Craig Gerard wrote:Phil,
The TS-E 90mm is a manual focus lens, so too the MP-E; not sure if you see this as a limiting factor. The focus ring is very smooth, responsive and precise. The lens is known for its sharpness, absence of any distortion and negligable CA (if any). I have not used it to any extent to comment on its overall capabiities when used in a conventional manner; but suffice to say, at present, the 2.8/100 L IS USM is resting in a cupboard.
When you factor in the tilt and shift capabilities of the TS-E 90mm it becomes a very desirable piece.
I have ordered a Canon 500D close-up lens to use with the TS-E 90mm and intend to attach some Raynox diopters and possibly, as a separate exercise, some Minolta diopters and see what happens.
DQE wrote:What would be the pros and cons of extension tubes vs diopters for such a lens, while trying to get to at least 1x mag? Is it possible that a combination of a short tube and a moderate diopter would work better?
I look forward to further responses regarding your enquiry.
Craig
Craig,
Thanks for you reply and comments.
Manual focus is fine - I have the MP-E and find that the field macro I almost exclusively do is purely a manual focus activity. In my case, I use the "lean back and forth" technique and don't touch the focus ring at all on the 100mm (non-IS) Canon macro lens when it's in use for bigger bugs and occasional flowers.
I've been reviewing the links and reviews on the TS-E lens and tentatively think it would be a good addition to my all-Canon lens portfolio, which consists of: 16-35mm, 24-105mm, 100-300mm DO IS, 85mm f1.2, 100mm non-IS macro.
While I'd also enjoy upgrading the 100-300mm to the new IS "L" zoom for general purposes, and upgrading the 100mm to the IS model (probably without much benefit to macro uses), the TS-E lens would provide excellent detail and the very interesting tilt/shift capabilities. Thus its novel features would probably do more to add new capabilities and features than merely upgrading one of the other lenses I have.
While my initial thought (and still of interest) was to obtain a dedicated dragonfly lens such as the f4 300mm or perhaps try the new 100-300mm "L" lens for that purpose, that can wait until next spring when the dragons come back in force - fall is definitely in the air where I live near Portland, Maine.
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I've read some complaints about the difficulty of adjusting the small knobs and locking knobs on the TS-E 90mm lens - what's your take on that concern? It's one thing if it's a mild or moderate nuisance but quite another if they are excessively fragile or very hard to use in day-to-day practice.
Any idea what magnification one would obtain with 12mm, 25mm, 37mm, and 68mm of tube extension? At the moment, I have 12 and 25mm Canon. I've read that there would be some degradation of image quality if one uses high degrees of tilt or shift with extension tubes.
I don't mind vignetting within reason since it's easily adjusted with reasonable accuracy in Photoshop and/or ACR.
I already have Canon 250 and 500 diopters, and could try those out.
What about teleconverters with the TS-E 90? Some lenses are stressed by such things and I assume using max tilt/shift with TCs would degrade image quality at least somewhat.
And, of course the bottom line issue is how to optimize macro image quality with reasonable access to tilt and shift at say 1x magnification. Same things apply to landscape photography, another occasional interest for me, probably to be explored further if I do acquire this lens.
Has anyone worked with a modified version of this lens?
(must be time to read the manual)
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