Need a permanent setup!

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

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Netdewt
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Jul 13, 2021 10:57 am
Location: MN

Need a permanent setup!

Post by Netdewt »

Hi all,

I have a project that involves "barely" macro images (1-2" spherical stones), but I need to focus stack. How can I best upgrade my setup to streamline my shoots? I use a 5dsr, 180 macro, and 1 flash. I’ve only used Helicon, and I don’t think slabbing is necessary? Bellows seem like overkill for this use.

Project so far is here:
http://www.sphericalspheres.com

I was planning either a copy stand or mini table tripods. Now I definitely want to build a platform. This seems obvious now. See below for my janky setup in the studio corner with way-too-big gear.

I think the most obvious improvement I could make is a focus rail. Do you have a favorite?

Novoflex has nice stuff but not cheap. They should make it more obvious which ones have the lead screw setup and not rack and pinion. Maybe the Castel-Q is good as a focus rack even though it's rack and pinion? https://novoflexus.com/novoflex-q-syste ... ease-base/
The NiSi could work just fine, take the legs off and mount to a board with some sort of spacers. There is also the Manfrotto 454.
Kirk has one that's $320. https://www.kirkphoto.com/focusing-rail-fr-195.html
RRS has one back in a few weeks. https://www.reallyrightstuff.com/Macro-150

I would spend $300 on a rail if it's the right gear.

I posted below some nice platforms I found. I would like to have it all in one place. However, I think I need to shoot slightly down to keep the stage that the stone sits on out of the shot.

I think if I get my light on an arm like this, it will give me enough range.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... ld_it.html

I wonder if I could mount it all inline on a rail like this?
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... _rail.html

Thanks for your ideas!
Nate
Attachments
Screen Shot 2021-07-12 at 8.58.00 PM.jpg
934_setupNEU1a_1.jpg
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ray_parkhurst
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Re: Need a permanent setup!

Post by ray_parkhurst »

Hi @Netdewt,

Welcome to the forum! Lots of great info and people on here to help.

Im curious about your decision to go with a platform. Your spheres, like my coins, would seem to benefit from having gravity and friction holding them in place rather than suspending them on a vertical stage.

Based on your rail list, you are looking to go manual. Are you planning to do manual stacking? The $300 budget you give would buy a surplus THK or similar rail, so if you are ever thinking of doing stacking, you might want to add something like this to your list.

A vertical system, with a THK rail, is pretty easy to build. There are folks who sell the components needed to make the rail usable for mounting a camera (eg @mjkzz), or you can make the components yourself if you have some aptitude for that.

Anyway, I thought I'd give you an alternative, and welcome you to the forum!

Ray

joshmacro
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Re: Need a permanent setup!

Post by joshmacro »

Hi Netdewt. At 1-2" using a focus rail to stack doesn't seem necessary and actually may give you worse results compared to stacking by changing the focus by using the lens ring. Probably the best method to focus stack at your subjects' size range is to use your focus motor so you do not have to manually adjust the lens ring. I am not familiar with your camera, but if you can control focus remotely by tethering to a PC then that's a good way to focus stack at that size range. There's no issue getting a rail, but at this point I would use it more for positioning rather than stacking. Just my two cents.

rjlittlefield
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Re: Need a permanent setup!

Post by rjlittlefield »

Nate, welcome aboard!

Can you say a few more words about what you're looking to improve about this project, and where you might like to go after this?

The reason for that question is that there are a lot of things that could help with your current project, but they come with different costs and different futures.

If you're interested in moving to much smaller subjects, then going in the direction of a rail makes a lot of sense. It's not a coincidence that your #2 picture shows a microscope objective on front. Probably there's one inside the diffuser of that #3 picture also, since what appears to be the original source[*] describes it (in French) as needed for 5:1 or higher.

But if you're just trying to get this one project done with less button-pushing, then tethering your camera to a computer and running software like qDslrDashboard (https://dslrdashboard.info/) or Helicon Remote is probably a better use of time and money.

Depending on what you want to do in the future, one of the CamRanger units (https://camranger.com/) might make a nice fit.

My own applications for focus stacking range from landscapes down to what you'd see through a 1000X microscope, and all the stuff that I've mentioned is currently either on my table or in a drawer waiting to get used. If I had your problem, shooting spheres in the 1-2" range, I'd probably go with tethering, either through software or a CamRanger, depending on whichever one had gone unused for the longest. (I'm the fellow who wrote and supports Zerene Stacker, so I like to stay at least vaguely aware of things that other people might ask about.)

