An Introduction to High-Magnification Macro Photography

[Pharaoh]

This is fricking amazing macro work.

Has anyone used this technique?

[Major Nikon]

1. I have a setup that is similar

The basic techniques are nothing new. John Shaw described them in his iconic book "Closeups in Nature" which was originally published in 1987.

I use my Nikon Micro 55mm f/2.8 AI-s, both with and without extension tubes. I also have a dual flash bracket so I can use two speedlights instead of just one. I focus the exact same way he is doing it, which simply means you set your lens to a specific focus point (which corresponds to a specific reproduction ratio) and then move the entire camera in and out until focus is achieved.

[sir pball]

3. Lucky

I'll drop the money on new glass one of these days (the Micro 40/2.8 DX is shockingly cheap) but for now I'm stuck with an utterly ancient (as in pre-AI!) Micro 55/3.5 with an extension tube. Well, not really stuck...optically it's the best lens I've ever used, dead flat field with nil vignetting or falloff at any aperture. Repro to 1x, the manual focus isn't an issue - but the lack of metering is a real pain! I wish they could hack something up with live view, maybe manually enter the maximum aperture and shooting apertures or something..

[Major Nikon]

4. When you are using strobes, metering shouldn't be an issue

I use my strobes on manual mode, which means I manually adjust the power levels they put out. I adjust them on a test subject while looking at the histogram.

[sir pball]

5. I don't generally use lights

I only have one speedlight, which I can use in remote slave mode but isn't much good since there's only one, and my big strobes are impractical for anything other than product shots. I did get some nice jewelry pictures with them, though.

[Major Nikon]

6. Does your speedlight have a PC jack?

Syncing with a cable is generally the best bet. A PC jack allows for simple manual syncing, which is all you really need.

For my Nikon, I have a couple of cables which connect to the hotshoe on the camera and the other end goes to the hotshoe of the speedlight. The speedlight doesn't know it's not on the camera. I use those cables so I can configure the speedlights from the DSLR, which is really more of a convenience feature. I still set them to manual mode, which is the right way to go when you're using a bracket and fixed focus.

[sir pball]

7. Light does, camera doesn't.

I did splurge when I got my D70 and went with the SB800 which is still pretty much top dog. The 70 didn't have a PC jack but it did wireless sync, which was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Of course, now that I'm looking into it, the 5100 doesn't do wireless commander mode...d'oh. Guess I'll be getting a PC jack for the hotshoe..

[Major Nikon]

8. The Nikon SC-28 is what I have

It connects the hotshoe of my D7000 to my SB800. I also have the Nikon SC-17 cable which does the same thing. Both of those cables should work for you. The SC-29 would also work, but it's more expensive and the external AF assist it provides is redundant for most speedlights. The SC-17 is your cheapest option as you can get them used on ebay for about $15.

The SB800 is an excellent speedlight for this. Put the SB800 on a bracket connected with a SC-17. The camera is set to manual focus and the focus ring is set to the desired focus distance/reproduction ratio. You focus by moving the camera in and out. Since the camera's focus point is fixed, the speedlight can be set to a fixed manual setting as well which insures more consistent results.

If you have a suitable lens you can reverse it with an adapter ring. No macro lens required.

[sir pball]

9. I am a cheapskate

Which is why I loved the D70, no cables or anything...I just set the 800 on its pedestal stand off to the side and shot away. I might get a sync cable, I do like multiple lights, but outside of that I don't shoot enough macro with lights to really justify any more hardware.

Thanks for the gear tips though!

[pscot]

2. It is spectacular