# Water Bottle flash for macro...will it work??



## Bend The Light (Aug 20, 2010)

Hi All,

I'm messing with macro photography, bugs and so on, but I don't have a dedicated macro lens. Someone said I would have trouble with light, as I reverse a lens on my 400d body which cuts down on the light.

So, I figured I'd try to get light down in front of the lens, where it's needed. I'm sure many folks have done similar, but I thought I'd have a go at this...a water bottle, a piece cut so it holds itself in the flash hot shoe, white printer paper on the front, and silver baking foil all around. The end is cut on a slant to allow the light to go down in front of the lens.

Question: You think it'll work?


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## Derrel (Aug 20, 2010)

Hey McGuyver..hand me that gum in its wrapper, I need to make a repair on my shoe!


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## Bend The Light (Aug 20, 2010)

Derrel said:


> Hey McGuyver..hand me that gum in its wrapper, I need to make a repair on my shoe!



Ha ha...

Well, in the absence of a suitable bug, I found a dried petal and took it's photo.

You think the light looks birght enough, and smooth and even? BTW, no PP - just imported from RAW and JPeggified.


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## Derrel (Aug 20, 2010)

I think the light looks pretty dam$$d good,actually.


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## Stephen.C (Aug 20, 2010)

ah Derrel you stole it! 
The greenhouse doors locked and by the looks of that angry beehive you've only got 20 seconds McGruber.
Edit I think the photo looks very cool! The lighting looks great to me.


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## Arkanjel Imaging (Aug 20, 2010)

Looks like its throwing nice, soft light.  It will be more narrow than a softbox.  But the quality of light looks good.  :thumbup:


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## Buckster (Aug 20, 2010)

Nice DIY solution, especially in combination with the reversed lens.  Light looks good.

I'm a fan of DIY solutions myself: Buck


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## Bend The Light (Aug 20, 2010)

I tried again, on real live subjects. Not outdoors, but in front of a large window (window behind the bug).

I have a M42 35mm lens I can reverse, so I intend to try that one - I would have manual control over the aperture, which makes life easier. The aperture is wide on this, so DoF is quite small.

I also intend to play with my tubes on a lens the right way round, too!

How's this?


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## NateS (Aug 20, 2010)

Seen similar setups to that and yes...that is an excellent way to get good light if you can't afford a seperate flash.  I think the lighting looks very good....though your focus/dof could use a bit of work....or maybe you should try focus stacking.  Nothing looks overly sharp in that fly shot, though the lighting looks nice and even.


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## oldmacman (Aug 20, 2010)

Bend The Light said:


> How's this?



I think you need to rig up a 2mm reflector to throw some fill into the shadows. Nah... Jk. Looks good. Thanks for the chuckle on your home made snoot. I love the way it looks on top of the camera. You could try wax paper as it is closer to diffusion paper than what you have on there.

I'm impressed. The most home made mod I have done is tape a piece of paper to my wife's pop up flash to create a bounce card.


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## ajkramer87 (Aug 20, 2010)

I use something similar. Only I put the foil on the inside and duct tape on the outside. I also use a paper towel for diffusion instead of printer paper.


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## Bend The Light (Aug 20, 2010)

Thanks everyone...now I know it works, I will get on with the deluxe version. I think I need one which has a reflector BELOW the lens, too, to send a bit of light into the shadows! 

I intend to take this outdoors when I get a chance - more natural light, plus this flash diffuser thingy might yield better results. Will also look at the other mods recommended!

Cheers


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## NateS (Aug 20, 2010)

Bend The Light said:


> Thanks everyone...now I know it works, I will get on with the deluxe version. I think I need one which has a reflector BELOW the lens, too, to send a bit of light into the shadows!
> 
> I intend to take this outdoors when I get a chance - more natural light, plus this flash diffuser thingy might yield better results. Will also look at the other mods recommended!
> 
> Cheers



I would also suggest, as already mentioned, that you try a paper towel over the front instead of the paper...you will probably get as good (or better) diffusion and you won't lose nearly as much of that precious light....There are guys out there shooting with $4,000 macro setups that use homemade diffusers and they usually use paper towel as the front of their diffuser.  Same thing goes for the aluminum foil or aluminum tape on the inside to help the light reflect out instead of getting absorbed inside.


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## Bend The Light (Aug 20, 2010)

NateS said:


> I would also suggest, as already mentioned, that you try a paper towel over the front instead of the paper...you will probably get as good (or better) diffusion and you won't lose nearly as much of that precious light....There are guys out there shooting with $4,000 macro setups that use homemade diffusers and they usually use paper towel as the front of their diffuser.  Same thing goes for the aluminum foil or aluminum tape on the inside to help the light reflect out instead of getting absorbed inside.



Thanks - I will give that a go...Thanks.


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