Photo Plus - UK (2020-04)

The Canon Magazine 77

IN MARCO’S BAG

Canon EOS 6D
WEB: http://www.canon.co.uk

CANON’S EOS 6D
Mark I may be an older
DSLR, but it still
delivers incredible
image quality,
especially when using
low ISO values and
flash as I do in my
home setup. It’s a
full-frame DSLR too, so
if I use a reproduction
ratio of 1:1, my insects
will be captured at
‘life-size’ – the same
size as if they were laid
across the imaging
sensor. The 20.2Mp
resolution is also quite
manageable, which is
handy, as I sometimes
have to merge up to
150 different images
together in post.

Canon EF

MP-E 65mm

f/2.8 1-5x

Macro

WEB: http://www.canon.co.uk

THIS is an amazing

lens that enables

super-close focusing

from 1:1 (life-size), to a

whopping 5:1 which will

capture your subject

five times larger than

life-size. It’s difficult to

get handheld results,

or even sharp results

at this microscopic

magnification. To fix

this, I pair it with a

macro rail, that helps

take lots of images as I

move the lens closer to

the bug, rending each

detail sharp.

Yongnuo

YN560

flashgun

WEB: http://www.ebay.co.uk

I PLACE the insects

on a plastic white tube,

inside of a cardboard

box lined with tinfoil.

Inside this box I have

three Yongnuo YN560

flashguns directed

towards the tube, which

is semi-transparent,

allowing the flashlight

to come through.

Diffusing it makes the

spread of light more

soft and even. I choose

these flashguns as

they’re affordable

• I can buy three or
  four of these ‘guns’ for
  the price of an official
  Canon Speedlite.

Yongnuo

YN560-TX II

flash trigger

WEB: http://www.ebay.co.uk

MY SETUP has been

fine-tuned to deliver the

consistent results from

years of experience

taking these images.

Even slight adjustments

make a difference, so I

want to touch my

flashguns as little as

possible. That’s why I

use this YN560-TX II

flash trigger controller,

as it allows me to

change the power of

each Yongnuo flashgun

in my setup without

physically touching

each strobe.

Cognisys

Macro Rail

WEB: http://www.cognisys-inc.com

THIS is a macro rail

with 100mm of travel,

though you can get

an extended 200mm

version too. It works in

conjunction with the

StackShot Controller,

so you don’t have to

manually adjust the rail

by hand, you just dial in

the settings on the

controller and it will

automatically move

forward and take each

image. It’s a specialist

piece of kit, but its high

level of accuracy makes

it essential for this kind

of macro work.

Cognisys

StackShot

Controller

WEB: http://www.cognisys-inc.com

THE StackShot

Controller is the

interface used to

communicate with the

Cognisys Macro Rail

and plugs directly into

my 6D’s remote control

port. It allows me to dial

in the distance I want it

to travel, how much

distance it should travel

between shots and also

whether or not it should

stop moving when

taking an exposure.

This can be a handy

setting if you need to

add extra time for your

flashguns to recharge.

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CANON PROS & THEIR KIT

Cardboard box

lined with tin foil to

reflect flash light

Backup Yongnuo

YN560 flashgun

Light stand with Yongnuo

YN560 flashgun attached to it