$499,00 is a LOT for a strobe. You'd expect such a purchase to be honored by the seller. What you do NOT expect when you open the box is a bare strobe tangled in it's wires rattling around in the bottom of the too big box -- improperly packed, with no Canon box, bag, instructions, warranty -- and with the etched bonus of deep scratches and a cracked casing. I don't know what BATTERIES the strobe is supposed to take, much less how to turn it on and program it!!! (Instructions would have been WONDERFUL to have!!!)Clearly this is a "Dump off" return used until foisted off on an unexpected customer such as Fryes is famous for doing. They are hoping I won't make too much noise and will accept their "offering!"May I highly recommend that you go to a store that will compete with Amazon for any camera purchases? I've asked for a refund. I'll keep you all posted!

I bought the Canon MR-14EX Macro Ring Lite to go along with my to be used on a . I really haven't explored extreme macro photography before, so I thought I might as well see if it is something I could love. So as I do with most things I get interested in, I went a little nuts and bought a ton of equipment, including the Canon MR-14EX Macro Ring Lite. Note, I am an amateur photo enthusiast, so my perspective is offered from the point-of-view of an enthusiasts who just loves to go out there and capture as many nifty exposures as I can for fun, not necessarily a perspective for the pros.Observations: Even though the f-stop for the Canon 100mm Macro lens is a 2.8, you still need a ton of lighting to get good shots without cranking up the ISO or slowing down the shutter speed to something that will invariably lead to a blurry picture even when using a tripod. This Macro Ring Lite offers a fairly reliable solution to the problem. You could also invest in the since the L-series comes with image stabilization and is very well reviewed, but there are many situations where I could see needing the Macro Ring even with the L-Series w/ IS. That and the L-series lens is almost $900. But that upgrade will probably come in due time. Until then, I will continue to use the Canon 100mm f2.8 USM Macro lens, which is also very well rated.On to the Canon MR-14EX Macro Ring LitePros:Nicely built with a heavy feel to the unit, especially the cordAA batteries make it easy to powerCommunicates with the camera's E-TTLThe guide LEDs are a very helpful for quick focusTakes nice pics without too much washout like other flashes can causeVery useful for inanimate object closeupsHelpful with living subjects that aren't afraid of the flash's guide lights or noisesMakes your camera look kick-assCons:Adds quite a bit of overall weight when loaded with batteriesI would have liked it to also work with Canon batteriesIt is on the higher end of the price spectrumReally doesn't work well on human subjects (from my own experience, you make have different results)Not perfect when trying to get spontaneous shots since there is so much fiddling with the flash settingsGuide LEDs and noise seems to startle the more jittery of my small subjects like anoles & skinks, spiders and winged creaturesThe exposure color tends to be too white (5400K) and the lite doesn't come with filters for color offsetting (but I am a dirty cheater who loves PhotoShop and uses it shamelessly, I solve many of the filtering issues in post)But after using the flash for a week or so, it has its unquestionable benefits and works perfectly in most of the situations I have used it in. But there are a few drawbacks that hold the Canon MR-14EX Macro Ring Lite form being a perfect addition to the macro photographers arsenal. I would still highly recommend the Canon MR-14EX Macro Ring Lite for the more serious enthusiast who won't mind spending a little time with it to learn its strengths and secrets.

However, it would have been nice to know ahead of time that to use it with the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro the "Canon Macrolite Adapter 67" is needed.so it was somewhat disapointing.

If you are a serious close-up or macro photographer, sooner or later (but probably sooner) you will need an illumination source to make up for the falloff in light transmission that occurs with close focus at short distances. If you can't do all your macro photography outdoors in bright light, or if you don't have the luxury of building a macro stage with flood lights, you will need a flash attachment -- or perhaps even a primary flash and a couple of slaves to illuminate complex macro scenes. For general purpose illumination on close subjects, the Canon MR-14EX is one of two macro flash units that are just what the doctor ordered. More about the other one below.An ordinary camera-top flash won't help much with macro photography. Even if you can angle the head down far enough to illuminate your subject, you will cast unwelcome shadows below and behind it. A lens-mounted flash like this ring light will push illumination straight forward on your subject, minimizing and in some cases completely erasing unwanted shadow effects. There are two light sources in the ring, and electronic controls allow you to balance the light to be stronger on one side of the field of view than the other if you are looking for an effect other than intense flat-field lighting. Secondary flashes can be slaved to this unit for more complicated close-up scenes, but in many cases this flash will be all you need to take properly illuminated photographs. The dashboard puts as much control in the photographer's hands as he or she may want. Completely automatic illumination, programmatically determined decrease or increase in light output, manually determined light levels -- all is possible. This is a wonderful device that will either calculate and produce solutions to your illumination problems after you have set your camera preferences, or it will grant you as much control as you desire or demand.Not all macro lighting is appropriate for all circumstances. While a ring light is a good general purpose solution, sometimes you will be so close to a subject that you need greater control of illumination direction. For that kind of photography, Canon makes the MT-24EX, another lens-mounted flash but one that puts the two light sources on short adjustable arms to either side of the lens. With this flash one can angle two different illumination sources at a close-in subject. Subtle modeling effects can be achieved with the direction and intensity of each tiny light source. The MT-24EX is more expensive than the ring light; for the most serious macro photographers the additional money may be worth it. I suspect the ring light will be sufficient for most of the macro photography I wish to do, but if I run up against limits at some point I will probably acquire the other design as well. I suspect the adjustable twin-flash unit might be a better choice for the limited purpose MP-E 65mm macro lens, which cannot be used to take pictures of objects further than a few inches away from the front of the lens. The ring light may be the better choice for Canon's longer prime lenses that include a macro function.If you plan to use either the MR-14EX or MT-24EX on Canon's superb 100mm f/2.8 macro lens, you will need a threaded adapter that permits attaching the flash to the lens. The adapter is sold separately. The dedicated 65mm macro lens needs no adapter. The front of the lens is designed with a flange to which either flash head can be directly attached by a pinch-lock mechanism.