Other Macro Show us your macro rig

Can anyone tell me if there is any disadvantage using the commander mode in my D7100 when using off camera flash,or is it best to connect using a cable ?? thanks in advance
 
Setup #1 - 40D, MP-E65, MT-24EX and concave diffuser

3 layers of thin foam as concave diffuser. 2 layers of thin foam on flash heads.
new diffuser cropped by Kurt (orionmystery.blogspot.com), on Flickr
I use white surgical tape for holding the diffuser onto the adapter.

Sample shots:
Mating pair of giraffe weevil...IMG_6546 copy by Kurt (orionmystery.blogspot.com), on Flickr

IMG_8600 copy by Kurt (orionmystery.blogspot.com), on Flickr

I have also used the 270EX successfully for lighting on the MPE65.

Animated gif. If you can't view it, try clicking it to go to my Flickr page.
270ex upside down b by Kurt (orionmystery.blogspot.com), on Flickr

Sample shots and more about it here: http://orionmystery.blogspot.com/2011/05/270ex-for-macro-improved-version.html
 
Setup #2, 40D/70D, 60mm F2, 270EX

I haven't blogged about this yet, but it's very similar to my friend Melvyn's rig. Still a concave diffuser, but way bigger to cater for the smaller magnification (magnification: 1X and lower or working distance of 4 inches and beyond) of the 60mm F2; as opposed to the MPE's 1X and higher: 4 inches and below. The concave diffuser on the 60mm is intentionally designed to be this big because I want to be able to photograph big creatures like frogs and snakes (full body shots, big working distance) and get decent light too.

20121217_233132-copy by Kurt (orionmystery.blogspot.com), on Flickr

Sample shots:
Monkey Grasshopper IMG_4863 copy by Kurt (orionmystery.blogspot.com), on Flickr

Cyrtodactylus bintangtinggi IMG_5216 copy by Kurt (orionmystery.blogspot.com), on Flickr
 
orionmystery said:
Setup #1 - 40D, MP-E65, MT-24EX and concave diffuser

3 layers of thin foam as concave diffuser. 2 layers of thin foam on flash heads.
new diffuser cropped by Kurt (orionmystery.blogspot.com), on Flickr
I use white surgical tape for holding the diffuser onto the adapter.

Sample shots:
Mating pair of giraffe weevil...IMG_6546 copy by Kurt (orionmystery.blogspot.com), on Flickr

IMG_8600 copy by Kurt (orionmystery.blogspot.com), on Flickr

I have also used the 270EX successfully for lighting on the MPE65.

Animated gif. If you can't view it, try clicking it to go to my Flickr page.
270ex upside down b by Kurt (orionmystery.blogspot.com), on Flickr

Sample shots and more about it here: http://orionmystery.blogspot.com/2011/05/270ex-for-macro-improved-version.html
Click to expand...

Would you mind sharing how you made the FMMB bracket was it acrylic on a cnc machine?
 
Tintin124 said:
Would you mind sharing how you made the FMMB bracket was it acrylic on a cnc machine?
Click to expand...

Right, Bryn. Acrylic machined to shape. The inner diameter fits onto a step-up ring attached onto the lens :).

Look for Andrea's Macro Rig in the link below for more info on FMMB.

You can use a cokin filter holder too like what my friend Stephen (Steb1) does. Another friend of mine uses a lens hood to hold the speedlight.

http://orionmystery.blogspot.com/2010/12/more-macro-rigs.html
 
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is anyone able to answer my query or is the page just for bragging rights
lol :)
 
Not sure what "commander mode" is but at a guess it is someway of wirelessly triggering an off camera flash. If that's the case I can't foresee any reason not to use it over a cable. I used to use an IR trigger but switched to a cable so I didn't have to worry about an additional battery.
 
Hi all

I was forced to make a change to my rig shown above after replacing the zoom plus raynox I had been using with an Olympus 60mm Macro lens. The lens was too short for the flash position I had been using so the Rimablitz has once again been retired.

Had to go back to mounting the flash on a bracket at the side of the camera and made a mini Softbox out of a plastic pot, painted black on the outside and white on the inside, with some white foam packing material behind the front cap to help with defusion.









A quick test seems to show it works quite well.



Paul
 
Paul-H said:
Hi all

I was forced to make a change to my rig shown above after replacing the zoom plus raynox I had been using with an Olympus 60mm Macro lens. The lens was too short for the flash position I had been using so the Rimablitz has once again been retired.

Had to go back to mounting the flash on a bracket at the side of the camera and made a mini Softbox out of a plastic pot, painted black on the outside and white on the inside, with some white foam packing material behind the front cap to help with defusion.









A quick test seems to show it works quite well.



Paul
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Neat setup. I bought some black matt to spray paint the outside of my softbox diffuser, and some chrome for the inside. Never got round to doing it though, but you've got a professional looking result :)
 
Jim Gourlay said:
is anyone able to answer my query or is the page just for bragging rights
lol :)
Click to expand...

It depends how it works, is it Wireless or Wire Less, there is a difference.

