Flash for macro work

[Clovishound]

The Pup is making noises of interest in macro work. She has the 105mm Nikon macro lens for her D5600. I'm thinking about a flash setup, preferably on camera, with a small soft box. I understand Godox are well thought of without breaking the budget. Obviously I want to get one with enough power to give small apertures for increased DOF. Not sure she will want to mess with off camera flash, at least at first, but perhaps in the future, so built in wireless would be nice. I understand a transmitter is required to connect the system, and I could get that later, if needed.

Obviously, a diffuser would be needed as well. I could make one, but I see some very inexpensive units that look decent. I'm willing to pay more for better quality, as long as we aren't talking real high dollar.

 

[BF Hammer]

Best for specific macro work might be one of those LED ring lights. But it is kind of a 2-trick pony, if you count the amateurish use for portraits that is so fashionable now. But the cost is often low.

Otherwise, you can read whole books about different speedlights, advantages of each, and aftermarket light modifiers.

 

[Fred Kingston]

Ring Light for the win!!!

Here's one on Amazon... I have one made by Viltrox that is several years old, and has all the same features as this one.

 

[TwistedThrottle]

I use flashpoint/godox and have been really impressed with the entire system. I have 2x ad200 pro along with the round head accessories, (essential piece of kit IMHO) the V1 roundhead speedlight and the mf-12 macro system with the R2 pro transmitter. For macro, I mostly use the mf-12 with the transmitter. It kicks out more than enough light for macro and does a good job of getting rid of shadows caused by single light setups, (using both included lights on either side of the front of the lens). You're right up close to the subject shooting macro so these lights work great even at small apertures. The mf-12 must be used with a transmitter but its not limited to just acting like a ring light. The lights can be set up as off camera lights using the included stands. Of course, they don't push a ton of light for that kind of situation but the option is there, (think accent lights for tabletop photography). The one drawback is the setup time. You have to attach a ring onto the front of your lens which accepts the dock which accepts the mf-12 lights, (up to 6 lights on the front of the lens). Each step takes time to assemble. Most of the time, I leave everything assembled on the front of my 105 macro so it's ready to go. I find it easier to take it off the few times I don't need it rather than install every time I do need it. The V1 is very handy if I just need a quick shot and don't want to mess with any setup time. It can also act as a transmitter for any of the other lights I have. I use the ad-200 when more light is required.

 

[Clovishound]

Well, I decided on the Godox 685. It arrived today. I went ahead and got a small softbox and a wireless transmitter for it. I played around a little with it tonight after it came in, but it will require a bit of a learning curve. I can put it in TTL mode and take some shots with it tomorrow, as I'm planning a trip to the Audubon Swamp in the morning. I'll have a read through the instructions and maybe watch some videos on it next week. I really like the little remote stand that comes with it. It allows you to stand the flash up by itself, and has a 1/4-20 thread in the bottom to attach to a tripod. I also picked up a set of NIMH batteries for it, as they are supposed to cycle much faster than alkalines.

It may require more attention to technology than the Pup is willing to spend, but I got this for both of us, and got her something else for her birthday coming up.

 

[Clovishound]

Well, I've got a lot to learn using flash with macro. I played around with it at the swamp today. OK, I spent a good bit of my time talking shop with another photographer, and letting him get some hands on with my gimbal head, and Z5.

I did use the flash some with the 105 macro, as well as the 200-500 tele. I discovered I often need to take the camera off auto ISO. If I do that and choose a small F stop, I can get some nice dark backgrounds, although sometimes I need to compensate for overexposure with a small subject against a larger, far away background.

I think the flash may work well for bees. This one isn't terribly sharp, due to motion, but I kind of like the effect.

And here's a handheld closeup at the end of the shoot. My arms were noodles by then with all the stuff I was carrying, but the flash still gave me nice crisp detail.

 

[Fred Kingston]

I discovered I often need to take the camera off auto ISO

Not often, always...

Take your flash off auto too... and use manual... Set your aperture, then control the exposure by adjusting the speedlight's output in manual mode...

If you're shooting moving bees and stuff, explore using high-speed sync... Then using manual mode on the flash, the lower the light output level, the faster the light speed is.... Stopping the bee's wings...

 

[Clovishound]

Well, I took the trusty old D3400 out this morning and went bug hunting in the yard. Tried a number of different settings after watching a few videos and, more or less, figuring out how to control most of the features. This one I took using full manual on camera, and flash. Figured out the right exposure by trial and error, but since a lot of macro work is at a similar distance, it should be pretty close for most insects, unless I'm further back trying to get something like bumblebees with a good bit of flower.

 

[Bikerbrent]

Nice photo Clovishound!!

 

[hark]

Glad you found a flash unit that works for you. Godox has a great ecosystem. If you wish to expand, you will be able to use additional flashes and/or strobes. I have the TT685N and prefer its AA batteries over my V860's rechargeable battery. Recently when I went to charge my V860's battery, it had swelled and was no longer usable (even though it only ever had light use). I also have multiple AD200 Pro's and AD400 Pro's so all my Godox strobes and flashes can integrate together as an entire lighting system. However, I still use my Nikon SB700 to grab a quick shot, but Godox is terrific.

 

[Clovishound]

Probably the biggest down side to this flash is the size. It's a rather large and heavy unit. I decided going in that I may need the power it supplies, and didn't want to have to buy twice. Since I got the wireless transmitter when I bought this, I will be able to add other units, if and when I decide to. The plan for the xmiter was to be able to use the flash off camera for directional control of the lighting.

There is also a higher learning curve for operation than I was used to with flashes in the film days. The operation is not that intuitive. Not a long term problem for me, but the idea when I got this was that both my daughter and I would use it. Not sure she will take to it as she is somewhat resistant to learning the technical side of things.