Other Macro Show us your macro rig

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Alby
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Here is my macro set ups.

Left: Panasonic FZ8, Raynox MSN 202 + Gary Fong Puffer Diffuser.

Centre: Canon 350d, Sigma 105 ex + Kenko extension tubes, Speedlite 580 mkII and lumiQuest Mini Softbox on a home made bracket and offshoe cord 2.

Right: Canon 40d, Mp-e 65 1-5x lens, MT-24 ex twin macro lite + gary Fong puffer diffusers.

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Kit is only as good as the weakest part Dave and I think that's my eye sight :LOL:
 
Nice setup Alby... some really nice looking kit...

Here's my pretending to be macro setup :D

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Canon 450d fitted with my EFS 55-250, the Jessops 300AFD and my home made ring flash convertery thingy. The 55-250 has a Raynox DCR 250 fitted on the filter threads. I can get between 1:2 and 2.5:1 with this setup although the flash and homemade thingy work best in dark conditions. Please excuse the rather peculiar angle and poorly lit shot, it was taken using my Z2 and it's popup flash. It's a bit short on controllability :D...

I have a set of ebay extension tubes (about 75mm worth) that I have used on occasion, very roughly, that gives me nearly 4:1.
 
John that looks industrial but you are getting some great shots from it ;)
Is the front an old cd stack case?
 
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Thanks Alby... I needed something to hold all the cereal packet bits and the CD spindle lid together... Duck Tape has a multiplicity of uses :LOL: Total conversion cost for using the 55-250 for macro... £70 :D... which is small enough I can sneak it in under the OH's financial radar, especially as it was over a couple of months ;).
 
Now use a 40D but only have old shots online...

Canon EOS 3 with 100mm macro (and rain hood ;) ) on Manfrotto 190 legs, 410 geared head and 454 focus rail:
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Canon 300D with MP-E 65mm 1-5x, a set of Kenko extension tubes and a Canon MT-24ex macro twin flash:
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I also have a Canon MR-14ex ringflash which I use on both the 100mm and 65mm (but the twin flash I only use on the 65mm)
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...and a 550ex which I sometimes use for backgrounds or dark field illumination. (great fun that by the way :LOL: )
 
I believe in KISS.

My rig is a Nikon D90, Tamron 90mm macro and a diffuser cut from a plastic milk bottle for the on board flash.

John - jgs001's - rig has given me some ideas, where's the duck tape!

The pic shows my D50, but i use the same setup on the D90 (although I do miss the 1/500 flash synch of the D50).

 
I wonder how many duck taped macro rigs are going to come out of this thread :LOL:

Nice kit DB

Looks interesting Mike, sounds even more intriguing ...
 
Some really nice kit here already, well heres my little set up.

D3, Sigma 150mm, SB-800 with Lumiquest softbox, SU-800, MC-36, Manfrotto 055, Manfrotto Magic Arm, Manfrotto 322 head.

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D3, Sigma 150mm, R1-C1, Seculine wireless remote, Manfrotto 055, 322 head and macro positioning plate.

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Hi Escy, is that the Manfrotto 454 Micro Positioning Plate? Are they good? I've just bought a macro lens so want to start getting some kit, would you recommend one of these?
 
Nice setups chaps and if it's worth doing.... do it with duct tape, I say :LOL:
 
Hi Jambo, yes it is the 454. I dont use it all the time as it can be a bit fiddly for doing things like bugs, but, for most other things it is great as you can silde it back and forth to get the exact position you need then fine tune it with the thumb screw to get focus exactly where you want it. I also use a couple of RC2 quick release plates on it to make life easier getting it on and off the tripod, I use one on the lens as the 150 with the D3 attached just cathes the body so in putting one of these on the lens lifts it up enough to work as it should.
Althouhg not overly cheap, somewhere in the region of £60 ish plus quick releases if you are going to use them, if you intend to do a lot of macro then it is a great addition to the kit.
 
Shame we can't get this as sticky so peps can add they set ups to it to show what they use for newbies.
 
A very interesting thread, lots of complicated looking kit there.
I agree it would make for a very useful sticky thread.
I think mine is the least complicated of the lot so far.
JUst a quick snap. my Canon 300d with Canon 60mm lens and sigma ring flash.
macrorigg.jpg
 
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InkZ flash MKi.. My own design can you tell?? It's so bright I'm having to shoot at F32 atm and still blowing out sometimes :cautious:



 
as interesting as these all are i think they'd be more impressive with shots taken with

otherwise it's just a collection of stuff to me :)
 
Mark, Do you velcro on the lens hood, or is it purely the velcro straps wrapped around the hood and flash?

sara...i just wrap the velcro straps around the flash and lens/hood,but it might be a good idea to use some velcro to hold it in position whilst you wrap the straps around...provided it doesn't affect the use of the flash afterwards (y)
 
InkZ flash MKi.. My own design can you tell?? It's so bright I'm having to shoot at F32 atm and still blowing out sometimes :cautious:




What kit have you there? (i assume there is an external flash in there somewhere lol?)
 