So, what's your situation?

--Rik

[*] BTW, our forum is unusually rigorous about copyright issues. Whenever you're showing an image that you didn't shoot, you should list the original source even if the current context is obviously "fair use".

Macro_Cosmos
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Re: Need a permanent setup!

Post by Macro_Cosmos »

Interesting concept, never thought I'd see NFTs involving macroscopic spheres, they look like small planets. A friend told me to do the same with my diatoms, it just felt... odd, diatoms as NFTs?

Anyway, I'll make it short and easy.

Do you want to go further than 1:1? Opens up a lot of opportunities.
Your $300 budget can get you the Wemacro setup and with some tinkering involving a cutting board and a drill, you can get yourself a very solid setup. This works for 1:1 as well, you just need larger steps because oversampling could make the images look worse. You will need to invest in a setup that goes beyond 1:1, Laowa 25mm 2.5-5x is a good choice.

If you don't care that much about automation, you can easily assemble a rail. (My) Tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHSsmG0JaVg
Summary of the somewhat long video: Get used Newport 423/433/426 with micrometer, iShoot clamp and iShoot slotted rail, or this Hejnar one is better: https://www.ebay.com/itm/331149272209?h ... SwSQFaDeXI
Then assemble it.
Make sure the stage doesn't have "M" which means Metric, or else you'll need to contact Chris (Hejnar) to get a couple M6 screws made which will cost $9.
Stiff micrometer? Pull it out, rotate it till it comes off, clean it up with a cleaning solution, then use Krytox grease.
This will cost you around $200, better than those expensive leadscrew rails. You have $100 left for a heavy cutting board and some metal bits and bobs.

Most basic option.
You can simply get a board and make a setup so everything is controlled, shoot tethered, use Helicon's focus stacking ring since the 5DSr probably doesn't have built-in focus stacking. <$150 for this?

Slabbing is necessary for my work, I deal with a lot of images for one stack. Frame by frame retouching is a requirement, so I create stacks of 50 with 10 overlapping photos, this makes retouching faster and less "stressful", in the event my laptop chokes up and crashes.

Netdewt
Posts: 14
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Location: MN

Re: Need a permanent setup!

Post by Netdewt »

ray_parkhurst wrote:
Tue Jul 13, 2021 3:07 pm
Hi @Netdewt,

Welcome to the forum! Lots of great info and people on here to help.

Im curious about your decision to go with a platform. Your spheres, like my coins, would seem to benefit from having gravity and friction holding them in place rather than suspending them on a vertical stage.

Based on your rail list, you are looking to go manual. Are you planning to do manual stacking? The $300 budget you give would buy a surplus THK or similar rail, so if you are ever thinking of doing stacking, you might want to add something like this to your list.

A vertical system, with a THK rail, is pretty easy to build. There are folks who sell the components needed to make the rail usable for mounting a camera (eg @mjkzz), or you can make the components yourself if you have some aptitude for that.

Anyway, I thought I'd give you an alternative, and welcome you to the forum!

Ray
You know you are right about the vertical position. My brain is still thinking through this. A vertical setup would be nice. I’m not sure I need to use a “copy stand” though. And my money might be better spent on a focus rail.

I’ve looked online at the stackshot. Allan Walls on YouTube didn’t seem to love the MJKZZ setup but I might be able to handle assembling it.

My biggest reason for not looking at automated is that I don’t particularly like the Helicon interface for shooting auto. I don’t like the color. I would rather work in what I know: Capture One.
Last edited by Netdewt on Tue Jul 13, 2021 9:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Netdewt
Posts: 14
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Location: MN

Re: Need a permanent setup!

Post by Netdewt »

joshmacro wrote:
Tue Jul 13, 2021 4:47 pm
Hi Netdewt. At 1-2" using a focus rail to stack doesn't seem necessary and actually may give you worse results compared to stacking by changing the focus by using the lens ring. Probably the best method to focus stack at your subjects' size range is to use your focus motor so you do not have to manually adjust the lens ring. I am not familiar with your camera, but if you can control focus remotely by tethering to a PC then that's a good way to focus stack at that size range. There's no issue getting a rail, but at this point I would use it more for positioning rather than stacking. Just my two cents.
I think it would be nice for doing manual focus brackets. I only do 10-15 shots, but doing that manually without the rail is a bit of a pain. I’ve had trouble getting color I like in Helicon’s auto shooting software, and it’s a bit clunky. I would really prefer to use Capture One.

Maybe I could get by with a less precise rail. Not sure.
Last edited by Netdewt on Tue Jul 13, 2021 10:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Netdewt
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Jul 13, 2021 10:57 am
Location: MN

Re: Need a permanent setup!

Post by Netdewt »

rjlittlefield wrote:
Tue Jul 13, 2021 7:11 pm
Nate, welcome aboard!

Can you say a few more words about what you're looking to improve about this project, and where you might like to go after this?

The reason for that question is that there are a lot of things that could help with your current project, but they come with different costs and different futures.

If you're interested in moving to much smaller subjects, then going in the direction of a rail makes a lot of sense. It's not a coincidence that your #2 picture shows a microscope objective on front. Probably there's one inside the diffuser of that #3 picture also, since what appears to be the original source[*] describes it (in French) as needed for 5:1 or higher.

But if you're just trying to get this one project done with less button-pushing, then tethering your camera to a computer and running software like qDslrDashboard (https://dslrdashboard.info/) or Helicon Remote is probably a better use of time and money.

Depending on what you want to do in the future, one of the CamRanger units (https://camranger.com/) might make a nice fit.

My own applications for focus stacking range from landscapes down to what you'd see through a 1000X microscope, and all the stuff that I've mentioned is currently either on my table or in a drawer waiting to get used. If I had your problem, shooting spheres in the 1-2" range, I'd probably go with tethering, either through software or a CamRanger, depending on whichever one had gone unused for the longest. (I'm the fellow who wrote and supports Zerene Stacker, so I like to stay at least vaguely aware of things that other people might ask about.)

So, what's your situation?

--Rik

[*] BTW, our forum is unusually rigorous about copyright issues. Whenever you're showing an image that you didn't shoot, you should list the original source even if the current context is obviously "fair use".
I will keep shooting more and more spheres. The sizes may vary. I hope the 180mm isn’t too long for the larger ones (2”) on whatever setup I build. I have access to a 100mm too. What I want is a stage, light arm, and camera mount all in one place so I can easily shoot more without dragging out sawhorses and c stands. Using a tripod really sucks with this kind of thing.

Zerene looks amazing. I just don’t know if it’s higher features necessary for me. I need to dive into the prices vs Helicon. I need to renew anyways.

I would love to explore smaller subjects, but maybe not for this project. I’m not sure. I definitely don’t care much about bugs, and that is a very common macro subject. I could try smaller objects and light them as if they are in space. Microscope lenses look prohibitively expensive from what I have seen so far. But BH photo doesn’t exactly have the best macro photography shopping experience.

Sorry about the photos. I just found them on Google Images. Couldn’t find anything else that was even remotely close to what I was thinking. I thought maybe someone here would have some guidance based on those pics.
Last edited by Netdewt on Tue Jul 13, 2021 9:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Netdewt
Posts: 14
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Location: MN

Re: Need a permanent setup!

Post by Netdewt »

Macro_Cosmos wrote:
Tue Jul 13, 2021 8:23 pm
Interesting concept, never thought I'd see NFTs involving macroscopic spheres, they look like small planets. A friend told me to do the same with my diatoms, it just felt... odd, diatoms as NFTs?

Anyway, I'll make it short and easy.

Do you want to go further than 1:1? Opens up a lot of opportunities.
Your $300 budget can get you the Wemacro setup and with some tinkering involving a cutting board and a drill, you can get yourself a very solid setup. This works for 1:1 as well, you just need larger steps because oversampling could make the images look worse. You will need to invest in a setup that goes beyond 1:1, Laowa 25mm 2.5-5x is a good choice.

If you don't care that much about automation, you can easily assemble a rail. (My) Tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHSsmG0JaVg
Summary of the somewhat long video: Get used Newport 423/433/426 with micrometer, iShoot clamp and iShoot slotted rail, or this Hejnar one is better: https://www.ebay.com/itm/331149272209?h ... SwSQFaDeXI
Then assemble it.
Make sure the stage doesn't have "M" which means Metric, or else you'll need to contact Chris (Hejnar) to get a couple M6 screws made which will cost $9.
Stiff micrometer? Pull it out, rotate it till it comes off, clean it up with a cleaning solution, then use Krytox grease.
This will cost you around $200, better than those expensive leadscrew rails. You have $100 left for a heavy cutting board and some metal bits and bobs.

