Buying stuff....

[Dave A]

Winter is fast approaching here in northern Ontario and it's been slow at work so the buying bug gets me and I seem to spend more money ordering stuff at work than what I'm making. Lets see, so far I've got my hands on an external flash, a ring flash, Nikon wireless shutter release, programmable wired shutter release, Nikon right angle viewfinder, a set of macro focusing rails, and a Nikon battery grip......and it ain't even Christmas yet.
At least when it's -30 C outside I can tinker with macro shots inside.

Dave

[DanK]

Nikon wireless shutter release

There you go. You can just buy Canon gear

Have you done much macro indoors? If not, I can tell you what I use, and that may give you an excuse to buy a tiny bit more. This is all predicated on having a stable enough surface that you can do long exposures. A stone kitchen counter works well. I now use a heavy table on a wood floor, and I have to sit or stand stock still before each shot to let vibrations die down. But if you can handle long exposures, you could skip the flash and get a remote release and two or more hair lights, one of which should be able to handle a reflective umbrella. Then you can use continuous lighting, and you can move it around and see in real time what the lighting will look like. Here's my setup for one flower shot:



On the other hand, I have seen beautiful flower macros posted here that other people have done with flashes.

[Shadowman]

Not an unreasonable list of needs.