DIY (ish) macro flash bracket

[thom_vee]

Hi folks. I`m experimenting with alternatives to costly ring flashes for macro photography and have just made this flash bracket setup. Do check it out here: www.micromacroscopy.com/?p=543

[Don Hoey]

Thom,

I checked out your link. It all looks promising but two things strike me.

1) It appears that from the position of the flash head that without some top shading of the lens you could have flare issues. Easily solved by a bit of black card taped to the top of the lens.
2) The flash head has no diffusion so shadows will be quite harsh. There are various diy diffusion options if you find that to be the case.

I look forward to seeing some initial test results.

Don

[thom_vee]

Originally Posted by Don Hoey

Thom,

I checked out your link. It all looks promising but two things strike me.

1) It appears that from the position of the flash head that without some top shading of the lens you could have flare issues. Easily solved by a bit of black card taped to the top of the lens.
2) The flash head has no diffusion so shadows will be quite harsh. There are various diy diffusion options if you find that to be the case.

I look forward to seeing some initial test results.

Don

Thanks Don,
I havent noticed any flare problems as yet, perhaps thats because my lens is mounted on a bellows as you may have noticed from the images. But I havent used it much as yet. I will do a test and post some pics on the blog soon. The flash itself is not as bright as some of the better flashes - I do plan to buy a diffuser to use with it or as you suggest, make one of my own. Also, I set the flash compensation on the camera to -2. Thanks for the suggestions.

[Don Hoey]

Thom,

I would guess your flash is plenty powerful enough for use at those short distances.
As for diffusion then if its a buy job I would suggest looking at a Stofen. Just dug up an old pic of my D100 with a flash attatched complete with a Stofen diffuser so you know what it looks like. For a diy job you could cut the bottom off a 1 litre milk container or similar and tape it to the flash.

Don