macro lighting

With indoor macro, whats everyone using for lighting? Was thinking of getting a Wescott 50inch softbox and an Eisten. Would that be sufficient?

For bees' knees, you'd be better off with a cut up table tennis ball , really.

The subject cares about the angle the light comes from, not how far away it is.

You only need extraordinary and large lighting if you're photographing ball bearings, or some thing which behaves like one.
Exposed integrated circuits with everything gold and shiny are an example. Then you have to play with crossed polarized light too.

Ordinary writing paper, bent into a "tent" is remarkably good.
Usually you can put your flash head(s) close so you don't need much power.
Studio flash units can be slow too, which can make a difference. 1/10,000th second is better than 1/500th, because macro things usually vibrate even if the camera doesn't.
Alien Bees are a favorite if you go that way.

I use my Hensel monolights for indoor, still life macro.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.ipernity.co​m/doc/diamantstudios/4​0728736

IMAGE LINK: http://www.ipernity.co​m/doc/diamantstudios/4​0628370

There are a couple of things that make answering your question not so cut and dry. If you have your camera on a tripod, and if the subject isn't moving, then you won't be too concerned about the duration of the flash. But if you're hand holding the camera, shooting a moving target, or both then you'll want to get the flash as close to the subject as possible to keep the duration of the light as short as possible. Also the closer the diffuser is to the subject the better the diffusion will be. Then we can also talk about the general quality of the light -color temp, softness (not to be confused with diffusion), etc. There are some areas that I've struggled with that have had a big influence on how I diffuse the MT-24EX. Beetle shells:

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/yPe4​4w

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/Fmk3​ok

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/FUHF​jL

Good photos but the first one is of Bugs not Beetles (Hemiptera not Coleoptera).
I think everyone struggles with them.

davholla wrote in post #17975831
Good photos but the first one is of Bugs not Beetles (Hemiptera not Coleoptera).
I think everyone struggles with them.

Good catch

Dalantech wrote in post #17975843
Good catch

Thanks I meant to say everyone struggles with the light on their exo skeleton not distinguishing between them.
Even with natural light there can be problems.

davholla wrote in post #17975846
Thanks I meant to say everyone struggles with the light on their exo skeleton not distinguishing between them.
Even with natural light there can be problems.

I actually find natural light easier in some ways, but when it's good there just isn't enough of it for anything but still life (with the camera on a tripod) at 1x and higher mag. That's why I prefer to use a flash, since it gives me more options. The trick, at least for me and my photographic style, is to get the light quality that I want in a very small space. I don't think it's possible to have a discussion about macro lighting without taking technique into account. There's a big difference between choosing a method and then finding subjects that you can photograph with it verses letting the subject dictate what you're going to do.