Just to say a big thankyou to all you guys for the inspiration . Loved seeing and reading these threads. I`ve now set up a kind of a macro rig using cheapies ( well we ave to start somewhere?) lol. Have a Canon 100mm Macro lens , extension tubes from e-bay ( very good too !) and an old Vivitar 5000 ring-flash i`ve had to adapt to fit my lens . And so , tomorrow , i`m off to test all this . Wish me luck and again , it`s all thanks to you`re ideas and commitment that makes me get off my backside and do something !, Thanks again . Take care . Ron
 
Bit ghetto, but this is mine;

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It's just a prototype for now, but it's working pretty well so I may try making it out of lighter materials. :)
 
Interesting seeing these home made attachments. If people would say a bit about how their gizmo is made / how it works / how to use it we could end up with a very useful tutorial ;)
 
Interesting seeing these home made attachments. If people would say a bit about how their gizmo is made / how it works / how to use it we could end up with a very useful tutorial ;)

I was going to make a full writeup, but for the sake of this thread here is a bit more info;

My macro flash diffuser is made from card, ducttape, velcro, metal foil and Lee spun diffuser filter. I designed it to fit my SB600 and to diffuse the light as much as possible, while bringing it down as close as possible to the subject while using my Signma 150mm without getting in the way. I also designed the end to point down slightly, so the light would come down on the subject (simulating natural light) if the flash was pointing forwards, but could be pointed forwards by angling the flash up.

To make it I measured the size of the flash, and made a card 'collar' that had a tight friction fit. I then measured and cut 4 sides from card. These shaped so the front surface is as large as practically possible. I then covered the inside of the card with silver metal foil so as to reflect the light as much as possible. The sides were then ductaped to the collar and covered in ductape so as to make them stronger and water resistant. The front is made from a card 'frame' with Lee spun light diffuser sheet covering the front of the frame. I decided on the spun diffuser as it provides a decent amount of diffusion and isn't quite even so would provide a more natural lighting. All 4 side are hinged on the collar, and joined together with velcro. this allows me to remove the front and collapse the diffuser flat, so it fits nicely in my bag.

For mk2 of my diffuser I am going to try and make it out of light, thin and flexible plastic to make the whole thing lighter. Although perfectly usable, it does pull a little on the flash. I would also try and get hold of either silver spray pain, but self adhesive metal foil, rather than relying on taping the foil down. I would also like to make multiple diffuser filters for it, so I can cnage the light effect as and when needed. :)
 
Thanks Robert, this needed to be a sticky as it is quite useful so people can emulate some of this diy stuff and share theirs for others now they can see this thread is here.
 
@ jomike :

I'd be very insterested in more details on how to use the onboard flash with a diffuser like that. Could you pm me how exactly it works, or post here? Would you need a long focal length for that setup to work, or would it work at 35mm? I'm trying to avoid spending out on an off-camera flash setup, but I know I'll eventually have to!

Cheers
 
Sorry for the phone pic, up until last week I was using a reversed 50mm f1.8 and the built in flash, but I finally upgraded:

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Edit: I realise that angle makes the flash look silly huge :D
 
Here's the thread to my home made flash adapter thingy... There really isn't much to it.. with a couple of poor samples taken with it.

And here's a couple of shots taken with it

IMG_5185.jpg


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@ jomike :

I'd be very insterested in more details on how to use the onboard flash with a diffuser like that. Could you pm me how exactly it works, or post here? Would you need a long focal length for that setup to work, or would it work at 35mm? I'm trying to avoid spending out on an off-camera flash setup, but I know I'll eventually have to!

Cheers

You will probably get shading at 35mm. It works at 90mm at 1:1 (my lens is a Tamron 90mm macro) by spreading the light out more therefore clearing the shadow that the lens makes on the subject when the flash operates.

The thing with macro flash as I see it is not the amount of light produced, but getting it in the right place. The on board flash produces more than enough light, just it is not high enough to clear the end of the lens, and the shorter the working distance the worse the problem of shading. What is needed is a way of channeling the light evenly onto the subject, preferably from more than one direction.

InkZ, messiah khan and jgs001's rigs seem to address this problem and can be adapted for the onboard flash, just they do not split the light. Get out the duck tape and start experimenting. :D
 
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Well this is probably the cheapest macro setup here, but until i can afford an SLR it will have to do. I still have a lot to learn about shutter speeds , lighting, dof , focal length etc etc first anyhow :) So we have here fujifilm s9500 bridge camera fitted with Raynox MSN-202 , cheapo flash on home made bracket.








 
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Well I'm not sure this is Damage, here is my panny using onboard flash with a strip of plastic milk bottle to diffuse it and the raynox 202 on the front.

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A couple of shots taken with that very setup (exif data intact).

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QUOTE=Ajophotog;"Well I'm not sure this is Damage, here is my panny using onboard flash with a strip of plastic milk bottle to diffuse it and the raynox 202 on the front."

:LOL: buts thats just one you keep by the bin incase a wasp lands :) this is my one and only!
 
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