Best way to shoot macro with new SB800

Well, I finally got my new SB800, and I'm still recovering from reading the
manual. Anyway, I'm trying to think of the best ways to use it for macro
photos. I'm thinking I should get the cord that allow you to move the flash
away from the camera, and use it in Automatic mode since my macro lens does
not have a chip. It's either that, or bounce it off something. And maybe I
can use it with the diffuser right on the camera and see what happens.

What does everybody else do? I notice many macro shots are taken with
flashes. Just make a tent? I'm using a D70.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Sheldon

In article ,
Sheldon wrote:
Well, I finally got my new SB800, and I'm still recovering from reading the
manual. Anyway, I'm trying to think of the best ways to use it for macro
photos. I'm thinking I should get the cord that allow you to move the flash
away from the camera, and use it in Automatic mode since my macro lens does
not have a chip. It's either that, or bounce it off something. And maybe I
can use it with the diffuser right on the camera and see what happens.

What does everybody else do? I notice many macro shots are taken with
flashes. Just make a tent? I'm using a D70.

For quick and dirty macros, using the D70 and the 28-105mm
f3.5-4.5 D lens (which *does* have a CPU), I mount the SB-800 on the
camera, fit the diffuser dome, and angle the flash about 30 degrees
short of vertical.

Here is one example (part of a web page documenting a project
for making the parts shown here), with perhaps a bit too little depth of
field. I should have shot these closer to vertical, but I was working
with a handheld camera and the items on a laptop table.

http://www2.d-and-d.com/tinas/Button...r/dsc_1750.jpg

If you want to see the image before resizing for the web page,
simply delete the "smaller/" from the URL above.

Use this as an indication of lighting from the setup described
above -- not as an example of proper depth of field. :-)

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

"DoN. Nichols" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Sheldon wrote:
Well, I finally got my new SB800, and I'm still recovering from reading
the
manual. Anyway, I'm trying to think of the best ways to use it for macro
photos. I'm thinking I should get the cord that allow you to move the
flash
away from the camera, and use it in Automatic mode since my macro lens
does
not have a chip. It's either that, or bounce it off something. And maybe
I
can use it with the diffuser right on the camera and see what happens.

What does everybody else do? I notice many macro shots are taken with
flashes. Just make a tent? I'm using a D70.

For quick and dirty macros, using the D70 and the 28-105mm
f3.5-4.5 D lens (which *does* have a CPU), I mount the SB-800 on the
camera, fit the diffuser dome, and angle the flash about 30 degrees
short of vertical.

So, it sounds like you're only using part of the light coming from the flash
to allow for being so close. I need more light to get more depth of field
on my bug shots, but not so much that they wash out.

Sheldon

Sheldon

"Sheldon" skrev i meddelandet
...
Well, I finally got my new SB800, and I'm still recovering from reading
the manual. Anyway, I'm trying to think of the best ways to use it for
macro photos. I'm thinking I should get the cord that allow you to move
the flash away from the camera, and use it in Automatic mode since my
macro lens does not have a chip. It's either that, or bounce it off
something. And maybe I can use it with the diffuser right on the camera
and see what happens.

What does everybody else do? I notice many macro shots are taken with
flashes. Just make a tent? I'm using a D70.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Sheldon




You need a ring flash!
There use to be equipment like that from Nikon that fit your DSLR.
Search with www.google.com


Pepe

"Pepe" skrev i meddelandet
...

"Sheldon" skrev i meddelandet
...
Well, I finally got my new SB800, and I'm still recovering from reading
the manual. Anyway, I'm trying to think of the best ways to use it for
macro photos. I'm thinking I should get the cord that allow you to move
the flash away from the camera, and use it in Automatic mode since my
macro lens does not have a chip. It's either that, or bounce it off
something. And maybe I can use it with the diffuser right on the camera
and see what happens.

What does everybody else do? I notice many macro shots are taken with
flashes. Just make a tent? I'm using a D70.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Sheldon




You need a ring flash!
There use to be equipment like that from Nikon that fit your DSLR.
Search with www.google.com


Pepe

Check out this one and you know what I ment.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...616 8798&rd=1

Pepe

On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 21:37:09 -0600, Sheldon wrote:

Well, I finally got my new SB800, and I'm still recovering from reading
the manual. Anyway, I'm trying to think of the best ways to use it for
macro photos. I'm thinking I should get the cord that allow you to move
the flash away from the camera, and use it in Automatic mode since my
macro lens does not have a chip. It's either that, or bounce it off
something. And maybe I can use it with the diffuser right on the camera
and see what happens.

What does everybody else do? I notice many macro shots are taken with
flashes. Just make a tent? I'm using a D70.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Sheldon


I haven't tried this with the SB-800 but now I'm curious to know if it
will work. If you set the flash to slave mode and the pop-up flash to
manual mode with minimal output, it might fire the SB-800.

I know the slave mode works in iTTL with the camera as master, but I
wonder if it works in manual mode too? Worth looking at.

--
Save photography | shoot some film today!
email: drop rods and insert surfaces

Sheldon wrote:

Well, I finally got my new SB800, and I'm still recovering from reading the
manual. Anyway, I'm trying to think of the best ways to use it for macro
photos. I'm thinking I should get the cord that allow you to move the flash
away from the camera, and use it in Automatic mode since my macro lens does
not have a chip. It's either that, or bounce it off something. And maybe I
can use it with the diffuser right on the camera and see what happens.

