In the past year or so, I’ve been getting into macro photography, posting my best to Flickr. I’ve tried out a few different kit configurations, diffusers and flashes, but following is a description of what I’m currently using most.
I wind up switching between a few sets of kit based on my needs at the time - my partner likes macro photography as well, so she uses the Olympus 60mm kit (it’s physically lighter), while I use the Olympus 90mm kit. Before I got the second Olympus kit, I used a Canon R7 + Laowa lens (detailed below).
Flash Heads
All kits use Godox V350 flashes (c variant for Canon, o variant for Olympus). In the past I used Meike MK320 flashes, but the Godox is much, much stronger, produces more even light flash-to-flash, and the battery lasts longer.
The Godox V350 supports TTL (good for ease of use), and the V350 with its dedicated Li-Ion battery recycles quickly and keeps producing bright, even shots from shot to shot even with short recycles. It’s also fairly light.
Diffusers
I’ve used a lot of different diffuser types - fabric foldable diffusers, paper ones, a Pope Shield, Cygnustech diffusers, and an AK diffuser. At the moment my Olympus 60mm kit is using a Cygnustech diffuser, with a 46-58mm step-up ring and then a 58-43mm step-down ring. The function of that is to allow the addition of a Raynox DCR-250 macro conversion lens, and also still provide the ‘step’ needed for the front loop of the Cygnustech diffuser to be able to attach correctly.
The AK Diffuser is for the 90mm kit, and includes a light. I use a low-weight powerpack to drive the LED light on it, and it also includes a moveable deflector that can be used to bounce light from underneath. It appears to have better light transmission than the Cygnustech, but is heavier.
The R7 has a hand-made diffuser similar in style to the Cygnustech, but with a few modifications to suit my needs. Both that and the Cygnustech also have a small AA-powered headlamp attached to the flash to provide lighting to assist in focusing in low light conditions.
Straps
All kits use the same strap system - Peak Design Slide Lite straps with Peak Design anchor links. They’re strong, comfortable, and allow attachment in a few different ways to suit what I want. I usually use the top two mounting loops (top left and top right side of the body) since the weight isn’t high.
Filters
Historically I’ve been quite against the concept of using UV filters for ‘lens protection’ on the basis that you should be using a hood and protecting your lens front elements like the delicate instrument it is. However, I’ve also come around to the idea that macro lenses are a special breed, don’t use a hood, and are particularly in danger of a number of things happening to them that regular lenses are not - being rammed into sticks, having insects spit sticky discharge at them, sap or other spatter dripping on them, all due to the necessity of them being very close to the subject and surrounds.
As such I’ve put high quality filters on my two Olympus setups. Don’t cheap out on the filter, you don’t want it impacting image quality much. But at least it means if I have a Bombardier Beetle blast my lens, at least it’s hit the replaceable filter and not the expensive front elements.
Olympus OM-1 Mark I + M.Zuiko 90mm 2:1 f/3.5 Macro PRO
- BODY - Olympus OM-1 Mark I
- LENS - Olmypus M.Zuiko 90mm 2:1 f/3.5 Macro PRO
- FLASH - Godox V350o
- DIFFUSER - AK Diffuser (new design) with built-in LED headlamp
My latest kit. Quite a bit heavier and more unwieldy than the 60mm below, but the 90mm lens produces amazing results. It’s capable up to 2:1 natively, and appears to have excellent light transmission characteristics (ie, you need less flash for the same exposure given the same conditions compared to the 60mm). Being 90mm means it’s actually effectively a 180mm 4:1 lens on the 2x crop factor OM-1, which means you can be further away from your subject.
Automated focus stacking works great - the OM-1 can do electronic shutter stacking with flash at a shutter speed of 1/250s versus the E-M1’s 1/50s. This means the individual frames are closer together in time and therefore less subject to handheld wobble or the subject moving.
I have previously used TTL on the flash quite heavily, but with this setup I usually use manual flash, power setting about 1/16 at around f/13, which gives excellent results at ISO 200.
Olympus E-M1 Mark II + M.Zuiko 60mm 1:1 f/2.8 Macro
- BODY - Olympus E-M1 Mark II
- LENS - Olmypus M.Zuiko 60mm 1:1 f/2.8 with detachable Raynox DCR-250 macroconverter
- FLASH - Godox V350o with AA LED Headlamp
- DIFFUSER - Cygnustech Diffuser
Previously my “main” macro setup, this setup is compact, light, and produces excellent shots. On the E-M1’s 2x crop factor, the lens is effectively a 120mm 2:1, which is great. A Raynox DCR-250 can also be attached to produce even higher magnification shots, but your minimum and maximum focal distances become very narrow.
Olympus bodies also support automated focus stacking with flash, which is a great feature to have on-hand. However, the catch is that your minimum shutter speed is 1/50s with this body when stacking, which impacts shot-to-shot reliability during a stack.
The lens is reasonably priced for how good it is, and the E-M1 Mark II body is reasonably priced these days too, being on the second hand market and a few generations old.
This kit is typically used by my partner now, because it’s light weight, and the short 60mm lens doesn’t cause issues with leverage on the wrists when using it.
Canon R7 + Laowa 85mm 2:1 f/5.6 Lens
- BODY - Canon R7
- LENS - Laowa 85mm 2:1 f/5.6 RF
- FLASH - Godox V350c with AA LED Headlamp
- DIFFUSER - Hand-made Cygnustech-alike
The Laowa lens is a fully-manual lens - no electronics in it at all. This presents a number of challenges, namely that the aperture you use when looking through is the same aperture you’re shooting with, which means things get very dark indeed when shooting at f/11 or higher at high magnifications without the benefit of the flash to help you. It’s also manual focus only. However, it’s a 2:1 magnification ratio (at full-frame!) lens and is extremely sharp and very small. Given that the R7 is an APS-C camera, this makes the effective magnification ratio very high indeed.
I usually shoot on about f/12, but given that the Laowa lens only has stops at f/11 and f/16. I turn the aperture ring a little past f/11 and leave it there, so it’s approximately f/12.
Notably, this kit also can’t do automated focus stacking (manual lens), and can’t do it with flash anyway even if it did have an AF lens (Canon kits can’t do that). The Laowa lens is a lot of lens for not much money and weight though.
I used to use this kit a lot, but now that I’ve got the 90mm Olympus kit, the R7 is used for birding.