STICKY:  Show us your Macro Rig

I bought one of those ebay c brackets. Wasn't very strong and I don't think I'll be using it again.

regnis wrote in post #12080018
have you used the whole C-bracket before?
do you think it would hold the 430ex?

I have and it does hold it pretty well, you just have to tighten the screws of the bracket well, although I usually use it with a 270ex - makes the setup lighter and smaller:

^- im trying to figure out what the heck to buy to move my flash out closer to the end of the lens x.x

Browsing at Adorama is just making my head hurt I wish i could just look at these things somewhere local

scot079 wrote in post #8448861
Been wanting to build Roy's awesome DIY ring flash for a while. Wife's out of town so no better time than the present. I strayed from the path a little in 2 areas. 3 if you count that mine doesn't look pretty like his!

1. Instead of using a 5"-4" vent reducer to create the center hole for the lens, I used a 4" dia. x 6" length cylinder of aluminum venting to attach the ring to the 180L's lens hood. This gave me more surface area for the diffuser and made the whole ring easier/faster to mount on the lens. To attach the 4" dia. aluminum to the hood I used #8 screws, flat/lock washers and wing nuts.

2. Instead of the steel bar Roy uses I used my Wimberley F-9 flash bracket that mounts to a gimbal head (for birding) or the camera's L bracket. This is a lighter solution since it is made from aluminum, plus I didn't have any measurements to mess up.

So on to the pics:

Here you can see the ring w/ out the diffuser. Notice the lens hood and 4" aluminum are joined together w/ bolts and wing nuts.

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Here's a view w/ the diffuser installed w/ tywraps:

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A shot of the Wimberley F-9 bracket attached to the camera's L bracket:

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And a shot of the flash firing, it's a little darker at the bottom but it's the best I could do:

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Samples:

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Very nice results with this rig...you know...it has been about 3.5 years or more and I still fall back to my DIY Ring Flash with my trusty Canon 100/2.8 macro lens...hands down (once mastered) give a very nice EV to the frame...really it does...I find about 1/80th (if conditions permit, esp. nice steady/braced rig), f/10, ISO 100 in medium ambient light with the flash set to Manual 1/8th power works good at a little less than 1:1 magnification.

I'm learning the MP-E with MT-24EX now and I'm diffusing it like Dalantech did and it's not been an easy adjustment.

-Roy

hi, my macro toys

1. with laser pointer, for quickly catch small targets
2. with handmade flexible bracket and macro fold bellows

see my gallery for more images

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What lens is that in the first photo? Also do you have any example shots with the Helios? Never thought of using mine on my bellows, all I'd need is a cheap M42 to Pentax K adapter.

The Ran wrote in post #12131319
What lens is that in the first photo?

Reverse mount Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6.

The Ran wrote in post #12131319
Also do you have any example shots with the Helios?

I do not want duplicate attachments, see my thread Fly eats sugar

Looks like it's fairly sharp, I think I'll have to order an adapter and compare it with my other 50mm. What sort of magnification are you getting with the 18-55mm reversed?

piter78 - can you tell a little about the DIY arms that you have holding the flash heads?
1.) how are they attached to your rig
2.) where did you find them?
3.) how much can they hold?

that looks like a really nice rig!

Just looks like some heavy duty wire to me, with a solid copper core it should stay were it's put. Then the bit it's attached to looks like a heavy duty terminal block bolted to the bellows. Not sure how it would be attached to the ballheads that the lights are mounted on though, perhaps some sort of glue.

It looks like The Ran wrote. Thick 13mm diameter wire with 6mm aluminum core (from workshop scrap), arms are flexible and strong. Mounted using by lathe-made stainless steel blocks (workshop DIY) with 1/4" thread (bolted to bellows). Small 360 degress ballheads mounted by solid two-component adhesive.

piter78 wrote in post #12131146
hi, my macro toys

1. with laser pointer, for quickly catch small targets
2. with handmade flexible bracket and macro fold bellows

see my gallery for more images

IMG NOTICE: [NOT AN IMAGE URL, NOT RENDERED INLINE]

.

nice to see a lens from a zenith put to good use! believe you get better results if put on in reverse though.

scot079 wrote in post #8448861
Been wanting to build Roy's awesome DIY ring flash for a while. Wife's out of town so no better time than the present. I strayed from the path a little in 2 areas. 3 if you count that mine doesn't look pretty like his!

1. Instead of using a 5"-4" vent reducer to create the center hole for the lens, I used a 4" dia. x 6" length cylinder of aluminum venting to attach the ring to the 180L's lens hood. This gave me more surface area for the diffuser and made the whole ring easier/faster to mount on the lens. To attach the 4" dia. aluminum to the hood I used #8 screws, flat/lock washers and wing nuts.

2. Instead of the steel bar Roy uses I used my Wimberley F-9 flash bracket that mounts to a gimbal head (for birding) or the camera's L bracket. This is a lighter solution since it is made from aluminum, plus I didn't have any measurements to mess up.

So on to the pics:

Here you can see the ring w/ out the diffuser. Notice the lens hood and 4" aluminum are joined together w/ bolts and wing nuts.

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Looks like something Nasa might create

I dont think I posted this but this is my current set up-just change the camera to a 30D

And an example of what I get: