I'm considering purchasing a ring flash to enhance my macro photography and was hoping someone can point me in the right direction. Is there a steep learning curve or is it pretty much plug and play? I currently rely on the built-in flash which I'm not a huge fan of for a variety of reasons. Thanks in advance.
I've never had a ring flash, mostly because I don't care for the circular catchlight look.
Why not consider the close up lighting kit Nikon offers that allows the user to position small multiple flash heads and is controlled wirelessly by the main flash or a separate top-mounted controller? It looks like it offers a lot more flexibility. If I still did a lot of macro work this would be my choice.
Honestly, I know little to nothing about using flash and the flash options. I've just seen some nice work with ring flashes and like the idea of them so that is what is driving the inquiry. If there are other options I should be considering, feel free to make suggestions. Thanks.
The original purpose of a ring flash was to provide even lighting to a small subject. With shorter focal length macro lenses there's little working distance between the front of the lens and the subject, so mounting a light at the front of the lens that "surrounds" the subject gives light form all directions to the subject and avoids harsh shadows.
But that very even lighting and make the image appear flat, so it doesn't work well with all subjects or the photographer's intensions. One approach to dealing with this was to divide the ring flash tube into segments that could be controlled separately to vary lighting ratios.
Nikon has a couple of products that mount a pair of small flashes on the front end of a Nikon macro lens like your 105 and allow you to angle them separately to control the direction of the light on your subject - think of them as Main and Fill lights. You control the power level individually to adjust the lighting ratio. You can use the tiny built-in flash on many of the mid range Nikon bodies as the wireless controller for the front-mounted flashes. Search the Nikon web site or a pro level store like B&H for the "Nikon 4804 R1 Wireless Close-Up Speedlight System."
Luke, Richard is exactly right. I have the R1 Nikon System and it is great. The D300S can be put in commander mode and the two flashes that come with the unit (SB R200) are wireless slaves. They can be attached to a ring that attaches to the front of the lens or they also come with small stands and a flexible arm that allows you to place them almost anywhere. The kit comes with diffusers for the individual flashes for extreme closeups and it also comes with gel filters and holders for each flash. The commander mode of the D300S can also trigger the other Nikon flashes as slaves. I have added an additional SB R200 so I use three with mine along with my SB 600. The kit comes with 52, 62, 67, 72, and 77 mm filter attachment rings to attach the flash holder to the front of any macro lens. The flashes can be located at every 15 degrees around the ring that attaches to the front of the lens. The commander mode lets you control the output of each flash individually so you can use one as a primary and reduce the output from the other one to serve as a secondary. This gives you less flat light and creates a modeling effect on the subject. I also use mine with my 300 F4 AFS lens for closeups as well. Good luck!
If you like the look of ring flash, give it a try. If I recall right, I could never stop down past f/11 with it and still have enough light for my subject. I had one for a while but now I just hand-hold an SB600 with an omnibounce on it. I wrap the cord around my wrist a couple of times to take up any slack. I like that I can easily shift from horizontal to vertical format. I don't know how easy it is to do that with the R1 system.
John, since the flashes on the R1 are wireless it is simply a matter of rotating the ring that holds the flash to any orientation you want. The ring with flashes mounted rotates quite easily.
Like Luke, I am also interested in macro lighting. I have seen circular LED lights that can be attached to the macro lens. Does anyone have any experience or comments with LED lights?
Luke, I use the Nikon SBR1 with my D200 and it works flawlessly with all my macro lenses. You can use it wirelessly with the built-in in commander mode, you can use it off-camera, you can move the flashes around the circumference of the lens,,its really flexible. I've heard people worry about hanging all that weight off the end of their lens, but it doesn't seem to be an issue at all... its a great deal
Posted by John Vaughan on June 3, 2010 at 11:24 PM
If you really want to try the ring light; Backdrop Outlet has one on sale for $79.00. Actually thought about getting one myself. I think it would do fine for the limited amount of macro work that I do.
Discussion
9 replies- Luke
Why not consider the close up lighting kit Nikon offers that allows the user to position small multiple flash heads and is controlled wirelessly by the main flash or a separate top-mounted controller? It looks like it offers a lot more flexibility. If I still did a lot of macro work this would be my choice.
Honestly, I know little to nothing about using flash and the flash options. I've just seen some nice work with ring flashes and like the idea of them so that is what is driving the inquiry. If there are other options I should be considering, feel free to make suggestions. Thanks.
But that very even lighting and make the image appear flat, so it doesn't work well with all subjects or the photographer's intensions. One approach to dealing with this was to divide the ring flash tube into segments that could be controlled separately to vary lighting ratios.
Nikon has a couple of products that mount a pair of small flashes on the front end of a Nikon macro lens like your 105 and allow you to angle them separately to control the direction of the light on your subject - think of them as Main and Fill lights. You control the power level individually to adjust the lighting ratio. You can use the tiny built-in flash on many of the mid range Nikon bodies as the wireless controller for the front-mounted flashes. Search the Nikon web site or a pro level store like B&H for the "Nikon 4804 R1 Wireless Close-Up Speedlight System."
John