Most basic option.
You can simply get a board and make a setup so everything is controlled, shoot tethered, use Helicon's focus stacking ring since the 5DSr probably doesn't have built-in focus stacking. <$150 for this?

Slabbing is necessary for my work, I deal with a lot of images for one stack. Frame by frame retouching is a requirement, so I create stacks of 50 with 10 overlapping photos, this makes retouching faster and less "stressful", in the event my laptop chokes up and crashes.
I started doing these in 2015 before I ever paid attention to crypto. This year I thought I would try it, why not? It is not profitable at all, but I only have 7 minted. I had a hard time imagining people putting these on a wall. Maybe, but the NFT concept gave me momentum again. I’m not the most confident person in making and showing my art. I have worked in commercial photography for 15 years but I always work on other peoples stuff.

Your diatoms are super cool. The downside I have learned about NFTs is that they are not super popular with art right now. They have to be "collectible" and have some sort of "rarity" baked into the distribution to be super successful. It not something I am very interested in dealing with, I just want to get the project out there.

They are simple enough that I get excited to work on them. I work on very visually complicated images every day, and I don’t need more of that.

Focus stacking is generally an interest of specialization for me. So I would not mind spending something on learning more. Even my sphere stacks are not perfect. My earliest ones have some out of focus bands that I tried to disguise with retouching. I thought maybe an manual accurate rail would help with this.

The Laowa looks nice, but is it too wide? Does anyone here use the Canon 65mm? Maybe doesn’t matter at these sizes. I know about the Laowa brand from their crazy tube lens. It really might not matter, but my thought was that longer lens means more “long distance” look.

$300 isn’t a hard and fast budget. I could spend more, but would need a good reason to do so. I was planning to get a Kaiser copy stand but without handling one, I might spend $400 on junk. It’s not built for what I am thinking of using it for.

I had seen the WeMacro. I don’t want anything that I need to control with a phone. I’m younger than 40 but even I know that’s not a mark of quality.

Macro_Cosmos
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Re: Need a permanent setup!

Post by Macro_Cosmos »

Netdewt wrote:
Tue Jul 13, 2021 9:13 pm
The Laowa looks nice, but is it too wide? Does anyone here use the Canon 65mm? Maybe doesn’t matter at these sizes. I know about the Laowa brand from their crazy tube lens. It really might not matter, but my thought was that longer lens means more “long distance” look.

$300 isn’t a hard and fast budget. I could spend more, but would need a good reason to do so. I was planning to get a Kaiser copy stand but without handling one, I might spend $400 on junk. It’s not built for what I am thinking of using it for.

I had seen the WeMacro. I don’t want anything that I need to control with a phone. I’m younger than 40 but even I know that’s not a mark of quality.
Not at all too wide, it's just about right with the working distances, and the image quality is better than the Canon. The "crazy tube lens" surely is their 29mm relay macro lens, right, 2:1, thin and long, like an... ehhh ok endoscope is the word! It's good for video but the f_no is too small for stills.

You can control the wemacro from a PC too. The rail is superb in build quality, the phone solution is more or less saving costs on R&D and parts to pass down onto the customer, since the author doesn't need to tinker with having a dedicated controller box with buttons/touch screen, and what-not. Stackshot is your other option at more than double the price, for essentially the same thing, but the rail IMO has worse ergonomics. The threading distances on the bottom makes zero sense (30mm, seriously?), the mounting method makes no sense, the upgraded platform for arca-swiss makes less sense than Hejnar's cheaper (and better, simpler) option. I had to design my own bottom rail to get something satisfying, -$80 for something out of the box on the Wemacro. The good thing about Stackshot is their 3x controller is a beast, and both companies have very good customer support.

You can always buy a controller and adapt your own rail, many of us are quite fond of Wemacro and Stackshot's controller. I'm so fond of them, I have both. :D

I still recommend a cutting board, some platforms, metal bits for mounting and some kind of automated rail, or utilise in-camera focus stack bracketing.

lothman
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Re: Need a permanent setup!

