Review on 📸 Canon MR-14EX Macro Ring Lite for Canon DSLR Cameras by Khiam Burton

If you're serious about close-up or macro photography, sooner or later (but probably sooner) you'll need a light source to compensate for the drop in light transmission that occurs when the focus is on short distances. If you can't do all your macro shots outdoors in bright light, or if you don't have the luxury of using spotlights to create a macro scene, you'll need a flash or maybe even a main flash and a few slaves to light tricky macro scenes. The Canon MR-14EX is one of two macro flash units designed for general illumination of close-up subjects, just as the doctor ordered. More on that below. A regular on-camera flash doesn't help much in macro photography. Even if you can tilt your head enough to illuminate the subject, you'll cast unwanted shadows underneath and behind it. A lens mount flash like this ring light shines light directly onto your subject, minimizing and in some cases completely eliminating unwanted shadow effects. There are two light sources in the ring, and electronic controls allow you to balance the light so that it's stronger on one side of the field of view than the other if you're looking for an effect other than intense flat illumination. Secondary flashes can be attached to this unit for more complex close-up photography, but in many cases this flash is all you need to capture photos with the right lighting. The dashboard gives the photographer as much control as he or she wants. Fully automatic lighting, software-defined reduction or increase in light output, manually set light levels - everything is possible. This is a wonderful device that will either calculate and suggest a solution to your lighting problems once you've adjusted your camera settings, or give you as much control as you want or need. Not all macro lighting is suitable for all circumstances. While a ring light is a good all-purpose solution, sometimes you're so close to your subject that you need more control over the direction of the light. For such photography, Canon launches the MT-24EX, another lens flash but with two light sources on short, adjustable arms on either side of the lens. This flash allows two different light sources to be aimed at a close subject. Subtle modeling effects can be achieved with the direction and intensity of each tiny light source. MT-24EX is more expensive than a ring light; For the most serious macro photographer, the extra money can be worth it. I suspect the ring light will suffice for most macro photography I want to do, but if I eventually reach my limits I'll probably get a different design as well. I suspect that an adjustable dual flash would be a better choice for an MP-E 65mm macro lens for limited purposes, capable of capturing subjects no further than a few inches from the front of the lens. Ring lighting may be a better choice for longer prime Canon lenses that have macro capabilities. If you want to use the MR-14EX or MT-24EX with Canon's excellent 100mm f/2.8 macro lens, you'll need a threaded adapter that allows you to attach the flash to the lens. Adapters sold separately. No adapter is required for the dedicated 65mm macro lens. There is a flange on the front of the lens to which any flash head can be attached directly with a snap-on mechanism.