What's the cheapest possible way to build a macro studio?
Simply put, don't build one...
A 20/3.5 macro (thanks to Dean for the loan!) mounted on a PM-MTOB
mounted directly on an E-330 has a working distance such that I can just
sit the thing I'm photographing on the table, tilt the camera down to
point at it, pop the builtin flash up, turn Live View on for composition
and focussing, and the camera takes care of the rest.
No tripod -- the bottom corner of the camera sits on the surface, and
I focus by sliding it back and forth; no diffuser, the builtin flash is
at a very convenient angle; no fiddling around adjusting lighting,
because it powers the flash correctly with no need to tweak (amazingly
enough), and because the flash is well out of line with the lens, it
lights very nicely.
Working distance, something like an inch; resulting subject size, 6mm
around 1/4" or so. (so, "5x" magnification in 35mm terms)
Here's the "studio":
http://www.danielmitchell.net/sgal/galleries/E330/macro/0_studio.jpg
The result of that shot:
http://www.danielmitchell.net/sgal/galleries/E330/macro/ring_3.jpg
And a bunch more shots here:
http://www.danielmitchell.net/sgal/index.php?gallery=./E330/macro
They're not all taken exactly like that, some were done outdoors
(grass/ice) or just plain handheld out in the air (book, cactus), but
still all just using the builtin flash.
One very nice feature of live view is that, outdoors, it's bright
enough to set the shot up even stopped all the way down; inside, either
I point a light at the subject, or I compose open and stop down before
shooting in the usual way -- with this old-style lens, it's surprisingly
easy. There's no click stops, so I can just push it round with a
fingertip without jogging the camera.
Things get a bit more complex with bellows/extension tubes, because
then the builtin flash doesn't illuminate the subject as well (if at
all) -- I've got some more shots of that setup that I need to upload.
It's also possible to get nicer lighting by using a second slave flash,
but that then requires a bunch of fiddling around to get everything
exposing properly.
As it is, this setup I have takes as close to zero time to set up as
is possible; camera on, hit popup-flash button, compose, shoot, done.
Heaps of fun!
-- dan
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