Ring flash for use w/90 f 4.0 Macro on M9

[algrove]

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I was recently at a German Leica dealer and saw a Metz ring flash. I was wanting to freeze bees hovering over flowers, etc. I asked if I could use that ring flash with the above combination and he said absolutely NO, it would not work.

 

So last week I am at a French Leica dealer and asked the same question, except this time he had a Canon ring flash-MR-14EX. So he attached it to his M9 and it worked on the flash setting. The only thing left unsolved at this store was a way to get this flash held in place around the 90mm Macro lens, even though it has 4 clips for attaching it to a Canon macro Lens.

 

Does anyone use a ring flash with their 90 Macro on an M9? If so, how effective is it at freezing images in the frame? Also what are your settings and which flash do you use?

[giordano]

The only real problem using a ring flash on a small rangefinder camera is that it blocks the view from the range/viewfinder windows, so focusing is impossible and composition challenging.

[algrove]

The only real problem using a ring flash on a small rangefinder camera is that it blocks the view from the range/viewfinder windows, so focusing is impossible and composition challenging.

 

Very much agree with your comments. My idea, which I did not thoroughly explain, would be to focus/compose if you will, since I will be using a tripod, and then use the ring flash for actual image capture.

 

Can that proposed procedure work? Or maybe I should use a pinpoint flash.

[jaapv]

Actually I use this:

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[giordano]

Very much agree with your comments. My idea, which I did not thoroughly explain, would be to focus/compose if you will, since I will be using a tripod, and then use the ring flash for actual image capture.

 

Can that proposed procedure work? Or maybe I should use a pinpoint flash.

 

I'm sure it would work. I suggest that if possible you set things up so the ring flash is supported independently rather than attached to the lens (like Jaap's picture). That would avoid the complication of finding adapters to fit a big SLR ring flash onto a small Leica lens, reduce the strain on the focusing helix (which is smaller and further to the rear than in a typical SLR lens), and reduce the risk of disturbing the setup when you attach the flash.

[asmith]

I am puzzled as to how the flash in Jaap's arrangement is synchronised to the camera's shutter.

Alwyn

[jaapv]

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It is a continuous LED light.

[algrove]

It is a continuous LED light.

 

THANKS FOR THE PIX. WHAT MODEL OF HAMA RING FLASH DO YOU USE? DOES IT HAVE ITS OWN PORTABLE POWER SOURCE. ALSO WITH MY 90MM MACRO SETUP IT SHOULD WORK SINCE IT'S CONSTANT LIGHTING. DO YOU AGREE FOR MY USAGE?

[Doc Henry]

Hi Al,

I don't need usually flash on my M9

I do not see the purpose

look at these two recent links:

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/nature-wildlife/196975-visit-vauclair-abbey-med-plants.html

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/nature-wildlife/195779-rose-i-love-open-thread.html

Best

Henry

[Guest #12]

...I suggest that if possible you set things up so the ring flash is supported independently rather than attached to the lens...

 

...any how-to suggestions?

[Guest #12]

...ALSO WITH MY 90MM MACRO SETUP IT SHOULD WORK SINCE IT'S CONSTANT LIGHTING. DO YOU AGREE FOR MY USAGE?

 

...but you wanted a flash to stop motion.

 

You could get a small one and a 39mm to (typically) 52mm step ring...try it out...if you like the light, then you could eventually rig some kind of flip-down or swing-away holder to get it out of the way for focusing.

[jaapv]

THANKS FOR THE PIX. WHAT MODEL OF HAMA RING FLASH DO YOU USE? DOES IT HAVE ITS OWN PORTABLE POWER SOURCE. ALSO WITH MY 90MM MACRO SETUP IT SHOULD WORK SINCE IT'S CONSTANT LIGHTING. DO YOU AGREE FOR MY USAGE?

 

Depends what your usage is; It is a constant lightsource and not very powerful.

[giordano]

...any how-to suggestions?

 

Depends what you have in the outfit or workshop and - of course - what's supporting the camera in the close-up setup. I've got a bundle of Alpa "Macrostat" components - rods, clamps, etc.) that I could build into a camera stand with an adjustable swinging arm for the flash. Attaching the ring flash to the arm would probably come down to gaffer tape.

[edmond_terakopian]

You could get an Orbis Ringflash adapter and hook it up to Nikon or Canon flashguns. The company also make a flash holder called a Frio which will attach the flash and Orbis to a tripod or light stand.

[lars_bergquist]

Based on my own experience with chasing grasshoppers with an OM-1 (no TTL flash!) and a macro lens, I would say that as long as the flash is in a constant position (and direction) on the camera, and you don't change the ISO, then the reproduction ratio is the only variable that affects the f-stop to be used. A hot-shoe flash that can be persuaded, by a blitzneiger ('flash-bender') to send some light down on the subject in an amount small enough to be handled, by a diffuser e.g, will do the job. Calibrating the rig would be easy nowadays, using he histogram to make up a reproduction ratio-to-f-stops table.

 

If the flash is TTL-capable, and can be diffused down and angled by way of a bracket, then you do not need any special macro flash at all. As seen by the grasshopper, the flashhead is not a point source of light but a gigantic bathtub-style diffuser occupying most of the sky ... and in my experience, the flash does not trigger any flight response in either six or eight-legged customers.

 

The old man from the Photographic Do It Yourself Age

[Guest #12]

...read that Martin Parr used a small ringflash with a Mamiya 7...