Charles Krebs wrote:
(snip) the “ball/socket base” shown here very much up to about 10X, but over that it is nice to have some sort of x/y control to position the subject instead of manually sliding the base unit. So I envision an Olympus BHMJ block with a stage such as eBay 120561186690 or eBay 200464611561 attached to an “L” bracket that’s fastened to the plate on the focus block that moves. This would mean more careful subject preparation since I would lose the ability to tilt the subject as I can with the ball/socket base shown here. (But there are always ways… (snip)
Charlie, did you see the goniometer and rotation stage I have set up on my BHMJ focus block? Seems rather parallel to the solution you are envisioning. If not familiar, please check out photographs 1, 3, 4, and 5 in the post below:
http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... php?t=8247
By the way, my setup could easily fit in a Pelican case for checked-in air travel, though I'd likely carry the lenses and camera in my hand luggage. And I have the suspicion--since the setup couples the camera and subject so that vibration affects both equally, and since the base has mass, that if I were in a vibrating building, I could stick a drugstor inflatable doughnut under the rig and tune the inflation to remove most of the local vibration, as per Lefkowitz. I'll soon take my rig on the road, and may have a chance to test this conjecture.
Thanks so very much, Charlie, for sharing what you learn--not just this time, but over the years. I've studied your work constantly, and have learned a lot from it and been inspired even more. You move into a new area, bring brilliant insights and hard work to it, and produce astounding results. Then you teach us all how to do it, and then you move on to something even greater. I and the rest of the world owe you a huge thanks. Your place in history as a photographer and innovator will deserve renown. But your place in history as a teacher and mentor should be even greater.
As the Bard wrote, "Thanks, and thanks, and ever, thanks."
Cheers, and very best regards,
--Chris S.