download)

EnglishBrenda Loc: Kent, England

An interesting shot and well done. You have an enviable selection of macro gear. The posts at the beginning of the macro section have lots of information and also some You tube videos are helpful.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

At some point you may need a macro adjustment slide/rail for moving the whole camera/lens assembly to facilitate composing/focusing/stacking. Something like this will allow attaching either a L bracket OR your tripod collars - https://www.ebay.com/itm/140mm-Nodal-Slide-Double-Dovetail-Macro-Rail-Clamp-Panoramic-Head-fit-Arca-RRS/172161639495?hash=item2815a22447:g:lB0AAOSw0QFXCGoj

Flashes work nicely for macro work - but you do need continuous lighting to focus with or to augment existing light when not using flash. Here is one I have been looking at for myself that I have been impressed with - https://www.ebay.com/itm/YONGNUO-YN320-LED-Light-3200-5500K-PRO-wireless-control-for-SLR-Canon-Nikon-USA/202170957128?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649 ....... Some more advanced flash systems have a continuous source built in for focusing.

Google John Shaw/photographer - he has books and more ....
.

tinusbum Loc: east texas

if i could have only 1 macro lens it would be the mpe65 but i love my others too.if you plan to go out and shoot live insects dont use a tripod.almost all of us shoot hand held.the most important thing is practice,if you have a question as you practice just ask

Pysanka Artist Loc: Rochester, NY

Thank you for your recommendations again!

Pysanka Artist Loc: Rochester, NY

Thank you!

napabob Loc: Napa CA

I have the MP-E 65mm and love it, it is a challenge but delivers when everything goes right, I also shoot with the 100mm usually with full set of tubes. Very few of us use a tripod as it lessons the odds of productive bug shooting, I believe most of us started there and quickly left it behind, and the best advice is practice..............lots and lots of practice

Pysanka Artist Loc: Rochester, NY

What is a full set of tubes? I can see how a tripod would be rather useless for capturing live bugs. I was thinking the tripod more for shooting and stacking non-animate objects. Don't think I could shoot and stack any live animal successfully without one (I am assuming you need the exact frame for each stack).

napabob Loc: Napa CA

Gary can speak to the use of a tripod for stacking with much more authority then I

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/35mm-Extension-Tubes/ci/7299/N/3543272720?sts=cat

and welcome to the large world of small............

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

John Shaw's book - Closeups in Nature - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/john-shaws-closeups-in-nature-john-shaw/1000584096
.

Pysanka Artist Loc: Rochester, NY

Thank you for the welcome! Thanks for the link on the tubes too. I often find myself having to back up with my 100mm when I don't want to. Do you prefer the 100mm with the tubes or the mpe65 for 1:1?

Pysanka Artist Loc: Rochester, NY

Oh great! This is at a library in my county -- just placed a hold on it!

napabob Loc: Napa CA

they are both well cherished, they are different beasts, 100 shoots auto focus down to 1:1,(sorry I do not know what it is with tubes) the MP-E is manual only and shoots 1:1 - 5:1 (add tubes it gets dicey and again don't know what you end up with, other then a DOF so thin it's VERY challenging unless your stacking)

if I'm shooting butterflies, flowers, flowers with bugs, I'll start with the 100 only and if the bug is interesting I'll add the tubes, if it's real interesting I'll capture it and bring it to my macro lab, and usually switch to the MP-E 65

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

I have found the forum of regulars here to be very supportive and inspirational. They truly helped me in my adventure into macro photography and without them I may have turned to another hobby (now a passion).

The Canon MP-65E is considered to be the "gold standard" of macro lenses and many use it here. I'm a Nikon user so I have to resort to other methods. Mastering off-camera flash is important to highly detailed images. There appear to be endless ways to accomplish this so enjoy experimenting with methods of diffusion. The working distance in macro and especially when going more than 1:1 can produce shadows by the lens being so close to the subject so getting a soft flash on the subject is important for quality shots.

The MP-65E can go to 5:1 which is oh-my-gosh detail. Practice with different f/stops, shutter speeds and flash power for various situations you will come across. If you enjoy learning, this will provide an endless opportunity to do so.

Don't be discouraged when a shot doesn't turn out well. Frankly, there are many more misses than hits which I'm confident others will attest to however those few that are hits make it all worthwhile.

Hand-held shooting in the manual mode is a more productive method in the field compared to using a tripod. Mark suggested that I carry a stick with me to hold and rest my camera on and that made a huge difference plus the stick came in handy for other uses in the field like pushing back weeds looking for insects.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Here's a link to my recent macro setup that I use for focus stacking that you may find interesting should you ever wish to use your MP-65E lens at 5:1 for focus stacked images.

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-593805-1.html#10187498