I've used a shoot through white umbrella about 12-18 inches, and to the
side, with manual power setting. This is easiest (to me). Images are
nice, crisp and clean.

One idea would be to mount a white card (about 10"x10") to the lens at a
45° angle such that a flash shooing towards the lens from the side would
reflect towards the subject. The card would have a hole for the lens,
of course. A blocker would be needed to prevent direct spill to the
subject and care to not flash onto the lens/filter. I've had this idea
for a couple years but never tried it.

Cheers,
Alan.

--
A beaver and a rabbit are sitting in the woods near Hoover Dam.
"Did you build that one?" the rabbit asked.
"No, but it was based on an idea of mine," the beaver replied.
-Jack Kilby on his invention of the IC.

In article ,
Sheldon wrote:

"DoN. Nichols" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Sheldon wrote:
Well, I finally got my new SB800, and I'm still recovering from reading
the
manual. Anyway, I'm trying to think of the best ways to use it for macro
photos.

[ ... ]

It's either that, or bounce it off something. And maybe
I
can use it with the diffuser right on the camera and see what happens.

What does everybody else do? I notice many macro shots are taken with
flashes. Just make a tent? I'm using a D70.

For quick and dirty macros, using the D70 and the 28-105mm
f3.5-4.5 D lens (which *does* have a CPU), I mount the SB-800 on the
camera, fit the diffuser dome, and angle the flash about 30 degrees
short of vertical.

So, it sounds like you're only using part of the light coming from the flash
to allow for being so close.

Correct. The diffuser spreads just enough out to the sides to
cover what I was photographing -- and unlike the built-in pop-up flash,
I don't get shadows of the end of the 28-105mm f3.5-4.5 D in macro mode
up close.

The objects in the photo are about 1" long, to give you an idea
of the scale. (And if you care *what* they are -- they are replacements
for broken buttons for a Wheatstone concertina. During the 1950s,
Wheatstone was using a plastic for the button bodies which got too
brittle over time and started to break.

I need more light to get more depth of field
on my bug shots, but not so much that they wash out.

This should work for the purpose. And I think that you can
increase the illumination a bit by tilting the head closer to horizontal
-- but that might be too much, even with the diffuser.

You could try wrapping a kleenex around the diffuser and see
what that does.

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

"DoN. Nichols" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Sheldon wrote:

"DoN. Nichols" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Sheldon wrote:
Well, I finally got my new SB800, and I'm still recovering from reading
the
manual. Anyway, I'm trying to think of the best ways to use it for
macro
photos.

[ ... ]

It's either that, or bounce it off something. And
maybe
I
can use it with the diffuser right on the camera and see what happens.

What does everybody else do? I notice many macro shots are taken with
flashes. Just make a tent? I'm using a D70.

For quick and dirty macros, using the D70 and the 28-105mm
f3.5-4.5 D lens (which *does* have a CPU), I mount the SB-800 on the
camera, fit the diffuser dome, and angle the flash about 30 degrees
short of vertical.

So, it sounds like you're only using part of the light coming from the
flash
to allow for being so close.

Correct. The diffuser spreads just enough out to the sides to
cover what I was photographing -- and unlike the built-in pop-up flash,
I don't get shadows of the end of the 28-105mm f3.5-4.5 D in macro mode
up close.

The objects in the photo are about 1" long, to give you an idea
of the scale. (And if you care *what* they are -- they are replacements
for broken buttons for a Wheatstone concertina. During the 1950s,
Wheatstone was using a plastic for the button bodies which got too
brittle over time and started to break.

I need more light to get more depth of field
on my bug shots, but not so much that they wash out.

This should work for the purpose. And I think that you can
increase the illumination a bit by tilting the head closer to horizontal
-- but that might be too much, even with the diffuser.

You could try wrapping a kleenex around the diffuser and see
what that does.

Enjoy,
DoN.

Thanks. I think wrapping a tissue around the diffuser will so no good if in
automatic mode. It will just pump out more light to compensate.

I've used things like Tensor lamps, etc., and they work quite well, but not
in the field. I think you have the same feeling I do. Get the flash off
the camera and it should do the job.

"Deedee Tee" abuse@localhost wrote in message
et...
On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 05:21:03 GMT, "Pepe" wrote:

[..]
You need a ring flash!
There use to be equipment like that from Nikon that fit your DSLR.
Search with www.google.com


Pepe

I beg to differ. Practically all of my photography at work is studio
macro, and I never use a ring flash because it gives no control on the
direction of illumination. If you are shooting static subjects in a
studio, a hot light (for macro, a 40 to 100 W bulb, better if frosted
and pear-shaped with a broad front) is enough. Adding reflecting
panels and sometimes diffusing panels gives you complete control,
better than with a flash. Outdoors or with moving subjects, a
medium-powered (non-ring) flash mounted on a bracket (usually with a
diffuser mounted 10-25 cm in front of the flash head, and reflecting
panels as required) will give you all the light control you are likely
to need.

A ring flash is useful if you need an illumination as flat as possible
and/or if you do not want to spend time controlling lighting, but also
for this there are more flexible alternatives, like fluorescent
ringlights and, for really specialist applications, coaxial
illuminators.

Usually, two equal flash heads mounted on either side of the lens will
give you practically the same non-directional illumination of a ring
flash, and in addition more flexibility because you can move the flash
heads independently of each other.

In conclusion, for professional macro I find cheap, very generic
illumination equipment better and more flexible than expensive
specialist devices like ring flashes and dedicated macro illuminators.