Post by lothman »

Netdewt wrote:
Tue Jul 13, 2021 8:27 pm

I’ve looked online at the stackshot. Allan Walls on YouTube didn’t seem to love the MJKZZ setup but I might be able to handle assembling it.

I second Ray's recommendation to MKJZZ parts, I am extreme happy with the rig I built myself, which is controlled by a MKJZZ USB-Controller, Link

I think the Qool Rail from MKJZZ together with an USB controller is everything you need for little less than 300$
https://www.mjkzz.com/product-page/qool-rail-250
As an engineer I would rate this rail mechanical way superior to wemacro or stackshot design.

rjlittlefield
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Re: Need a permanent setup!

Post by rjlittlefield »

Netdewt wrote:
Tue Jul 13, 2021 8:53 pm
Couldn’t find anything else that was even remotely close to what I was thinking. I thought maybe someone here would have some guidance based on those pics.
At this site, a good place to start is with the FAQ: Example macro rigs. That links to a couple of other threads, which are themselves full of links to various systems.

One of those other threads is a list that I maintain, at http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... 5311#55311. I suggest to start at the top of that list and click through the links to see what other people have done. There's quite a wide variety.

It's still not clear to me what you care most about. What I think I'm hearing about your current system is that the tripod is a pain to work around, and you have trouble getting focus steps that are regular and small enough to avoid out-of-focus banding. Speed of acquisition does not seem to be an issue. One good aspect to the tripod & ball head is that it lets you shoot at whatever angle is convenient for holding your subject. I've heard that you tried Helicon for automatic acquisition, but had some issues with color, and you like to work with Capture One.

All that in mind, I'm still thinking that for now you would be best off tethering your camera and using the focus motor inside the lens to do the focus stepping. The Canon EOS Utility software that comes for free with your camera can do that job quite well, since you don't need automation. See for example the recipe at https://zerenesystems.com/cms/stacker/docs/tutorials/usingcanoneosutility . So then, step focus with EOS Utility, shoot RAW, and develop in Capture One so you can get exactly the colors you want. Or maybe skip EOS Utility and use Capture One itself to do the focus stepping and acquisition (https://support.captureone.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002568458-Adjusting-focus-using-the-camera-s-AF-system).

That should knock off the issues of focus step size and color, at no additional cost, leaving only the question of how best to mechanically support the camera & lens, without the large and trippy legs of the tripod.

One simple option for mechanical support is just an elevated platform with a ball head mounted on top of it. No great precision or smoothness are required in the ball head for this use, so you could pick up even a new one for less than $50. Then for the elevated platform, that could be whatever you're comfortable putting together and looking at in your work area. One of the earliest systems, assembled by the legendary Charles Krebs, used a stack of barbell weights glued together (see HERE). A concrete block from the home improvement store could work as well and would be easy to get. Run a bolt up though a piece of 2x4 wood, to screw the ball head onto, epoxy the 2x4 to the block of concrete, add the ball head, and you're good to go.

I realize that some of this may sound tongue-in-cheek, but I'm quite serious about all of it. Micron movement rails and the precision positioning gear to go with them are great tools for working with small subjects. If you were photographing BB's, then I'd be with the rest of the crew in recommending a rail and all the stuff that goes with it. But for what I see you wanting to do, I'm not convinced that a traditional rail system is the best approach.

--Rik

Netdewt
Posts: 14
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Location: MN

Re: Need a permanent setup!

Post by Netdewt »

lothman wrote:
Wed Jul 14, 2021 2:53 pm
Netdewt wrote:
Tue Jul 13, 2021 8:27 pm

I’ve looked online at the stackshot. Allan Walls on YouTube didn’t seem to love the MJKZZ setup but I might be able to handle assembling it.

I second Ray's recommendation to MKJZZ parts, I am extreme happy with the rig I built myself, which is controlled by a MKJZZ USB-Controller, Link

I think the Qool Rail from MKJZZ together with an USB controller is everything you need for little less than 300$
https://www.mjkzz.com/product-page/qool-rail-250
As an engineer I would rate this rail mechanical way superior to wemacro or stackshot design.
OK, but WHAT is that vertical post? I need to know about things like that! Even if I don't need a focus rail, I need some way to position the camera and stage together. I don't want to use tripod and sawhorses anymore.

Netdewt
Posts: 14
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Location: MN

Re: Need a permanent setup!

