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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Focus light! (1 Viewer)

flossiepip

Well-known member
I've been trying my hand at night time insect macro but am having some issues over focusing! I've tried a head light but that did not work and I then wound the head light around the back of my hand and had at least some success that way. I am now trying a small torch strapped with rubber bands to the quick release plate from my tripod but I'm thinking would a mini ball head mount work better giving me a more directional beam! Has anyone tried this and would it work?
 
I've never shot at night but in the day time I've used one of those small LED lights on a flexi arm (basically a single bulb). Attached to the end of the lens (elastic bands) and then positioned the light so that it illuminates the plane of focus so that as soon as the subject goes bright I know that I'm already pretty much in focus.

This, of course, works best when you're not changing the focus (magnification) of the shot.

For night time you might find it helps when focusing whilst a wrist trap mounted light or head torch or other helps you get your camera in the general area for the shot.
 
I use a Holga MR-1 macro ring-lite. It slides over the 10x dioptre close up lens which screws on to the 40.5 mm filter thread on the front of the camera lens. My camera is a Samsung NX 100 with 20 to 50mm. There is a small amount of vignetting at 20mm but it goes at about 22m. You can images of the ring light if you search on the internet.
 
Heya,

I am new to macro as well and it certainly presents its own challenges. Lighting is very, very important for macro.

Are you using a DSLR? If so I'd recommend a speedlite flash. You can get them relatively inexpensively on Amazon.

I had to use a flash on all of these because the apertures you typically have to shoot at to get your subject in focus let in very minimal amounts of light. I'm far from an expert, as I said I am new, but these are 3 I am relatively pleased with from this week:

https://i.imgur.com/wrMgESd.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/YNJQeas.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/0fgWU78.jpg
 
Nice images BamaMike and just like you I am at the learning stage. Without a doubt I need to look at my lighting for night-time and indeed day-time macro work as on my Olympus EM 5 I just use the kit flash. I would also say that I need to improve my ability to diffuse the light that I make! That said my focus light has worked very well if not perfect and has the added advantage of giving me something to hang on to. My big problem as I see it is keeping the ISO down as it needs to be around 200 and I am way above that, it shows I think in my images. I have included a recent night -time shot.
 

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