Wireless implies it uses some form of Radio Trigger and if it does it should be fine to use

Wire Less implies there are no wires used which could be either radio or as more commonly found light, often provided by the cameras in built flash.

If its the light verity then its probably not suitable because of sensor placement and closeness of equipment..

Off camera Flash Cables are available for most makes of camera and are often not that expensive, as long as you stay away from the camera makers own version.

My one is a cheap Yongnuo one from ebay, its made for Canon but works fine on Olympus/Panasonic & Fuji Camera flash systems, and above all its 100% reliable in macro photography.

Paul
 
Ashamed to say the picture is borrowed from Google Images.

It's an Oly Ring Flash RF-11, I'm using it on an Oly OM-D E-M1 with the Oly 60mm Macro.

I picked the RF up for under half the RRP, used but as ANIB.
The condition is amazing in indistinguishable from new.

Initial trials are promising..
Camera set on M to expose for the background, I hate black backgrounds.
Flash set on TTL auto.
Sadly no pics yet good enough to show.


RF-11 by Dave in Wales, on Flickr
 
Jim Gourlay said:
Can anyone tell me if there is any disadvantage using the commander mode in my D7100 when using off camera flash,or is it best to connect using a cable ?? thanks in advance
Click to expand...

Don't see any reason why you shouldn't be able to use the pop up as a commander so long as you switch it to '--' and just trigger using the pre-flashes. Obviously, a little light will still be thrown forward but the main OCF will overpower that with no trouble.
 
Some great info/pics on here/this thread.




Ive just started to experiment with on board camera flash myself (i normally rely on the sun!) but need to get to grips with diffusers, in order to improve.

Just made several DIY Pringles diffusers, for my Nikon D7100, and Panasonic FZ28 Bridge camera.


Ist up, the Nikon D7100 with Nikon macro 105mm VR lens.

DIY Diffuser(Pringles). Nikon D7100 with Macro 105mm VR lens. by Testudo Man, on Flickr


Next is the Panasonic FZ28...I normally have either the 250 or 150 Raynox macro lens mounted on this camera, but just recently, Ive tried shooting a few images with both the 250/150 stacked...thanks to the DIY Pringles Diffuser.

DIY Diffuser(Pringles). Panasonic FZ28 by Testudo Man, on Flickr

DIY Diffuser (Pringles). Panasonic FZ28 by Testudo Man, on Flickr
 
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These two shots show in this instance my Meike Ring Flash mounted on a Raynox DCR 250 and then on the front of a Micro Nikkor 105mm lens.

The main purpose though is to show the diffusion I have created for the Ring Flash.
I first covered both flash tubes with a single layer of Polystyrene cut to shape from a plate and then added two layers of 3mm Foam Packaging on top of the Polystyrene. This material was attached to the Ring Flash using surgical tape.
I then sourced some U-Shaped Foam from B&Q, it's the material that's put around the edge of shower screens to protect them in transit ( I just went to the kitchen/bathroom dept and asked if they could spare some). I then cut two pieces of the foam to approximately the correct length as you can see in the pics. To get it in the curved shape of the flash tubes I put the two pieces of foam in some hot water to soften them a bit and then put each piece around a tumbler and secured it with an elastic band and placed it in the fridge until all of the warmth had gone. The two pieces then stayed in a curved shape to fit the Ring Flash. I attached the foam to the Ring Flash using Double Sided Tape from Poundland and then just trimmed it to shape and this is the result.

Hope you find this useful.,

George.

Ring Flash Diffuser (1)-31897 by G.K.Jnr., on Flickr

Ring Flash Diffuser (2)-31900 by G.K.Jnr., on Flickr
 
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These four shots are to show the Front Mounted Bracket I have made primarily to hold a Flash Unit for Macro/Close Up work. In this instance the bracket is mounted on my Fuji 55-200mm lens with a Raynox MSN 202 on the front giving me a 16-6mm variable working width.

The main part of the bracket is made from an old drive shaft coupling support and is hinged on the side you can see with an adjustable expanding locking screw on the other side making it possible to fit it to most of my lenses or directly on to a Filter Mount. The top part is just a normal cheap Straight Flash Bracket (just a few bucks from ebay).
I first bent the Flash Bracket to approximately right angles as you can see and then attached it to the bottom bracket using a cut to length piece of bolt and some nuts and locking washers. I needed to raise the flash bracket a bit so when the lens is racked in it will ride over the controls of the lens.

The flash unit is a Nissin i40 activated by the Nissin SC-01 universal lead. But of course any suitably sized flash unit can be used. The flash diffusion is created by a piece of Polystyrene plate cut to shape and then 3-layers of 3mm thick Packaging Foam and then attached to the flash head. I have then made several concave diffusers of differing sizes to fit over the top of whatever lens I am using and just how close I am working from the subject. This particular one was cut from a Polystyrene breakfast bowl and a single piece of 3mm thick Packaging Foam added on the underside and attached using surgical tape. It is then held in place on the lens using blue-tack.

Hope you find this useful.,

George.

