Macro - New diffuser test with model

[Stagecoach]

Tonight was a chance to test a new diffuser designed specifically for the 2:1 magnification which is the max I can achieve with the 105mm and 68mm of extension tubes. Working distance between lens front and subject is only 70mm and my objective was to use a single flash SBR200 attached to the front of the lens with a concave diffuser almost directly above the subject providing front, top and some side lighting.

Having done a number of tests on such items as small screws and watch parts and getting bored along comes mini moth, lands on the piece of paper and just stays there for me. These are un-cropped and the full frame width represents 12mm.

No 1 - f/11


No 2 - f/29


So far it's looking promising and hopefully tomorrow I will get a chance to test it with the shiny stink bugs.

Comments and suggestions welcome as always.................

Grahame

[deetheturk]

Looks like its gonna work a treat Grahame,if these images are anything to go by.

Great depth of field in #2,and your light looks spot on,well done you!

Hows about a pic of the new rig?

Cheers David

[Shadowman]

Setup seems to be working nicely. Nice images.

[John 2]

Texture is showing up well with no uncontrolled highlights. Seems to be working well.

[IzzieK]

I agree with John2 -- I love the texture very much on your test. Looks like you are on to something...

[bnnrcn]

I loved #2

[Ken Curtis]

Hi Grahame.

Unlike the others, I find it hard to love a moth. To each his/her own.

Your lighting looks good to me although I wish the brown of the moth were a bit brighter.

Since your subject was so cooperative, I wonder if you would consider focus stacking to get the entire moth in sharp focus.

[chauncey]

Grahame, FWIW...I don't know what the magnification numbers would translate into but, I often use a full set of extension tubes combined with a 2X TC with my 180 macro mounted on my 1Ds3...stacking and photo-merging.

[Stagecoach]

David, John, John, Izzie, Binnur, Ken and Chauncey

My third attempt at a reply, one day they will learn to keep the power on here

Thanks for the comments guys (and Izzie).

Whilst this test appears promising the white paper does act as a reflector on this subject so I'll get a better idea once tested on the stink bugs where I can compare with my previous lighting methods used.

David, I'll post images of it here tonight in use but can guarantee you the 'design' and 'build' standards are within the class of definitely home made in a hurry

Ken, I also do not find moths appealing especially when shot such as this which is not how I normally shoot critters. Extreme close-ups of their detail I do find appealing but I have not had a chance to try with larger specimens yet.

I'm not sure exactly how I can go about determining the correct brightness of brown for this moth in the example. To the naked eye it appeared much darker but then again the room was not that bright. The white paper it is on is exposed near white in the foreground with light then tapering off to the rear so perhaps I can adjust the rig to ensure the focus plane is achieving max light power.

Stacking is something I have played with before but the vast majority of critters I photograph these days are pretty active and I aim to capture their personality and as some say cuteness rather than an anatomical record such as this moth.

Chauncey, when you have the rig set up simply take a shot of a ruler when at max magnification and you can calculate against the sensor width. Mine comes out at 12mm which equates to about 1.96:1 with the 23.6mm width sensor. The reason for this being that my 105mm macro changes focal length down to around 70mm when focussed for 1:1.

I would be interested in seeing any examples of bugs that you have been achieving with that rig.

Grahame

[Loose Canon]

I was having some trouble getting my head around what kind of set-up you might be talking about Grahame. After some Googling I think I may have an idea of what you are talking about. I’m not a huge bug guy but I am interested in lighting! Guess like you said the true test will come with some glossy subjects.

So in these shots was your SB-R200 fired in i-TTL mode (please remember I am not fluent in Nikonese!)? The reason I ask is because they look relatively the same at different camera settings lighting wise.

[Stagecoach]

I was having some trouble getting my head around what kind of set-up you might be talking about Grahame. After some Googling I think I may have an idea of what you are talking about. I’m not a huge bug guy but I am interested in lighting! Guess like you said the true test will come with some glossy subjects.

So in these shots was your SB-R200 fired in i-TTL mode (please remember I am not fluent in Nikonese!)? The reason I ask is because they look relatively the same at different camera settings lighting wise.

Terry,

Yes, these were both shot with the SB-R200 fired in i-TTL mode with the on-camera pop up flash (masked and non operational) acting as commander. I tend to swop between TTL and manual flash control depending upon subjects, preferring TTL once set with the required EC to get the exposure right for subjects where I want to take shots at various apertures quickly without having to spend the time adjusting flash as well.

