my first shots

urte

I just started on macro 1 month ago.Im looking for a better flash solution, I use my 580 exII with diffuser.
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Added pictures
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12My own favourite, please no more pictures

mehampson

Hi Urte, these look good. I really like the third shot, of the leaf beetle (I think). It's a great angle, and has a lot of interesting detail throughout the frame. The final shot of the bee is great, too. #4 though, if you don't mind some mild constructive feedback, is soft and noisy -- I'm guessing you did something different with the lighting, and had to bring the exposure up pretty far in post, or were shooting natural light with a high ISO?

I'm curious, what don't you like about the 580EX II? It's a bit heavy but with an off-camera cord and a bracket, you should be able to be able to do a lot of great work with it. Some people will say you *need* a ringlight or twin light, but that is not at all true. Flashes are cheaper than dedicated macro light systems, too -- I built my rig for about $30.

The key is just to get your light source close as possible to the front of the lens, so it's large relative to the subject and can fire at a lower (i.e., faster) power level. If you do that, you'll get sharp, well-defined images. I'd expect your balance to be a little off from the weight of the 580, but its high guide number means even faster flash pulses to get the exposure at f/8-f/14, and it may be a good trade off.

Skippy

urte wrote:

I just started on macro 1 month ago.Im looking for a better flash solution, I use my 580 exII with diffuser.

Hi there Morten, shooting Macro is not as easy as it looks.

Are you able to supply some information as to how you have your camera set, are you shooting in Manual Mode? Auto?

Supplying this information will help folks give you feedback.

Considering you just started one month ago,
your doing pretty darn good.

Don't forget to post what settings your using on the camera and on your falsh so folks can help you out

.... Skippy
.

Mark Edell

Great start and welcome to the forum! Keep them coming

urte

thanks for the feedback

I will for sure post the settings next time. All my macro picture is here incl data http://photos.romild.dk/Macro . I have cleaned the filter since these pictures :hide

maybe the solution with flash lite is getting the flash off camera, do you know of a bracket allready build, im not much of a handyman.

My hardware for macro is canon 50d, canon 100mm macro, canontubes ef25II and EF12II, speedlite 580II

Mark Edell

Yes, get that flash off the camera! Many people here use a flexible clamp that you can buy at hardware stores. I just use http://www.amazon.com/Tiffen-310-625-Stroboframe-Folding-Bracket/dp/B00020H3GM

*EDITED
YIKES!!! I just looked at the price on that thing. When I bought mine it was around 20 dollars

urte

could this do it?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ISHOOT-IS-A-Flash-Mount-Bracket-for-Canon-580EXII-580EX_W0QQitemZ280354041214QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CamerasPhoto_CameraAccessories_CameraFlashUnits_JN?hash=item4146672d7e&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12%7C66%3A4%7C39%3A1%7C72%3A1683%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A200

mehampson

That looks like it would work fine, although the Chinese eBay stuff can have really hit or miss build quality. The nice thing about macro is that if you get your flash a few inches off to one side, it's still going to be 30-45 degrees off-axis, so it doesn't need to be big and heavy.

I personally was happy making mine out of hardware store parts. I got a small metal right angle bracket for ~$3, attached a mini-ballhead to it, and mounted the flash on an off-camera cord -- I described it in a bit more detail here. It's not perfect, but works pretty well.

The other thing to think about is diffusing the light -- this is also really easy to DIY with a bit of cardboard and plastic or foam. You just want something a few square inches larger than the flash head, to look like a big soft light source to the subject. I wouldn't recommend those little plastic caps you can stick on the end of the flash.

tijoseph

what lense are you using?

urte

canon 100mm macro some with x25 tube and some without

Lord Vetinari

Agree with comments above - look very good shots for only 1 month at it .

There are pros and cons to both dedicated macro flashes and to bracket mounted normal flash systems but I still use the latter.
Brian V.

Daver2112

Excellent work! I like #6 the best.

GOLDENORFE

a good start, like the bumble bee shot best. looks sharpest and comp
phil
http://www.flickr.com/photos/goldenorfe/

urte

thanks for the great feedback. I won the auction for the bracket for one english pence!! So im looking forward to test it when it arrives. Sunday I tried to take some without flah, this wasnt at great succes. This one isnt sharp enough, I think no flash=no tubes

urte

have added some pictures i post #1

again thanks for the feedback