A lot of manufacturers say that they are dedicated to the small world of macro photography - and they point to one lens in their range with that word on the barrel. Or to a small flower symbol somewhere in their digital menu. Mount the lens or press the icon and all will be tiny and in perfect focus...
Well, the dedicated macro workers know it ain't so. Too often the tiny world is wildly out of focus, dimly lit, and shaky. Leading to a similar condition in the photographer. It takes more than a lens and a button.
One of the pieces of equipment that are indeed more from Canon is the
MT-26EX- RT. That doesn't trip off the tongue or make warehousing any easier, but it certainly does improve the macro shots.
Macro is often close to the lens, in the shade of the barrel. It is frequently in dimly lit hollows or under bushes. It rarely can be lit conveniently with studio equipment - rarely but spectacularly if you are prepared to work at it. Be assured that the best macro shot you were ever presented with was badly lit at the moment it appeared.
Here is where the ring light and lately the multiple macro lights comes into its own. The ring, a tube set around the lens itself projecting light forward can be continuous or flash, and can even be simulated by piping the light from a conventional flash into a ring-shaped housing. Take it from us, that is an awkward rig - it works but you will end up being a juggler.
The twin-light rig also has some of these characteristics of the ring in the close approximation of the light pattern to the axis of the lens. Those of you who realise that this may reflect of the subject back into the camera as a glare are right, but it is rarely a problem with the dim little world of macro. The ability to pump light down that axis is the winning strategy. If you can do it with a rig that's easy to hold and that will act in a TTL fashion, you'll have it so much easier.
This is what the Canon unit can do. Slide the twin lights around the mounting ring and tilt them into the subject as you like. Illuminate it or focusing with internal LED's. Vary the power independently to each head so that you actually get modelling on your subject.
The joy of this light is that it enables you to drop instantly to the smallest aperture of whatever macro lens you are using to maximise your depth of field while still getting good colour.
Note that it is designed for field work - a good sturdy carrying case with padded compartments.
Now all you need is a good lens...
