Sharks123 wrote:
gfinlayson wrote:
Nice setup and photos. Any chance of a how to for the construction of your ring light?

Graeme

Thanks

http://www.diyphotography.net/super-detailed-diy-ring-flash-how-to-video

That link is dead.

Has anyone used the adjustable, friction power arms in their setup for holding their flash? I ordered one off of ebay this week to incorporate into my macro set up and was wondering how strong they were and how others incorporated them into their setups....

They are great, provides you get one with the teeth in the middle. Here is my setup:

Thanks Smccann. Thats a nice setup. How does it work for you as far as ease of use?

It is ok... I now have the same basic idea mounted on a 5" Arca rail, so I can more rapidly adjust for subject distance. All the same caveats as any system apply, namely that proximity softens the light, but steepens the falloff. I would say that a 1 light setup may be easier to deploy and definitely lightyer to hold, so perhaps it is a better idea. I will keep fooling around with this for a while anyhow, to see how it can best be used.

ziggy25 wrote:
Sharks123 wrote:
gfinlayson wrote:
Nice setup and photos. Any chance of a how to for the construction of your ring light?

Graeme

Thanks

http://www.diyphotography.net/super-detailed-diy-ring-flash-how-to-video

That link is dead.

Works for me

My 2 new macro setup ;

I've just made a few tests of ​​a new camera setup for next year 2013. Camera is the Olympus E-EPL3, a DIY adaptor to connect the camera on my VS14s fast shutter housing and the Nikkor AF105/2.8D Macro lens. The DIY adaptor is optimized for best working distance between macro object and the frontside of the lens. The EPL3 camera does not weigh much. The external VS14s shutter has a shutter-lag of 3.5 msec. The detection of an insect in-flight at very closeup distance works via a lasersignal and a 128 pixels line sensor . Detection-lag only near 100 usec.
Picture of the test unit:


Olympus E-EPL3 + DIY adaptor+VS14s shutter 309634 by fotoopa, on Flickr

A few pictures how to make the adaptor for the Olympus camera:


Milling of the adapter 309616 by fotoopa, on Flickr


Milling of the adapter 309623 by fotoopa, on Flickr

Frans.

This thread is incredibly useful! I've just bought my first camera (Canon 600D) and Close-up and Macro is what I want to do.

Thank you all for so much info.

Not my rig but this is what I would do if i have a 90mm/100mm/105mm macro lens.

7D, Tamron SP90, DIY bracket (FMMB - front mounted macro bracket) and concave diffuser i.e similar to mine but adapted for longer focal length and working distance.

IMG_4596 by Kurt / Hock Ping GUEK (orionmystery.blogspot.com), on Flickr

Sample images:

_MG_5062 copy by Kurt / Hock Ping GUEK (orionmystery.blogspot.com), on Flickr


_MG_5057 copy by Kurt / Hock Ping GUEK (orionmystery.blogspot.com), on Flickr

Complete detail here.

Yakim Peled wrote:
My son also loves these creatures. Macro lens (60/2.8) but of course, not macro distance. Just close up.

Happy shooting,
Yakim.

My daughter loves them too. I bought Praying Mantis eggs on ebay this Spring and put them around the yard. They all hatched in June and I had hundreds of them around the yard. It's not creepy like it sounds. They really blend in with the environment but if you walk slowly around and really look in the garden and in the bushes you can find them. They get big too! And they are really friendly and like to climb on you. Unfortunately, they're all starting to croak with the cold weather here in Boston. I'm going to walk around the yard and look for their eggs. If I don't find any I'll just buy more on ebay

As the light of Devil's setup will cover an area in excess of 100 x the diameter of the subject, this must be mainly to eliminate light fall-off.

Harold

My friend Hisham came out with this most creative way of using a ringflash.

Better light and no more weird (or cool) catch lights in jumping spider's eyes.



His macro rigs consists of Pentax K5, SMC Pentax D FA Macro 100mm F2.8 WR3, Pentax AF160C Macro Ring Flash. However, instead of using the ring flash the way it is intended to be, i.e mounted onto the front of the lens, this is what he does. The images here should be self explanatory!

Sample images:




More details here.

There are some inspiring setups here. Having said that, there are some huge flash guns and/or diffusers. I wonder how many insects can be approached with such an intimidating array, not least when they are amongst vegetation whcih can be snagged.

I have more or less finalised my subtitute for an MPE-65:

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=117843#117843

The zoom lens used has quite a fungus problem and a replacement is on its way to me.

Some results:

At 28mm focal lenght:

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18631

At 50mm:

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18543

At 70mm:

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=117016#117016

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18455

Harold

Dalantech wrote:
This is now my old rig since my MT-24EX died (I haven't decided if I'm going to replace it):

(EDIT: Eek! I didn't realize how old this thread was. This is probably way too late.)

I know it's a stretch that this might be your problem, but my MT-24EX "died" tonight. I turned it on and nothing. I thought I had removed the batteries for charging, but no.

It turns out that one of the battery contacts inside the speedlite (not on the battery cover) had gotten flattened out too much for the battery to make proper contact, even though they looked fine. I reached in there with a wooden chopstick and gently pulled each one upward a bit from the side to give them a more upward bend. Then the unit started right up.

I didn't know that this was the problem, but I did notice that when opening and closing the battery cover it would momentarily turn it on, so I had a hunch. It turned out I was right.

You didn't explain exactly in what way yours was "dead", so I thought I'd share my story.

Studio setup by kiernter, on Flickr

My first effort at macro flash

New setup, probably won't get much use until I head to the Philippines because everything is dead where I live lol. It's going to be a challenge learning this lens compared to the 100L.


Macro_3 by JustinZ850, on Flickr


Macro_2 by JustinZ850, on Flickr


Macro_1 by JustinZ850, on Flickr

Since the subjects I usually do needs only a small amount of light, maybe the one from the built-in flash could be enough if I could just direct it in front of my lens setup. Used stack of achromats plus a telephoto lens in front to maintain distance from the subjects. All were hand held and the small sensor size is good for DOF even if limited only to f8. Crude setup is below and I only change the camera body as I go into higher MP.