These both had a +0.7 EC on the flash which makes sense as I was using matrix metering and the metered area was relatively light. My reason for taking the shot at f/29 (smallest aperture I'm likely to use) was to see if the single SB-R200 through the diffuser had the power at this aperture for adequate exposure and looking at the original histograms they are basically identical.

Edited : correction.....................
The SOOC images were both equally around -1.0 EV underexposed which then with the +0.7 EC applied to the flash ties up with getting white exposed correctly.


Grahame

[Stagecoach]

As promised pics of the diffuser or could possibly be called an attempt at a bug beauty dish

Made from a plastic disposable food container with a hole in the rear for the light entry. The inside of the container was lined with foil with a small deflector to divert light to the circumference. A piece of thin packing polystyrene pushed inside to form a concave surface, the theory being the flash would be bounced off the foil at all angles and achieve diffusion through the polystyrene and the light source would be closer to the subject.

Photographed in the position it was in for the below bug images.





Having planned to trial this tonight I found that all my shield bugs bar one medium size one have scampered from all the seed sprays on the palms around me in the last day. For my previous sessions with these I have had around twenty of varying sizes and of two types.

Here's a few from tonight, hard work as this one did not intend staying still. 105mm with 68mm tubes, magnification 2:1, uncropped representing 12mm frame width.

No 1


No 2


No 3


So, did it work? I'm not convinced but then again these were taken with only the single light source and my model was not as large as previous ones.

Comments and suggestions welcome as always and looks like stink bugs will be off the menu for now.

Grahame

[Loose Canon]

Interesting setup Grahame.

I think what I would want to know about it is if there are any hotspots to speak of and at what power they started to blow. I think I would try to set up a shot on a piece of white paper or something shooting just the light. I don’t think it would be a deal killer if there were some, but it would be interesting to see. I guess you could even put a piece of diffusion material over the front of your modifier if you wanted to.

[IzzieK]

Very interesting set up, David...you are very practical...and yes, the beauty dish works. I bet you can do better if you have more lights but if not, this will do...

[ClaudioG]

Graham, both your handy work and dedication are inspiring. I really like the look of the images and seems to have lit them very well. Do u use the macro lens and tubes together often? I have tried a few times and to be honest, just given up on it.

Great work though!! Im saving this post just in case i decide to be as brave as you are later

[deetheturk]

Hi Grahame,great images,nice and sharp where it matters,i would say it's working fine,the light seems to be well diffused!

Is that a macro rail i see on top of your tri-pod?

And nearly forgot,cheers for the set-up pics.

David

[Stagecoach]

Interesting setup Grahame.

I think what I would want to know about it is if there are any hotspots to speak of and at what power they started to blow. I think I would try to set up a shot on a piece of white paper or something shooting just the light. I don’t think it would be a deal killer if there were some, but it would be interesting to see. I guess you could even put a piece of diffusion material over the front of your modifier if you wanted to.

Thanks Terry, I'm starting to see that there are two things to tackle here, one the highlights caused by the reflective surfaces and the other to ensure that the flash power is not causing hot spots. I'll undertake some trials on a sheet of white paper and I have also got a small white card and determine exposure values to ensure no hot spots.

Perhaps I'm just getting too fussy and trying to achieve the impossible with these mini critters but it's fun.

Grahame

[Stagecoach]

Very interesting set up, David...you are very practical...and yes, the beauty dish works. I bet you can do better if you have more lights but if not, this will do...

Izzie, scouring the internet there are many examples of weird and wonderful contraptions people have made to help illuminate these mini monsters

[chauncey]

FWIW...for some reason the bug scrapings from my shoe bottom don't receive very high ratings.

[Stagecoach]

Graham, both your handy work and dedication are inspiring. I really like the look of the images and seems to have lit them very well. Do u use the macro lens and tubes together often? I have tried a few times and to be honest, just given up on it.

Great work though!! Im saving this post just in case i decide to be as brave as you are later

Claudio, I enjoy using the tubes really just for the challenge of trying to reveal detail of these tiny critters but they certainly throw up the challenges such as lighting, focus and constant moving of the camera chasing the subjects.

Just after I had finished these and packed everything away last night the other half brings me up a small crab and asks if I want to photograph it at 10 at night

Grahame