Post your BUG shots!

mediakitchen wrote in post #19077824
This one has such a human looking face - or perhaps I have just too big an imagination
Bit too overexposed on the plant it is standing on but I love the face.

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forum: Macro

Interesting what you can see in bug faces. Some remind me of my high school teachers.

Have you tried to burn in the bright foreground?

Macroramphosis wrote in post #19077838
One of the largest wasps in Europe is Scoliidae hirta, a 10-25mm insect that parasitises the larvae of different beetles. I had a female in my garden last year, and she laid her eggs in the roots of a Phoenix palm from which three offspring emerged this week, flying about the terrace in search of nectar. This individual was about 20mm long. I normally like a head shot of insects but in this case the golden thorax was a much more attractive target!

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I agree the colors are neat in this wasp.

Pigpen101 wrote in post #19077856
I guess there is a middle-of-the-road option I did not know about. Never heard of anyone here using it, just the 9 reviews on B&H.

https://www.bhphotovid​eo.com …html?sts=hist-pi-ps&pim=Y

My rig has a 6x8 soft box attached. It does an OK job of diffusing but the catchlights aren't the best.

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Nice shot of that jumper, lots of detail. Some are nervous and will jump away or onto your lens, so you did good getting so close. To me the catchlighs are not bad but look bright because the shadow areas are so dark. Maybe you just need some fill.

Thank you. Yes, the downside to my rig is light source from only 1 dirrection. Looking into a twin flash, trying to decide which.. I think the Canon version is out due to cost, I've owned cars that have cost me less. Much less.

Pigpen101 wrote in post #19077911
Bolt has been around for a while but it's the first time I've seen this macro flash. I got my flash off camera, have it off to the side w/ wired connection.

EDIT: The earliest review on B&H is 6/6/19. In the Q&A section it is stated that B&H got the Canon version in stock on 12/30/19. Apparently you can buy extra heads separately to add more light. One nice thing I saw in the video is because there are no wires, you can remove a flash head from the ring & handhold it anywhere you'd like. You can even remove both & they act as normal TTL OCF. Interesting.

I agree it looks interesting. If it works as good as the video and ad says, it would worth trying.
Low power and short lasting on 2 batteries is main issue with reviews. At least with anything other than menu problems on some camera brands.

I use godox 350’s when I use twin flash. Off camera master wired for one and wireless slave for other. Otherwise I use canon flash single and usually in ttl mode.
The Laowa 2.5-5x can’t be used with lights like bolt. No threads up front.

Ok, I pulled the trigger. Should have it middle of next week. It turns out it is B&H's own "brand". Basically this item from Adorama with a different name.

https://www.adorama.co​m/mkmt24iic.html

The size of the flash units & being able to shoot TTL wirelessly has intrigued me. I have a lot of trouble getting my normal size flash to work with my home studio of bellows & microscope objectives. Space is very tight at this magnification so even the fact that I won't have to add my Vello triggers to my flashes saves a great deal of space. Now consider the flash is 1/4 the size of my other Yongnuo flashes, gives me even more room. The ability to order extra flash units for this is another bonus.

I have enough experience with macro to already know I'm going to have to DIY better diffusers than the ones provided.

I don't understand this. There have been 3rd parties 3d printing diffusers for even the pricey Canon version. You would think they would take the hint that their standard equipment is cutting it.

I will start a thread so as to no longer hijack this one.

Pigpen101 wrote in post #19078023
Ok, I pulled the trigger. Should have it middle of next week. It turns out it is B&H's own "brand". Basically this item from Adorama with a different name.

https://www.adorama.co​m/mkmt24iic.html

The size of the flash units & being able to shoot TTL wirelessly has intrigued me. I have a lot of trouble getting my normal size flash to work with my home studio of bellows & microscope objectives. Space is very tight at this magnification so even the fact that I won't have to add my Vello triggers to my flashes saves a great deal of space. Now consider the flash is 1/4 the size of my other Yongnuo flashes, gives me even more room. The ability to order extra flash units for this is another bonus.

I have enough experience with macro to already know I'm going to have to DIY better diffusers than the ones provided.

I don't understand this. There have been 3rd parties 3d printing diffusers for even the pricey Canon version. You would think they would take the hint that their standard equipment is cutting it.

I will start a thread so as to no longer hijack this one.

