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lighting for marco
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Jan 22, 2017 12:22:24   #
picture snapper Loc: Baltimore, MD
 
I'm starting to get into Marco photography. Recently I bought a Tamron 90mm f2.8 Marco lens, and this week I bought a table top tent from Cowboy Studio. The table top tent didn't come with any lights. The lights in Cowboy Studios catalog are quit expensive for the quality (they look like cheap s$%t). Does any Hogers have any ideas on how I could have decent lighting, for a decent price, and how many lights do you think is sufficient?

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Jan 22, 2017 12:23:28   #
MT Shooter Loc: Montana
 
picture snapper wrote:
I'm starting to get into Marco photography. Recently I bought a Tamron 90mm f2.8 Marco lens, and this week I bought a table top tent from Cowboy Studio. The table top tent didn't come with any lights. The lights in Cowboy Studios catalog are quit expensive for the quality (they look like cheap s$%t). Does any Hogers have any ideas on how I could have decent lighting, for a decent price, and how many lights do you think is sufficient?


Maybe POLO lights???

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Jan 22, 2017 12:27:16   #
speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho
 
picture snapper wrote:
I'm starting to get into Marco photography. Recently I bought a Tamron 90mm f2.8 Marco lens, and this week I bought a table top tent from Cowboy Studio. The table top tent didn't come with any lights. The lights in Cowboy Studios catalog are quit expensive for the quality (they look like cheap s$%t). Does any Hogers have any ideas on how I could have decent lighting, for a decent price, and how many lights do you think is sufficient?

If you have a flash, just use it and one should be enough!

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Jan 22, 2017 13:01:07   #
rfmaude41 Loc: Lancaster, Texas (DFW area)
 
picture snapper wrote:
I'm starting to get into Marco photography. Recently I bought a Tamron 90mm f2.8 Marco lens, and this week I bought a table top tent from Cowboy Studio. The table top tent didn't come with any lights. The lights in Cowboy Studios catalog are quit expensive for the quality (they look like cheap s$%t). Does any Hogers have any ideas on how I could have decent lighting, for a decent price, and how many lights do you think is sufficient?


Cowboy's is about 35 miles from me. Been over there quite a few times for odds and ends. I would say, you get what you pay for. Most of his stuff, of course, comes from China, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan and the other far east countries. You can also find him on EBay and Amazon, as well as their own website.

The lights may appear to be expensive, but if you look closely, you'll probably find that they have a CR value that's quite high, whether they are LED or Fluorescent. The high CR value is why they appear to be expensive. The lamps that you find in Home Depot, Lowe's, WallyWorld and the other "Big Box" stores typically have CRI values in the high 70's to low 80's. The ones designated for photography are in the mid 80's on up (typically 85 - 92). The CRI (color rendering index) is a measure of the "quality" of the light (i.e.; does it have a continuous spectrum, or a bunch of peaks like the high pressure, mercury lamps used in street lighting). These are, according to the standards set up by the CIE (Commission internationale de l'éclairage), an international organization, responsible for the technical definitions of lights and colors (think gamuts, etc.).

I've never had problems with any of their products. Mostly I buy (from them), things like backdrops, stands, even one of their monolights (strobes) and quite a few light modifiers.

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Jan 22, 2017 13:07:13   #
amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA
 
I assume you are using a digital camera...

That being the case, to work with that light tent you can literally use almost any incandescent or LED light source... Go to a hardware store or secondhand shop and pick up one or two adjustable lamp fixtures.

Avoid household fluorescents of all types because their output fluctuates on and off at a high rate (120 times per second), and that will mess with exposures with most cameras (some have an Anti-Flicker mode, but most do not).

Continuous lighting such as those will be the easiest to work with. What you see is what you get (as opposed to flash where you have to sort of mentally interpolate what it will look like when the very brief, powerful blast of light).

Incandescent lighting (various types) is generally known as "hot lights", because the lights literally get hot and can be uncomfortable to work with or even cause damage.

LED lighting (and expensive, specialized types of fluorescent designed for photographic use) are known as "cool lights".

The color temperature of the lighting really doesn't matter. Just learn to and always set a "Custom White Balance" when using them. It's simple and effective. You'll need some sort of neutral colored target (such as a Kodak Gray Card) to set a Custom WB. If you use the gray side of that card, it also can be used to help set accurate exposures.

Actually I looked at the continuous lighting kits and table top/tent lighting kits at Cowboy Studio and I don't see any problem with those. They appear to be very affordable, in fact. Far, far less expensive than some other systems.

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Jan 22, 2017 13:27:09   #
Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA
 
I want to introduce you to the UHH Section entitled True Macro-Photography Forum at http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/s-102-1.html
Most of us are field macro-photographers, but several of us also do table-top macro during the winter months. One thread is dedicated to macro set-ups, both hand-held and table-top tripod. Drop-by and take a look.

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Jan 22, 2017 13:40:13   #
picture snapper Loc: Baltimore, MD
 
I'm sorry to ask, but what do mean by polo lights

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Jan 22, 2017 13:52:24   #
GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City
 
picture snapper wrote:
I'm sorry to ask, but what do mean by polo lights


He was just having some fun with the mis-spelling of "macro". Marco Polo was the explorer.
This is not a site devoted to proper grammar or spelling.


