I'll start off by saying that this lens is not worth buying unless you are seriously in to macro photography. The lens itself has a maximum working distance of 4 inches and is no use for anything other than macro work. Back to the MPE though.......

Excellent image and build quality; Does what no other macro lens can do - zoom in

Hard to get used to; Needs a dedicated macro flash to work properly

MP-E 65mm, a very specialized Macro lens from Canon. I like what the website says about the product... "It starts where other macro lenses stop", and it pretty-much summarizes the product. Normal macro lenses can reproduce 1:1 magnification at the max, but this lens beats them all.

Not realy a lens I needed for any aspect of my Photo Biz but One of those great "toys" that I felt I couldn't Live without.

Consistent Output; Durable; Easily Interchangeable; Rugged; Strong Construction

Learning curve

I've been shooting macro with this amazing lens now for 2 years. At first, I read horror stories about changes in technique, rails, tripods and the like but I bought one anyway and it has taught me more about photography than any other single piece of equipment.

Pros: Rugged, Durable, Strong Construction, Consistent Output, Easily Interchangeable Cons: Learning curve Other thoughts: Not realy a lens I needed for any aspect of my Photo Biz but One of those great 'toys' that I felt I couldn't Live without.

This is a well built special purpose macro lens with manual focus. It can only focus on very close, flat objects. This lens rewards patience with excellent sharp magnified photos. I only use this lens with a tripod, and a rack focusing rail, and generally have to use live-view to get the focus just...

The lens sharpness test is posted on http://pikespeakphoto.com/tests/canonlens_mp-e.html This is the best quality macro lens Canon has to offer. The image quality it delivers surpasses Canon's 180 mm macro lens.

The sharpest of all Canon Macro lenses

Could be a higher focal length (objects must be ridiculously close to the lens

I bought mine about 10 years ago. It's excellent for extreme close-ups of small insects, fungi etc.and could have been designed for stacking. (I do a lot of stacking and it's my main lens.)

The Canon MPE6528 MP-E65mm has an extremely solid and hefty feel to it weighing it at almost three quarters of a kilo. The lack of any focusing ring is not an issue as your dealing at such close proximity to the subject.

"This is more of a microscope than a lens.. U absolutely need to use a tripod and focusing rail to get adequate results. Fly's eyes, pin heads, and dust mites are simple with this lens.. just be patient.