FMMB (1)-31903 by G.K.Jnr., on Flickr

FMMB (2)-31906 by G.K.Jnr., on Flickr

FMMB (3)-31912 by G.K.Jnr., on Flickr

FMMB (4)-31909 by G.K.Jnr., on Flickr
 
G.K.Jnr. said:
These two shots show in this instance my Meike Ring Flash mounted on a Raynox DCR 250 and then on the front of a Micro Nikkor 105mm lens.

The main purpose though is to show the diffusion I have created for the Ring Flash.
I first covered both flash tubes with a single layer of Polystyrene cut to shape from a plate and then added two layers of 3mm Foam Packaging on top of the Polytsyrene. This material was attached to the Ring Flash using surgical tape.
I then sourced some U-Shaped Foam from B&Q, it's the material that's put around the edge of shower screens to protect them in transit ( I just went to the kitchen/bathroom dept and asked if they could spare some). I then cut two pieces of the foam to approximately the correct length as you can see in the pics. To get it in the curved shape of the flash tubes I put the two pieces of foam in some hot water to soften them a bit and then put each piece around a tumbler and secured it with an elastic band and placed it in the fridge until all of the warmth had gone. The two pieces then stayed in a curved shape to fit the Ring Flash. I attached the foam to the Ring Flash using Double Sided Tape from Poundland and then just trimmed it to shape and this is the result.

Hope you find this useful.,

George.

Ring Flash Diffuser (1)-31897 by G.K.Jnr., on Flickr

Ring Flash Diffuser (2)-31900 by G.K.Jnr., on Flickr
Click to expand...

Brilliant and what about the underneath of the foam you said you added something there?

Need to get myself to B&Q... The whole Meike setup looks identical to the Yongnuo. :D
 
Tintin124 said:
Brilliant and what about the underneath of the foam you said you added something there?:D
Click to expand...

It's just approximately 3mm thick foam packaging material Bryn, the stuff that comes with some electrical appliances.(y)

George.
 
ChrisA said:
That looks excellent George - was looking at Kurts blog earlier and thinking trying the foam out this year. Must get some to try.
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Thanks Chris, both systems seem to work pretty good and they are so very easy to make.(y)

George.
 
I've just ordered a new ringflash - so need to try this stuff which looks different from mine.

Must have another ride out to B&Q and see if they have different types of that packing cos mine seemed flatter than yours. Need a poly plate as well... :)

Cheers George.

Paul.
 
Paul Iddon said:
I've just ordered a new ringflash - so need to try this stuff which looks different from mine.

Must have another ride out to B&Q and see if they have different types of that packing cos mine seemed flatter than yours. Need a poly plate as well... :)

Cheers George.

Paul.
Click to expand...


I would imagine Paul that each manufacturer of the various screens have their own slant on the packing they use but the end product is still the same. Maybe I was just very lucky with the shape of material that I obtained, so would be well worth you trying to blag some more from them.(y)

George.
 
Carlh said:
thats a wicked setup george (y) waaay beyond my DIY capabilities unfortunately
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Thanks Carl, but it really is very easy to create.(y)

George.
 
spudhead said:
just want to say some of the results you guys are get with these home made rigs is amazing
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It's the only way Gary, when what is really needed is not commercially available.(y)

George.
 
Here is my lateet set up
Note this only on the tripod for the purposes of shooting the rig as its never used on a tripod.

My Olympus OMD E-M1 with 3 m4/3 Kooka tubes a MMF3 adapterand 4/3 Sigma 105 f 2.8 lens and Raynox M-250 Nissin Di466 flash with homemade diffuser.

Macro-rig by alf.branch, on Flickr

Macro-rig-2 by alf.branch, on Flickr


I need more diffusion I think

Here is a test shot with this full frame

105-mag-test-tubes&R by alf.branch, on Flickr
 
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Venus 60mm Setup


20150228_202137 by bthomas124, on Flickr

For additional tubes and TC I use a larger 23x23cm softbox shown above is a cheapo polaroid octobox softbox.

MP-E Setup


20150323_215141 by bthomas124, on Flickr

Setup like this I can rotate the straight bar round to full magnification where flash then is placed slightly behind the lens angled forward.

For 1x/2x the flash being in front of lens is not an issue and doesn't appear to be causing any glare problems
 
Jim Gourlay said:
Can anyone tell me if there is any disadvantage using the commander mode in my D7100 when using off camera flash,or is it best to connect using a cable ?? thanks in advance
Click to expand...

Commander mode relies on the slave flash "seeing" the pre flash and the resulting "command". It works fine if it does. I (personal opinion) really don't like the amount of flashing that goes on in commander mode, it drives me doolally, so I prefer to use wireless triggers. With that said I think a cable would be even better if you want the flash close to the camera (as is usual for macro) because then there's no extra batteries, the trade off being the length of the cable and possible snagging during a shoot. I have several "normal" flashes but I have just invested in a ring flash after spending some time "running and gunning" for insects with a very good local macro photographer. (He's a TP'er of course).
 
just added a Sigma 105mm OS HSM Macro to my kit, and would like to give Macro a good go.

Finding the focusing hand held a bit of a nightmare, so found this thread and looking through kits, it looks to be tripods and an array of diffusers and flashes, which i have all, but the disffuser, so time to get creative
 
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