Post by Netdewt »

rjlittlefield wrote:
Wed Jul 14, 2021 5:34 pm
Netdewt wrote:
Tue Jul 13, 2021 8:53 pm
Couldn’t find anything else that was even remotely close to what I was thinking. I thought maybe someone here would have some guidance based on those pics.
At this site, a good place to start is with the FAQ: Example macro rigs. That links to a couple of other threads, which are themselves full of links to various systems.

One of those other threads is a list that I maintain, at http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... 5311#55311. I suggest to start at the top of that list and click through the links to see what other people have done. There's quite a wide variety.

It's still not clear to me what you care most about. What I think I'm hearing about your current system is that the tripod is a pain to work around, and you have trouble getting focus steps that are regular and small enough to avoid out-of-focus banding. Speed of acquisition does not seem to be an issue. One good aspect to the tripod & ball head is that it lets you shoot at whatever angle is convenient for holding your subject. I've heard that you tried Helicon for automatic acquisition, but had some issues with color, and you like to work with Capture One.

All that in mind, I'm still thinking that for now you would be best off tethering your camera and using the focus motor inside the lens to do the focus stepping. The Canon EOS Utility software that comes for free with your camera can do that job quite well, since you don't need automation. See for example the recipe at https://zerenesystems.com/cms/stacker/docs/tutorials/usingcanoneosutility . So then, step focus with EOS Utility, shoot RAW, and develop in Capture One so you can get exactly the colors you want. Or maybe skip EOS Utility and use Capture One itself to do the focus stepping and acquisition (https://support.captureone.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002568458-Adjusting-focus-using-the-camera-s-AF-system).

That should knock off the issues of focus step size and color, at no additional cost, leaving only the question of how best to mechanically support the camera & lens, without the large and trippy legs of the tripod.

One simple option for mechanical support is just an elevated platform with a ball head mounted on top of it. No great precision or smoothness are required in the ball head for this use, so you could pick up even a new one for less than $50. Then for the elevated platform, that could be whatever you're comfortable putting together and looking at in your work area. One of the earliest systems, assembled by the legendary Charles Krebs, used a stack of barbell weights glued together (see HERE). A concrete block from the home improvement store could work as well and would be easy to get. Run a bolt up though a piece of 2x4 wood, to screw the ball head onto, epoxy the 2x4 to the block of concrete, add the ball head, and you're good to go.

I realize that some of this may sound tongue-in-cheek, but I'm quite serious about all of it. Micron movement rails and the precision positioning gear to go with them are great tools for working with small subjects. If you were photographing BB's, then I'd be with the rest of the crew in recommending a rail and all the stuff that goes with it. But for what I see you wanting to do, I'm not convinced that a traditional rail system is the best approach.

--Rik
I really respect your opinion, I know you mean what you say.

I am OK with using the in camera lens movements. It would be nice to control them and still be able to use Capture One. I haven't seen those settings in the program before. It might be something for Phase One cameras. I'll look into it. Also, I need to try Zerene.

I might want some sort of focus rail for positioning, even if I am doing focus brackets in camera. If I don't need something high end though, I could get the Manfrotto 454 for $120. Maybe I just get something off the shelf and do that with a regular copy stand?
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... stand.html
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... _RS_2.html

I like Novoflex, but they only seem to have this table mount version:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... Stand.html

If I knew how to source the right parts, I could build a stand, but I have no idea where you guys get this stuff.

A BB... hmm, that could be cool! That's the thing. If I think of more round objects, I will want to shoot them. I want a nice contained, stash-able arrangement, but it still needs some flexibility. I don't love the concrete and 2x4 idea because it sounds dirty and crude. I'm willing to invest something into pieces of gear I am excited to use.

I thought about this. It's full of threaded holes for attaching things, so I could put lights, camera and stage on it. But I don't think it's big enough.
https://www.inovativ.com/shop/digisyste ... plate-pro/

Netdewt
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Re: Need a permanent setup!

Post by Netdewt »

rjlittlefield wrote:
Wed Jul 14, 2021 5:34 pm
If you were photographing BB's, then I'd be with the rest of the crew in recommending a rail and all the stuff that goes with it. But for what I see you wanting to do, I'm not convinced that a traditional rail system is the best approach.
Or... maybe I should be photographing single grains of sand.

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