[glypticmax]

Hi all,
In trying to solve a macro photo problem, it was suggested by Max to try LED for lighting.
My local drug store had a $75 20 LED light on sale for $9.99. So I took a chance.
It's very cool!
So thanks to Max, and I'm wondering if anybody else has used LED's for macro?
My problem was/is two fold. One is my engraved gems and my wife's vitrious enamels (which are *really* hard to capture and get true color, even with full spectrum lighting). With a bit of color adjustment in PS, the LED's really serve the need.
I since did a Google Search and discovered LED's come in a variety of Kelvin temps.
Any favorite sources or experiences, etc would be appreciated.
cheers,
larry
ps LED fixtures are also coolish to the touch, which helps when working macro.

[Maximus3D]

Hiys Larry

Great to hear the LED suggestion is actually working (you're welcome)

I can just say that i never personally used LED's in macrophotography, atleast not yet. However i can imagine that they could cause some discoloration like most other lights do. Unless you're ok with that for your type of photography, which i guess you're not hehe then you can adjust that in post quite easily.

You want pure white light when you shoot macro's ? i wonder if you can somehow filter the LED light a bit by stuffing papers or something infront of it to perhaps reduce and diffuse that a bit. I dont' know.. just guessing now.

But you should really ask some of the guys here who are experts as LED's and their behaviour, i haven't got any technical knowledge about them and how they behave.

/ Max

[glypticmax]

Hey Max,
Yeah, I've already played with my old trick of using toilet tissue and paper towels to diffuse the light. Also making an aluminum foil mask with a small hole to make a spot. The fact they light does not heat up is a real plus for such contraptions.
PS adjusts the color very easily. The intensity gives good penetration for the enamels, which is lacking with the full spectrum lights I've used. The enamels really need to show some depth in the material and not just surface color.
I did find this interesting article which has some good sources listed.
http://www.mkdigitaldirect.com/LED-ligh ... erwood.htm
Maybe somebody else will find it useful.
Thanks again Max.

[Maximus3D]

Hi again Larry

Ahh, you already tried those old tricks with toiletpaper, tissues and other stuiff like that. Try using cloth of various types and thickness, it's a great diffuser

Good page you found there, thanks i'll take a look at it later.

I'm not sure but could you post a example of what your photos look like when you use LED's, i'd like to see one and how your light is distributed in the scene. Perhaps i can give you a couple of hints and tips..

/ Max

[glypticmax]

Hey Max,
Le Wife won't let me post any pics of her enamels. You know how *artists* can be.......
She just did an incredible portrait of Shakespeare, which we used as a test subject.
My stones will show up in renders at some point.

[Maximus3D]

Ow damn that's a shame but maybe you're wife agrees that you show me it on Msn instead of in public on the forum. If so then you can show me there and i'll try to help you with tips and suggestions if necessary. It would be interesting to see

/ Max

[mtripoli]

I'm assuming that you guys are using white leds? If so, just remember; a "white" led is actually a "blue" led with phospher "painted" over the blue led chip. As such, there can be an enormous difference in the color of the "white' (tinged with blue all the way into a off yellow color)... the point is, if you are using "raw" leds to build your own light source, make sure to get them all from the same lot... even within the same lot, it's possible to get color shifts from one led to the other...

Another thing; it's "possible" to drive more current into the led for a brighter light. You can do this by increasing the voltage, or reducing the series resistor with the led... keep in mind that there will be point of diminishing returns when doing this, as well as shortening the life of the led...

If you want to have some real fun, get some infra-red leds. These are commonly used in baby-monitors as the "see in the dark" light source...

I worked on one of these baby monitors for Safety-First years ago. When we focus tested the product, mom's didn't like the image; given that you can't have color in an infra-red image, the babies always looked, well, to put it bluntly, like they were dead...

[aitraaz]

Full spectrum rgb leds are quite nice to try as well...

[mtripoli]

The problem with "rgb" leds is the position of the chips within the plastic body; because it is actually three individual dies, it is incumbent upon the plastic to diffuse the light to get a mix... then there's the issue of whether the "white" plastic is actually not contributing shading of it's own...

Another "fun" thing you can do; if you use an rgb led that has seperate pins for each led, you drive them seperatley and get many different shades of color...

Lastly, leds are monochromatic. There is a misconception that by driving the led with different voltages, you can get many shades of color... not so...

[Maximus3D]

Hmm.. good to know those things Mike, i wasn't aware of their coated color layer. So for macrophotography you guys recommend the full spectrum LED's which aitraaz mentioned ? it sounds like i have to build my own device or if it's possible to simply exchange the LED in small penlights or laptop lamps to such full spectrum LED's. If so they would be perfect for macrophotography in a homebuilt studio.

/ Max

[glypticmax]

Yeah, the blue tint is obvious, but easily corrected in PS. I thought it would be a deal killer, but the first shots of my wife's enamels were very nice. And Le Wife liked them, which is the acid test of acceptability.
I'll probably keep my eye out for some full spectrum of 5500-5800 Kelvin LED's.
I like the cool running of the light source. And low power consumption. And long life. My little cheapie unit boasts 100,000 hours.
It worst its a cool fad.

[j_man]

http://www.photozone.de/2Equipment/canonflash.htm#ring

< :

sorry, can't chat now!

J.

[Maximus3D]

j_man: Yep that's the real solution, circular flashes. However they don't work very well with pockercameras and the non-existing budget most of us normal people have ..which is why the use of LED's for macro shoots is both cheap and effective if you can live with the limitations they have.

/ Max

[glypticmax]

The flashes wouldn't really do what I need. Or atleast not those.
I need angled spots for most of the shots of my stones.
That and the price, the price and then the price knock those out for moi.
Thanks for posting that link though. Interesting stuff. I'd love to have one for insect shots in my garden.

[glypticmax]

Ow damn that's a shame but maybe you're wife agrees that you show me it on Msn instead of in public on the forum. If so then you can show me there and i'll try to help you with tips and suggestions if necessary. It would be interesting to see

/ Max

Hey Max,
I found a previously posted render (C4D AR 2?) with a photo of one of Le Wife's enamels. The image is based on Tatania & Bottom from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Vitrious enamel on fine silver. Which is like painting with sand and then melting the sand with a blow torch. Building up layers over and over and over. Melting somewhere between 20 and 40 layers you get something like this.
After 25 years of practice you apparently get to where you can predict the drift and flow of the melting enamel. And the color change resulting from so many firings.
When I try they look like melted M&M's.
I admit to posing for the character on the left.
This should give you an idea of what such enamels look like.


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