Canon Macro Twin Lite MT-26EX-RT question

John K wrote:

Larry Cunningham wrote:

John K wrote:

Larry Cunningham wrote:

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

The inverse square law is physics Larry so you are not disagreeing with me, but with science.

I was not disagreeing with you regarding the inverse square law, and I resent the implication that I'm that ignorant. I've been a serious amateur photographer for well over fifty years, I don't need any lectures on basic optics. I never stated nor implied that I had somehow discovered something new to science or photography.

From a previous post of yours:

"I use the twin flash for a specific kind of plant photography, using a technique that was taught to me by an ace naturalist/photographer a few years ago. My goal is to get photos of small plants like tree buds and wildflowers using lighting that throws the background of the photo into almost complete darkness. If I do it right, the result is a photo that doesn't need a lot of postprocessing to look like a "scientific specimen" photo."

You do not need to be an "ace photographer" to let the background go black due to flash fall off, and no one flash will give you better results than another one. They all are effected equally by the inverse square law. You made black backgrounds sound difficult or special, when anyone can do it and it is easy...

Edit: Not really trying to pick on you, I just do not want to see someone buy a twin flash thinking that it will perform differently than a standard flash unit. Also it kinda sounds to me like you are trying to talk yourself into getting a twin flash, and me thinks you are gonna be disappointing with it. Out of the box they are BRUTALLY harsh and difficult to diffuse in a short distance.

Easy boys. Goodness gracious.

While John is def right that its very easy to drown out all ambient light, even in the middle of the day with almost any speedlight, twin flashes do have a purpose I specifically use them for - or I should say a couple purposes now. Ironically, one of them is lighting the background as I prefer not have black backgrounds in most of my shots. I will get to those in a second. Before I do, I want to add that while I agree with John that using the twin flash without being creative with solutions does make it less than optimal with longer working distance macro lenses. Its harsh because the light is too far from subject. However, there are small magic arms that can mount to the adapter giving you much more flexability with flash head placement. You can easily get the heads with diffusers right on the subject while using a 100mm macro for instance. Not to mention, you can simply reduce working distance by using an achromat. The DCR250 changes magnification from 1:1 (min) - 2:1 (max) if memory serves.

One thing the twin flash does is "mold" the subject. When you use a speedlight, it creates a pleasing, but flat lit image because all of the light is coming from just slightly above and directly from the camera. Kind of like beauty lighting in portraits, but sometimes in the macro images shadow can be an issue. When you use 2 lights from different angles it gives depth to the subject. You can also use it so you have a main/key light and fill, getting rid of the shadow issues.

Lastly, I have another set up with much longer arms. I will sometimes  use one flash to light the subject and have the other light at full blast hitting the background. This has worked great sometimes and helps me from having to hold something to work as a background behind a skittish bug.

Using the yongnuo twin flash to light background

Notice catch lights in spider. Both lights evenly lighting opposite sides giving a feeling of depth. Especially around the spiders chelicerae. I feel like I can grab them.

One last photo showing both the depth Nd the fill made possible witb 2 lights