Flash for macro with focus shift

[aringer]

I was reading Steve's chapter on focus shifting on the Z8/Z9, there is no mention of flash. I imagine it's quite a challenge to shoot 40-50 or 60 images in a few seconds and have the flash keep up, but being new to macro photography, everything I've seen says to use a flash. Is that for single shots only? Thanks

 

[StefanSC]

Well, you don't have to use flash for every macro shot you take .

And you don't have to focus stack every macro shot you take . And you don't have to stack 40 shots for a good image, you can do it with 4-5 images (this guy has a lot of cool macro shots taken that way, with flash ...

)

Also, it's been a while since I've shot flash but if I remember correctly, you can set the flash to manual (you'll need that for stacking anyway to ensure constant exposure) and set it to enough of a low power that it won't need to recycle between shots (1/32-1/16th).

 

[Charles Loy]

@StefanSC - Super vid! I watched it, and enjoyed his commentary. Very interesting

 

[aringer]

Well, you don't have to use flash for every macro shot you take .

And you don't have to focus stack every macro shot you take . And you don't have to stack 40 shots for a good image, you can do it with 4-5 images (this guy has a lot of cool macro shots taken that way, with flash ...

)

Also, it's been a while since I've shot flash but if I remember correctly, you can set the flash to manual (you'll need that for stacking anyway to ensure constant exposure) and set it to enough of a low power that it won't need to recycle between shots (1/32-1/16th).

Cool video, thanks for sharing.

 

[bleirer]

It's a good question. I've used a low power continuous light on occasion. For example a lume cube. It's better if the light source is off camera as you want textures that a raking light can provide rather than flat direct light. The other things useful outdoors are reflectors and diffusers. Bounce the sun back onto the subject or soften the harsh light.

 

[aringer]

It's a good question. I've used a low power continuous light on occasion. For example a lume cube. It's better if the light source is off camera as you want textures that a raking light can provide rather than flat direct light. The other things useful outdoors are reflectors and diffusers. Bounce the sun back onto the subject or soften the harsh light.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[dabhand16]

I imagine it's quite a challenge to shoot 40-50 or 60 images in a few seconds and have the flash keep up,

Not if you have it dialed down to a low power. Look at the TV when the pappartzi are having a field day. If a flash can keep up in burst mode it should be able to do the focus stacking.

 

[aringer]

Not if you have it dialed down to a low power. Look at the TV when the pappartzi are having a field day. If a flash can keep up in burst mode it should be able to do the focus stacking.

Thanks, I'll have to try it out when I get my Z8, hopefully on Friday

 

[dabhand16]

Thanks, I'll have to try it out when I get my Z8, hopefully on Friday

Do you have a flash with AA batteries or a lithium power pack? This can affect not only the number of flashes you can get, but also the recycling time. On full power my old SB900 on AAs takes about 6 seconds to recycle where my Godox V860ii with a lithium power pack (and a price tag under half of the SB910 at the time) takes under 2 seconds.

You won't be using anything like full power in macro, but the flashes with the power packs do have a better all-round performance and usually about 3 times the number of full power flashes you can get.

 

[aringer]

Do you have a flash with AA batteries or a lithium power pack? This can affect not only the number of flashes you can get, but also the recycling time. On full power my old SB900 on AAs takes about 6 seconds to recycle where my Godox V860ii with a lithium power pack (and a price tag under half of the SB910 at the time) takes under 2 seconds.

You won't be using anything like full power in macro, but the flashes with the power packs do have a better all-round performance and usually about 3 times the number of full power flashes you can get.

Good to know, thanks. I have three Godox TT600 which operate with 4 AAA batteries

 

[Calson]

With macro the amount of light emitted is very small as the distances are very short from the flash to the subject. Depending on the flash there are a number of external power supply units available and they up the voltage so the capacitors repower much faster. For Canon and Nikon there are the 10 AA battery holders that plug into the speedlight.

Important to use as wide an aperture as possible. With focus stacking you need far less depth of field and a f/4 setting requires 75% less output from the flash than a f/8 aperture and so recycle times are going to be much shorter as a result.

There is also the option of using portable LED continuous light sources which have become much cheaper in recent years.

 

[JAS]

I use a small LED Panel. I may mount it on the camera hotshoe or on a separate tripod to get the right light angle for the particular subject. Has worked well for me. Always on so recharge during a single stack is not a problem.

 

[agrumpyoldsod]

I was reading Steve's chapter on focus shifting on the Z8/Z9, there is no mention of flash. I imagine it's quite a challenge to shoot 40-50 or 60 images in a few seconds and have the flash keep up, but being new to macro photography, everything I've seen says to use a flash. Is that for single shots only? Thanks

Set the gap between shots to be long enough for the flash/strobe to cycle up again. You need to test this with your flashes/strobes and at different levels of power in their batteries -- 1 second is good for Profoto A1/A10, much shorts cycle times can be used for studio strobes.
One reason to use continuous light -vs- strobes is a) to support focusing and b) speeds up focus stacking.
Most continuous lighting (except reflectors in strong light) deliver less light on your subject and can drive some subjects away.

 

[sh1209]

I do stacks frequently and use flash. You need a flash with fast recycle times but most of the time I never need beyond 1/128 because of the distance. This is extremely useful in darker forest areas when foliage is blocking the light.

 

[aringer]

With macro the amount of light emitted is very small as the distances are very short from the flash to the subject. Depending on the flash there are a number of external power supply units available and they up the voltage so the capacitors repower much faster. For Canon and Nikon there are the 10 AA battery holders that plug into the speedlight.

Important to use as wide an aperture as possible. With focus stacking you need far less depth of field and a f/4 setting requires 75% less output from the flash than a f/8 aperture and so recycle times are going to be much shorter as a result.

There is also the option of using portable LED continuous light sources which have become much cheaper in recent years.

Thanks for the info

 

[bleirer]

Set the gap between shots to be long enough for the flash/strobe to cycle up again. You need to test this with your flashes/strobes and at different levels of power in their batteries -- 1 second is good for Profoto A1/A10, much shorts cycle times can be used for studio strobes.
One reason to use continuous light -vs- strobes is a) to support focusing and b) speeds up focus stacking.
Most continuous lighting (except reflectors in strong light) deliver less light on your subject and can drive some subjects away.

Which cameras allow this? I don't believe mine has that option using the in-camera stacking. It just uses the electronic shutter and zips along as fast as it can.