Finding the subject

Have questions about the equipment used for macro- or micro- photography? Post those questions in this forum.

Moderators: rjlittlefield, ChrisR, Chris S., Pau

dhmiller
Posts: 256
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 7:42 am
Contact:

Finding the subject

Post by dhmiller »

I just purchased a Mitutoyo 50x and would like to hear any suggestions about how to locate the subject in the VF. I'm shooting horizontal for the most part and am struggling (as expected) finding small objects or portions of specimens that I want to frame up. Would some sort of laser rangefinder work? Any other tips? Thanks in advance.

rjlittlefield
Site Admin
Posts: 23561
Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2006 8:34 am
Location: Richland, Washington State, USA
Contact:

Re: Finding the subject

Post by rjlittlefield »

If you're using a mirror-based DSLR, then see viewtopic.php?p=155824#p155824 .

The same method can be used without the laser, just by shining any bright light into the camera's viewfinder. I used to use a hiking headlamp for vertical and a Jansjö gooseneck for horizontal, before finally upgrading to a laser module similar to Chris S.'s.

Other than that, the standard approach is to start with a low magnification objective and work up to higher magnifications. This also offers the advantage that you can shoot lower magnification images and study those to find the most promising areas for high magnification. These days I simply won't go directly to high mag anymore, because I got tired of realizing that I would have gotten a better result from a slightly different part of the subject. For presentation here in the forum, I'll often start with high mag and then step out to low mag for context. But those sequences were actually shot in the opposite direction: low mag first, then zooming in to regions that looked promising.

--Rik

dhmiller
Posts: 256
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 7:42 am
Contact:

Re: Finding the subject

Post by dhmiller »

Thanks, Rik. Knew it had been discussed elsewhere and glad there are some good options. Hoping to get some decent images posted before long.

dhmiller
Posts: 256
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 7:42 am
Contact:

Re: Finding the subject

Post by dhmiller »

In fact, when I shine the laser through the VF, nothing appears at the other end, both with mirror up and without. Didn't see anything in the linked post that I need to do to make this work. Any suggestions?

rjlittlefield
Site Admin
Posts: 23561
Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2006 8:34 am
Location: Richland, Washington State, USA
Contact:

Re: Finding the subject

Post by rjlittlefield »

I always found the process straightforward and glitch-free, so I'm struggling a little to imagine what's going wrong. Maybe you don't have the laser pointed straight enough into the eyepiece.

I suggest, for starters, mount a low mag objective, like say a 5X or 10X, that is simple to focus by looking through the viewfinder. Then mount a simple subject, like a piece of white paper with printing, and get that focused using normal illumination. Then get yourself a small flashlight, turn that on, turn off all the room lights and normal illumination for the subject, and direct the beam of the flashlight straight into the camera viewfinder. You should see a small part of the subject light up, in fact exactly the same part that would have been in-frame if you took a picture.

The reason I suggest to use a flashlight is that its beam is a lot wider and less collimated than the laser, so it doesn't need to be aimed nearly as well.

With my flashlight, the illuminated rectangle on subject is so bright that it's really obvious even when all the room lights are left on.

IMG_9588.jpg
IMG_9589.jpg

Once you're confident with the general idea, then switch back to the laser and play with that until you get it to work.

--Rik

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic