Macro Lighting for Oly 60mm f2.8?

New to macro photography -- I recently invested in the Oly 60mm f2.8 macro lens. (46mm filter diam) -- looking for recommendations for macro lighting, hoping to budget about $50-60 initially.

Typical subjects will be garden flowers, beach shells / pebbles / flotsam in situ, inanimate objects / abstracts -- generally outdoors but across a wide range of available natural light.

• Wondering whether twin LED arms might be a good entrypoint vs. LED battery powered ring lights?
• Specifically interested in opinions / experience with the twin LED arms like the Oly MAL-1 and the JJC LED-2?
• And how those might compare to less expensive battery-powered ring lights like the JJC LED-64 and JJC LED-48IO (looks like both of these can be used with the RLA-46mm adapter).
• In the case of the LED arms, they come in 6" and 9" lengths -- appreciate any advice on best option?
• Also concerned about whether the JJC LED-64 which incorporates 4 AA batteries into the ring (vs. separate battery pack), might be a bit heavy (250g)?

Have PEN E-P5 and E-PL7 which are both compatible with the Olympus MAL-1 twin LED; also have E-M10 mk II, and GX85 bodies -- so something which also works with those would be a plus.

I would not spend money on special macro lights. At least not now. Use the flash that came with your camera and a diffuser:

If you have an external flash, you can diffuse it too:

You will get very good pictures with a much smaller setup. Once you have mastered this light, *IF* you need something more, then think about buying (and carrying, and dealing with) macro lights.

I have dedicated macro ring flash. Never used it.
This is an example of the 60mm with the EM1 and its tiny flash diffused taken in a dark rainforest, almost no light (the EM1.II has a much better flash):

L.

Also agree with previous posts - I have and never use the LED ring light, just not enough light for the small aperture you'll need for crisp exposures, and have a twin-flash setup as well, awkward for live creatures.  Either diffuse the on-board pop-up or diffuse a flash in the hot shoe.  My best lighting has always been a diffused FL50 with a DIY diffuser cut from a empty rubbing alcohol bottle and Velcroed.

I bought a ring light for this purpose, also for portraits and other stuff. Very cheap (I paid quite a bit more than what it is going for now), works as expected, and can be adapted to a multitude of different lens diameters.

Now that said, I have not used it very much. Why? Thanks to Olympus remote flash triggering, it is just very easy to use the internal flash in combination with another one coming in from the side. Depending on whether the lens blocks some of the light path you may have to resort to some

Also, the LED light will scare away most living things when you get close to them, since it is constant-on. Unlike a true ring flash, which will be many times more expensive. However, it provides a similar shadow-less lighting.

I bought a Vello Mini Softbox to go with my Godox TT350o for closeup work on my 60mm macro. The softbox is so inexpensive it is worth a try 😉

probably not up to your standard but I'm very pleased with the results I get from my cheap and cheerful Amuran HC100

Wow -- thanks for the extensive advice here -- seems like homemade diffusers and perhaps an inexpensive TTL flash is the consensus on where to start...
Love the idea of making up DIY diffusers from "carton-ware"... and appreciate the photos you posted -- inspiration and aspiration...
I expect I have much to learn about how to sneak up on insects without spooking them... but they are indeed such interesting subjects!

The simple toilet roll centre, shaped with scissors and a Stanley knife so it fits over your pop up flash, and angled to shine just forward of your lens, cover the opening with frosted paper, cost, half an hour of your time. some rolls have a black centre, you need the white ones.   I find they are perfect for small insects. Save some money.

Great thing about Mark's page (thanks for the link!) is that it shows how he evolved his setup and the wide variety of materials that can be used...

... plus his images are stunning...

Peter 1745 wrote:

If you can afford to spend a little bit more than your stated budget the Godox TT350o might be a good flash to start with. It costs about $90USD. The extra $20 over the cheaper Bolt flash I recommended in another post gets you the ability to upgrade to RC off camera flash in the future.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1341875-REG/godox_tt350o_ttl_mirrorless_camera_flash.html

To use it off camera you will need to buy a wireless controller unit for it as it can't be controlled by the optical signals from the built in or kit flash. It will work perfectly well on camera so there is no need to buy a controller now, you can wait until you know you really need one or when you can afford one.

Godox make 2 controller units for the Olympus flash system, the X1T-O and the XPro-O. The O on the end of the name indicates it is designed for the Olympus flash system. The X1T-O is the older of the 2 and is cheaper but less user friendly. However you don't actually need to buy a controller unit if you get an additional Godox flash as Godox flashes are capable of controlling each other.

Adorama, who sell rebranded Godox flashes under their FlashHavoc brand name in the USA, have a good summary of the Godox flash system

http://flashhavoc.com/godox-flash-system-overview/

That is a nice summary of the godox system...  pretty cool even if a bit above budget... will read up further...  thanks!

fishpix wrote:

New to macro photography -- I recently invested in the Oly 60mm f2.8 macro lens. (46mm filter diam) -- looking for recommendations for macro lighting, hoping to budget about $50-60 initially.

Typical subjects will be garden flowers, beach shells / pebbles / flotsam in situ, inanimate objects / abstracts -- generally outdoors but across a wide range of available natural light.

• Wondering whether twin LED arms might be a good entrypoint vs. LED battery powered ring lights?

Meh. Probably not. They're useful if you are doing still-lifes, but too gutless if doing anything that moves.

• Specifically interested in opinions / experience with the twin LED arms like the Oly MAL-1 and the JJC LED-2?
• And how those might compare to less expensive battery-powered ring lights like the JJC LED-64 and JJC LED-48IO (looks like both of these can be used with the RLA-46mm adapter).
• In the case of the LED arms, they come in 6" and 9" lengths -- appreciate any advice on best option?
• Also concerned about whether the JJC LED-64 which incorporates 4 AA batteries into the ring (vs. separate battery pack), might be a bit heavy (250g)?

Have PEN E-P5 and E-PL7 which are both compatible with the Olympus MAL-1 twin LED; also have E-M10 mk II, and GX85 bodies -- so something which also works with those would be a plus.

I've had a lot of success with a really lightweight rig. An Oly FL300R, and a cut up plastic chopping board. This has enough punch to freeze anything in macro range, but also diffuses the light pretty well.

Example

Kenko SDF-26. My most favorite macro flash diffuser. Diffuse + directional diffused light at the same time.

khunpapa wrote:

Kenko SDF-26. My most favorite macro flash diffuser. Diffuse + directional diffused light at the same time.

This design looks good for macro. But where did you get it? Only turns up on Japanese or Chinese sites in a google search

Albert Valentino wrote:

khunpapa wrote:

Kenko SDF-26. My most favorite macro flash diffuser. Diffuse + directional diffused light at the same time.

This design looks good for macro. But where did you get it? Only turns up on Japanese or Chinese sites in a google search

Got it from Japan (mapcamera). Work flawlessly either for macro or as fill flash. You can rotate/bend that large section to your desired position ..

It can be used with small or large lens, with builtin flash or hotshoe flash, in any climate .

Best, once folded, can be kept in the shirt pocket or as the cushion ..