Personally, I would use flash and do, but I've used them for many years. You can use the LCD on your camera to see the results, much like we used to do when we shot Polaroid tests, only much faster.
I doubt if you need ever need more than two, since you're diffusing the light in a tent. Speedlights would easily work (I use them on small location jobs) or you could get a fairly inexpensive AC powered monolight- some have modeling lights.

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Jan 22, 2017 14:47:06   #
LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field
 
picture snapper wrote:
I'm starting to get into Marco photography. Recently I bought a Tamron 90mm f2.8 Marco lens, and this week I bought a table top tent from Cowboy Studio. The table top tent didn't come with any lights. The lights in Cowboy Studios catalog are quit expensive for the quality (they look like cheap s$%t). Does any Hogers have any ideas on how I could have decent lighting, for a decent price, and how many lights do you think is sufficient?


First of all, I would also suggest that you visit the UHH Macro forum. A lot of practising photographers-- some of who shoot every day.

I would also agree with the use of a speedlight. The second thing you will want to do is modify the light. I spect a lot of time building diffusion boxes. I also own the (spendy) Nikon wireless macro lighting system. I'm now going in another direction: simplify. I was following the photography of OrionMystery (Kurt) who is from Malaysia. His lighting is simply beautiful. When I looked at his set-up, he uses a concave diffuser on the front of the lens. No brackets, remote cables etc.

So attached is mine. It consists of color neutral diffusion cloth designed for photographers. I laminated two layers and cut a hole. Then I used a step-up ring to attach to the lens. I use one of the weakest speedlights made by Nikon and I shoot iTTL. I have also used the pop-up. Both are sufficient-- the SB400 recycles almost immediately and is powered by two rechargeable Eneloops. By comparison, my macro kit requires CR123As-- and are more limited in availability. So I shot a shiny quarter at 1:1, because it's reflective. Attached is "the rig."


(Download)


(Download)

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Jan 23, 2017 07:58:21   #
Lazy J Loc: Pacific Northwest
 
If you are still set on getting off-camera lighting, see the following link for many inexpensive options:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1311.R2.TR2.TRC0.A0.H0.Xlight+tent+kit.TRS0&_nkw=photo+light+tent+kit&_sacat=0

I personally went with the $78 option, and often use the lights for my portraiture lighting, especially when shooting the grandbabies.

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Jan 23, 2017 08:04:28   #
Julian Loc: Sarasota, FL
 
GoofyNewfie wrote:
He was just having some fun with the mis-spelling of "macro". Marco Polo was the explorer.
This is not a site devoted to proper grammar or spelling.


Personally, I would use flash and do, but I've used them for many years. You can use the LCD on your camera to see the results, much like we used to do when we shot Polaroid tests, only much faster.
I doubt if you need ever need more than two, since you're diffusing the light in a tent. Speedlights would easily work (I use them on small location jobs) or you could get a fairly inexpensive AC powered monolight- some have modeling lights.
He was just having some fun with the mis-spelling ... (show quote)


It is quite obvious that this site is not dedicated to proper grammar/spelling; however, in my opinion and in order to avoid confusion, we must be careful in defining and spelling technical terms properly.

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Jan 23, 2017 08:26:10   #
burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC
 
LoneRangeFinder wrote:
First of all, I would also suggest that you visit the UHH Macro forum. A lot of practising photographers-- some of who shoot every day.

I would also agree with the use of a speedlight. The second thing you will want to do is modify the light. I spect a lot of time building diffusion boxes. I also own the (spendy) Nikon wireless macro lighting system. I'm now going in another direction: simplify. I was following the photography of OrionMystery (Kurt) who is from Malaysia. His lighting is simply beautiful. When I looked at his set-up, he uses a concave diffuser on the front of the lens. No brackets, remote cables etc.

So attached is mine. It consists of color neutral diffusion cloth designed for photographers. I laminated two layers and cut a hole. Then I used a step-up ring to attach to the lens. I use one of the weakest speedlights made by Nikon and I shoot iTTL. I have also used the pop-up. Both are sufficient-- the SB400 recycles almost immediately and is powered by two rechargeable Eneloops. By comparison, my macro kit requires CR123As-- and are more limited in availability. So I shot a shiny quarter at 1:1, because it's reflective. Attached is "the rig."
First of all, I would also suggest that you visit ... (show quote)


Brilliant! I love the cheapest solutions. They require an intimate knowledge (or accidental application) of the principles of physics behind them.

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Jan 23, 2017 09:21:22   #
qrpnut Loc: Brattleboro, Vt.
 
I bought an inexpensive ringlight from Adorama and it's perfect for "marco."

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Jan 23, 2017 09:45:08   #
Mercer Loc: Houston, TX, USA
 
I have been using 5500K flourescent bulbs, which provide light in the lower daylight range, which I have been led to believe is 5000 to 7500k. I like the results.

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Jan 23, 2017 10:14:59   #
RWCRNC Loc: Pennsylvania
 
Check out the macro section of this forum. They have photos of their lighting set ups

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