Why isn’t the Canon MP-E 65mm macro considered a zoom lens, and what does the 65mm mean?
Asked 3/18/2012
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The Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro changes framing dramatically as magnification is adjusted, unlike a typical macro lens where focusing only changes framing a little. At 1x and 5x, its angle of view seems more like much longer focal lengths, which makes it feel similar to zooming.
Why is it still called a 65mm lens instead of something like 65-325mm? What does the stated 65mm focal length actually refer to, and how should I think about framing with this lens at different magnifications?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
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It's called a 65mm because that's the combined focal length (light bending ability) of the elements that make up the lens in its default configuration.
It's common for prime lenses change field of view slightly on focusing, the effect is just exaggerated with the MPE-65. Lots of rules break down when you get into macro and super-macro photography, focal length, f-stop etc. cease to matter as the formulas for things like depth of field and exposure use approximations that assume the distance from subject to camera is much greater than the distance from lens to film plane, which isn't the case with macro. You have to ignore what it says on the lens and use your judgement or trial an error to begin with.
Note it's standard practice to state the focal length of a lens when focused at infinity (to account for minor variations as mentioned above). As the MPE-65 doesn't focus to infinity I assume they measure it for the 1x setting, so the value is not directly comparable with other lenses.
Originally by user1375. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1375
14y ago
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It’s called a 65mm because lens focal length is normally specified by its optical focal length in the lens’s nominal/default design, traditionally referenced the same way lenses are described at long focus distances. The MP-E 65 is still fundamentally a 65mm macro lens, but at extreme magnifications many “normal” lens intuitions break down.
What you’re seeing is magnification change, not independent zooming. A zoom lens lets you vary focal length separately from focus. The MP-E 65 does not: changing its setting changes magnification and focus together, so it is not a zoom.
At macro and especially super-macro distances, angle of view, effective aperture, and framing change dramatically as magnification increases. That’s why at 1x or 5x it can behave like the field of view of a much longer lens focused at infinity, even though it is still described as a 65mm lens.
For practical framing, think in terms of reproduction ratio (1x to 5x), not “35mm-equivalent” style focal length comparisons. With this lens, trial, error, and experience are the normal way to compose, because macro formulas and familiar focal length intuition are much less useful at these distances.
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