Versatile macro rig
Moderators: rjlittlefield, ChrisR, Chris S., Pau
Versatile macro rig
Hi guys,
Some years ago I have presented my all-directions macro rig:
http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... hp?t=12586
Time has passed and I have little by little improve that rig. Actually every time when I was annoyed by some limitation during shooting I worked out a way around it. In fact, I guess I have built the whole rig twice till I had it right. The result is something that I guess deserves to be called versatile.
The optical part is based on M42 tubes or bellows for shooting with loupe lenses or finite microscope objectives. I got the tubes from Zörk/Geramany, they are (were) available in 25, 50 and 100 mm length, wall thickness is about 4 mm, which makes them very sturdy. On camera side and lens side I use the respective (easily available) adapter.
Shooting can be done horizontally, vertically or in any other angle, changing the angle can be done in an instant. The rig works fine with magnifications at least up to 20x (I am shooting with electronic shutter and continuous light).
The positioning system offers fine positioning and more or less every direction (xyzr + goniometer). It’s mostly made of China parts, using self-made adapter plates when necessary. What I find very useful is having the option of fast horizontal movement along these acra swiss plates when changing the setup.
And last but not least I have worked out a rear focussing system, as it has several advantages discussed elsewhere. I don’t know if anyone has made an automated version yet, which I am presenting here.
Subsequently some pictures, I hope this is interesting for some here.
Some years ago I have presented my all-directions macro rig:
http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... hp?t=12586
Time has passed and I have little by little improve that rig. Actually every time when I was annoyed by some limitation during shooting I worked out a way around it. In fact, I guess I have built the whole rig twice till I had it right. The result is something that I guess deserves to be called versatile.
The optical part is based on M42 tubes or bellows for shooting with loupe lenses or finite microscope objectives. I got the tubes from Zörk/Geramany, they are (were) available in 25, 50 and 100 mm length, wall thickness is about 4 mm, which makes them very sturdy. On camera side and lens side I use the respective (easily available) adapter.
Shooting can be done horizontally, vertically or in any other angle, changing the angle can be done in an instant. The rig works fine with magnifications at least up to 20x (I am shooting with electronic shutter and continuous light).
The positioning system offers fine positioning and more or less every direction (xyzr + goniometer). It’s mostly made of China parts, using self-made adapter plates when necessary. What I find very useful is having the option of fast horizontal movement along these acra swiss plates when changing the setup.
And last but not least I have worked out a rear focussing system, as it has several advantages discussed elsewhere. I don’t know if anyone has made an automated version yet, which I am presenting here.
Subsequently some pictures, I hope this is interesting for some here.
Last edited by keks on Sun Apr 23, 2017 2:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Adapter plate on stack shot. This is important: I have drilled 2 additional holes for better fixation (the 2 original holes are a joke). The plate allows me to mount acra swiss quick release clamps or the 45 mm pipe clamps for the M42 tubes.
Thats the whole rig, adjusted for shooting vertically, using M42-tubes
Shooting horizontally, lowest possible position for maximum stability:
Thats the whole rig, adjusted for shooting vertically, using M42-tubes
Shooting horizontally, lowest possible position for maximum stability:
To complet the story I present a Picture of a 20 Euro note, shot at somewhat above 20x with a Nikon M Plan 20x ELWD and the stack shot. Depth of field is about 3 um, but the calculated rear step size is about 1.3 mm (DOF*Mag.^2).
Actually I shot 48 pictues with rear step size of 1.0 mm, distance camera to lens from about 210 up to 260 mm. As the distance between camera and lens is changing 48 mm, the effective aperture is changing, thus I shot in aperture priority mode. Another consequence is a change in magnification during the shooting, but obiviously Zerene Stacker does handle that without any problem. The final image after processing in Zerene Stacker has the magnification of the single picture with the highest magnification.
First image of the stack:
Last image of the stack:
Final image:
Ok guys that's it for now, I hope it is intersting and I did the explainations properly (english is not my native language).
Actually I shot 48 pictues with rear step size of 1.0 mm, distance camera to lens from about 210 up to 260 mm. As the distance between camera and lens is changing 48 mm, the effective aperture is changing, thus I shot in aperture priority mode. Another consequence is a change in magnification during the shooting, but obiviously Zerene Stacker does handle that without any problem. The final image after processing in Zerene Stacker has the magnification of the single picture with the highest magnification.
First image of the stack:
Last image of the stack:
Final image:
Ok guys that's it for now, I hope it is intersting and I did the explainations properly (english is not my native language).
I have had a quick look for these clamps, they are called the ParKlamp series from Parker. Searching for the product codes makes things easier:Lou Jost wrote:Inspiring. Those pipe clamps are fantastic. Can't seem to find them online under that name outside of Europe. Has anyone seen a US source for them?
- R for tube clamp
- A light duty, B double tube, C heavy duty
- materials P for polypropylene, N for nylon, A for aluminium
- a group size number, either 5 or 6 for diameters useful for these applications
- the size in mm
- sometimes an X, not sure, maybe metric screw sizes?
So RAP655X is a light duty polypropylene tube clamp designed for a tube size of 55mm.
Most sources I've found are in Europe, there are some US eBaysellers but I haven't come across a US supplier yet.
Thx guys:)
For the clamps I have some info that may help to get them: at least in europe they are also sold under the product name Ermeto.
Here another detail of my rig; this is about placing backgrounds, lights, diffusors or the object of interest itself. The profiles used for conctruction of the rigs frame allow clamping stuff onto them. So I have got some aluminium rods, brackets, gooseneck tubes.
For the clamps I have some info that may help to get them: at least in europe they are also sold under the product name Ermeto.
Here another detail of my rig; this is about placing backgrounds, lights, diffusors or the object of interest itself. The profiles used for conctruction of the rigs frame allow clamping stuff onto them. So I have got some aluminium rods, brackets, gooseneck tubes.