DIY Macro Lighting Rig

[mjhoward]

So recently I've been purchasing some items for use in a Macro lighting rig that I've been planning to make. This will be used on the D7000. I thought I'd post my progress with making it here in case others might be interested in making something similar. So far I've ordered the following items and they should arrive within the next day or two.

Mount and Positioning:
(2) 12" Flexible Goosenecks (3.25lb load cap.): $7.06: McMaster-Carr
(2) 5/8"-27 to 3/8"-16 adapters: $5.99 ea: Adapter 5/8" 27 male - 3/8" 16 Female Thread #5793 | eBay
(2) Delvcam TA3 5/8"-27 to 1/4"-20 adapters: $9.95ea: Delvcam DELV-TA3 Microphone Stand Mount DELV-TA3 B&H Photo Video
(1) 3-Arm Rubberized 1/4"-20 Thumb Screw: $2.14: McMaster-Carr
(1) Scrap piece of 3/8" Aluminum: Free (probably ~$10-15 worth)

Lighting:
(2) Used Nikon SB-28: $82.50ea
(1) Set Yongnuo RF-602 Radio Triggers (1TX, 3 RX): $65.95

Total Cost: ~$290.00 after shipping

The SB-28's will be easily unmountable to be used for other things. I plan on cutting the aluminum plate tomorrow and I'll post up pics of the progress, components, and the final product along with some resulting images.

Thanks for looking!

 

[tirediron]

Cool - DIY is a great way to go. Looking forward to seeing progress shots.

 

[cgipson1]

Looks like it will be a sweet setup.... will be interested in seeing how it does for you.

 

[aaron1956]

Sounds interesting. A while back I bought two of those little lights that clip on the brim of a cap. Each has 5 LED lights. I just use rubber bands to secure them around my macro lens while mounted on tripod, one on top and one on bottom. Works great!

 

[mjhoward]

Thanks everyone! I got some items today and cut my plate:

Sorry for the dark crappy photo but the batteries for the flash are on charge. Tomorrow, I'm going to sand the edges, drill some holes, and paint it up! BTW, the goosenecks are a little more rigid and less flexible than I thought they would be. I'm sure this is a side effect of having a higher load capacity but it should still work pretty well for positioning the lights. I certainly won't have to worry about the lights/modifiers being to heavy for these.

 

[mjhoward]

OK, I'm pretty much finished with it now. After putting it together, I've realized that I need some sort of handle mounted to plate to hold the rig rather than holding it by the plate underneath. It did come in somewhat heavy at ~4.5lb for the entire rig, camera and all. If I switch to only using one speedlight and gooseneck, the load drops to about 4lbs (the goosenecks are surprisingly heavy). I'll play around with it for a bit, and if I'm not happy with the results, I'll change something up... maybe switch to some lighter SB-400's and get smaller goosenecks or some of those RAM type mounts. We'll see! Regardless I'm going to keep this plate, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. It only weighs maybe 1/4lb at most.

 

[2WheelPhoto]

Wow that looks great

 

[cgipson1]

I like it! That rocks! What would you charge me to cut me a plate like that? Don't have the tools to do it.. and I doubt that my dremel would do a nice job. (if you don't object to a copycat, of course!)

 

[mjhoward]

OK, I've started to zero in on how I'm going to use this thing. I've added a handle for the rig and a small giottos ball head on the end of the gooseneck to add flexibility in positioning. I've also dropped it down to one speedlight vs 2. Both speedlights definitely adds to the weight but I also rather like the single light source, it adds a bit of depth. I've also made some really primitive diffuser out of cardboard and a piece of paper but it seems to work really well. I just made the diffuser tonight so I havn't had any chance to take it outside and take any pics of bugs and things, but I did snap a couple of pics of some uninteresting things around the house just to see how soft the light is.

Here she is (crap pics taken with iphone):

And a few sample images for now (some are a bit underexposed):

Back of a pen:

Some potpourri fake plant thing:

Low Key Zippo:

Some fleur de lis medallion thing about the size of a thumbnail:

Hopefully I'll get better with it once I get some practice with the new rig Hope you enjoy!