Macro Ring Flash

[Boddie]

Worth it for insect photogs or not?

If so, what are the benefits

[Kev Lewis]

Yes,

1. they provide a controllable light onto a subject close to the lens and typically can be adjusted to provide an adjustable ratio of light from left to right.
2. they help to increase the contrast and hence the detail in a small subject.
3. if natural light is not enough to give a good dof then using one will give the small apertures required, however they should ideally be used as fill in rather than the main light source or the backgrounds will be very dark

plus loads of other benefits

but

1. they can be a bitch with 'wet' subjects i.e. water droplets see my latest uploads lol
2. don't expect miracles first time out they do need to used correctly for best results

[eeyore]

I agree ( this is getting to be a hobbit ) Although I have had even better results with the sort with two little hammer head flashes which mount on arms either side of the lens (sorry bout the cack description but i'm sure kev knows what they are suposed to be called.)

[Kev Lewis]

you mean the flipping expensive version of the MR-14 eeyore. A very nice bit of kit

"The Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX incorporates E-TTL flash technology to give properly balanced exposure, even under difficult lighting situations. When used in conjunction with Speedlite 550EX units, wireless control of up to three slave groups can be achieved.The control unit has a large easy to read LCD panel adopting the familiar layout of other Speedlite models. "

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Kev Lewis

you mean the flipping expensive version of the MR-14 eeyore. A very nice bit of kit

well to be truthful I made my own out of two old flash guns, a jessops off camera adaptor (well two cos i messed the first one up), a cokin P filter mount, and about half a mile of gaffer tape, total cost around fifty folding.

It looks a bit heath robinson , and got me laughed at at my (now ex) camera club but it works a treat and the results are what count in my book.

I'll snap a pic of the rig and put it up on here when I get a mo

[pxl8]

The real problem with ring flash rigs is the un-natural results you get. If you're using one as a fill then there are much cheaper options - the built-in flash on my 30D works a treat as a fill when using on the Sigma 150mm even at min. focus. Add a home made diffuser and you lose the hot spots as well.

But then I have a strong dislike of flash lit macro shots in general - having seen 10,000,000,000 shots of flies that were all but identical it gets a little boring

[Boddie]

From the king of macro thats good enough for me. I shall have to invest in a decent flash as I get shadows cast with the hood on the 12-24 but would rather not use a macro ring flash if its not necessary

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Boddie

From the king of macro thats good enough for me. I shall have to invest in a decent flash as I get shadows cast with the hood on the 12-24 but would rather not use a macro ring flash if its not necessary

you can get little cube studios to soften the light - flash or ambient, no idea if they're any good though cos i do my macro in the field only.

I'm looking at banging a 180mm on my visa , as the nice credit card people have increased my credit limit - so he might be the king but (Hopefully) there could be a young pretender in town in the near future

[Boddie]

Dont do credit. Its too easy to get carried

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Boddie

Dont do credit. Its too easy to get carried

yeah but some of us dont have the resources you have

its okay - i'm pretty carefull really - my visa is a 0% for 56 days job and I always pay off before the interest hits - my ex girlfreind on the other hand had near on 20 large on credit and store cards - financial skills of a small wombat that one