Making a Cheap Macro Lens
Macro photography is close-up photography. The lens is typically optimized to focus sharply on a small area and magnifying...
Making a cheap Bounce Card
Yet again some cool diy to bounce light from a DSLR flash! As everyone knows, it's actually better not to flash light...
What is a Ring Flash?
Ring flash is a circular photographic flash that fits around the lens, especially for use in macro (or close-up) photography. Its most important characteristic is providing even illumination with few shadows visible in the photograph, as the origin of the light is very close to (and surrounds) the optical axis of the lens. When the subject is very close to the camera, as is the case in macro photography, the distance of the flash from the optical axis becomes significant. For objects close to the camera, the size of the ring flash is significant and so the light encounters the subject from many angles in the same way that it does with a conventional flash with soft box. This has the effect of further softening any shadows.
Ring flashes are also very popular in portrait and fashion photography. In addition to softening shadows, the unique way that a ring flash renders light gives the model a shadowy halo which is a common feature of fashion photography...as Wikipedia says...
This is actually what you'll get:
Click here for Examples
As i previously said, i've never used one, but i'm planning to, so i found some useful link on how to do-it-yourself!
All the credits go to the authors.
1) The Strobist.com flickr group full of DIY ring flash and lighting DIY
2) DIY ring flash from swilton
3) Really cheap and simple DIY ring flash from antontrax
4) Super cheap DIY ring flash from jedrek
5) Ring flash for built-in flash
6) Christmas Light Ring Flash by Tom Edge Photography
7) D.I.Y. ring flash from latente (in italian)
8) Finally a really well done blogspot about strobist infos
Macro photography is close-up photography. The lens is typically optimized to focus sharply on a small area and magnifying it.
Depth of field is extremely small when focusing on close objects; a small aperture (high f-number) is often required to ensure sufficient depth of field. This requires either a slow shutter speed or bright lighting for correct exposure; in all but the brightest natural lighting if a prolonged exposure is not advisable, auxiliary lighting (such as from a flash unit) is required as a ring flash or a flash diffuser like the one discussed here on DIY photography.
How to:
- Using a lens specifically designed for close work and with a long barrel for close focusing, called a macro lens.
- Extending the distance between the lens and the film or sensor by inserting either extension tubes
- Placing an auxiliary close-up lens in front of the camera's taking lens. Inexpensive screw-in or slip-on attachments provide close focusing at very low cost
- Reversing the lens using a "reversing ring"
You can buy a reverse ring, or you can fit your second lens (if you have one) on the lens you have on your body camera as i did and have macro capabilities for FREE:
That’s my sony a300 with the standard lens dt18-70 and my old manual Zenit lens: Mc Helios 44m-7
I just reversed the Helios lens and attached to the DT lens
That’s all!
Don’t forget to switch to Manual focus!
This is an example of what i did with that DIY:
Other infos:
- Here is another cheap way to have an homemade macro lens at Photocritic
- And here another usueful way to build your own reversing ring from a Body Cap, its basically the same way i did macro reversing, but instead of using 2 lens, you will use a body cap, a filter and some glue!
- Another really cheap way of doing macro from Zuco
Here we go with another cool diy project: a cheap Macro Flash!
There are a couple of way to do really close up photography:
- Buy a Macro Lens (which cost! and well, if you don't want to spend money...well...skip that!)
- Placing an auxiliary close-up lens in front of the camera's taking lens (they doesen't cost too much)
- Reverting your lens using a reversing ring (yep that's the chepest way!) You need to buy a reverse ring for your camera and lens, so you can attach your lens in the other way you normal will attach it to the body of the camera!
- Reverting your lens by taping it in reverse on another lens already attached to your body camera (you just need to have 2 lens and some tape! That's the CHEAPEST way)
The problem of sufficiently and evenly lighting the subject can be difficult to overcome. Some cameras can focus on subjects so close that they touch the front of the lens. It is impossible to place a light between the camera and a subject that close, making extreme close-up photography impractical.
Ring flashes, with flash tubes arranged in a circle around the front of the lens, can be helpful in lighting at close distances. Ring lights have emerged, using white LEDs to provide a continuous light source for macrophotography.
Homemade flash diffusers made out of white Styrofoam or plastic attached to a camera's built-in flash can also yield surprisingly good results by diffusing and softening the light, eliminating specular reflections and providing more even lighting.
So, here you will Find some useful information on using your flash light on your macro shots!!