Looks real interesting. Please let us know how it works out. Maybe provide a link here to the new thread.

There is something about macro diffusers. There don't seem to be many good commercial choices. On the other hand, most macro shooters seem to like making their own, and it is not hard.

Pigpen101 wrote in post #19078023
Ok, I pulled the trigger. Should have it middle of next week. It turns out it is B&H's own "brand". Basically this item from Adorama with a different name.

https://www.adorama.co​m/mkmt24iic.html

The size of the flash units & being able to shoot TTL wirelessly has intrigued me. I have a lot of trouble getting my normal size flash to work with my home studio of bellows & microscope objectives. Space is very tight at this magnification so even the fact that I won't have to add my Vello triggers to my flashes saves a great deal of space. Now consider the flash is 1/4 the size of my other Yongnuo flashes, gives me even more room. The ability to order extra flash units for this is another bonus.

I have enough experience with macro to already know I'm going to have to DIY better diffusers than the ones provided.

I don't understand this. There have been 3rd parties 3d printing diffusers for even the pricey Canon version. You would think they would take the hint that their standard equipment is cutting it.

I will start a thread so as to no longer hijack this one.

Well done - that looks super! I had seen that one too and wondered what it is like. Be sure to let us all know what you think of it and post lots of photos taken with it.

First attempt at using a Helicon FB Tube. I was looking at the Helicon website to see what the software was like for photo stacking and I came across this device I had never heard about before. It sounded quite interesting and as luck would have it I found one on Ebay in Germany which I snapped up.

I am quite impressed though I can see it is a bit messy around the top of the head and body. I just chucked 6 images in to Photoshop and Auto Aligned and Auto Blended. I have a few more sets of photos I took this morning to also try stacking so will post these if they are worth posting.

Note when I first put the FB Tube on my camera then added the Kenko tubes and then my 100mm lens the camera was displaying F0. I feared this wasn't going to work with my extension tubes but then I tried putting the tubes on the camera first then the FB Tube then the lens and it worked - phew!

I will let you guys know what I think. I'll put up an initial post about what I think of the build quality, then take it out for a field test next weekend. I was initially going to get the Yongnuo but I know from experience they have zero customer service. I do own several of their flashes with little to no problem but it seems like a hit-or-miss company when it come to QC. I feel a little more confident dealing with the customer service @ B&H. Anyone looking for a Yongnuo ring flash?

I will start a new thread so as to not hijack this one.

I'm excited!

In regard to your comment of the jumper. Yes they love to come at me. They seem to want to go to the soft box more than my lens. So I built a "jumpers studio".

They are arboreal for lack of a better term. They seek the highest point, usually.

So I have a white sheet on the floor so easily spotted if they escape. In the middle of the sheet I have a 3 foot dowel rod on a sturdy base. At the top of the dowel I have rigged an alligator clamp to hold flowers. Once I get it on top of the flower (this can be a CHORE) they tend to hang out for a while. If you look at the picture above you can see the black plastic clamp just under the flower.

Park Ranger wrote in post #19077958
I agree it looks interesting. If it works as good as the video and ad says, it would worth trying.
Low power and short lasting on 2 batteries is main issue with reviews. At least with anything other than menu problems on some camera brands.

I use godox 350’s when I use twin flash. Off camera master wired for one and wireless slave for other. Otherwise I use canon flash single and usually in ttl mode.
The Laowa 2.5-5x can’t be used with lights like bolt. No threads up front.

This is one of the things that has kept me from getting that Laowa. The lens looks fun.

This also looks like an interesting tool. There is someone here who has posted great results with it.

mediakitchen wrote in post #19078131
First attempt at using a Helicon FB Tube. I was looking at the Helicon website to see what the software was like for photo stacking and I came across this device I had never heard about before. It sounded quite interesting and as luck would have it I found one on Ebay in Germany which I snapped up.

I am quite impressed though I can see it is a bit messy around the top of the head and body. I just chucked 6 images in to Photoshop and Auto Aligned and Auto Blended. I have a few more sets of photos I took this morning to also try stacking so will post these if they are worth posting.

Note when I first put the FB Tube on my camera then added the Kenko tubes and then my 100mm lens the camera was displaying F0. I feared this wasn't going to work with my extension tubes but then I tried putting the tubes on the camera first then the FB Tube then the lens and it worked - phew!

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forum: Macro

Wow, great result.