Suggestions for lighting LF macro

[Robert Fisher]

Ernest, I purchased (at B&H and per Bosaiya's advice) MK Digital Direct model #92040 and #92020. For critical macro work, they are simply fabulous. Expensive but worth every penny.

[Carsten Wolff]

For most dissecting microscopes (those work usually at 5x to 50x magnification) you can get those fiberoptics/gooseneck-type light sources, or a ring-light around the lens. These lights start at a few hundred bucks. Even the Leitz gooseneck fiberoptic ones only cost about a grand from memory.
If I were to try to do this on the cheap, I'd get a couple of bright LEDs (watch the color temperature there though) and tape them to thick, bendable, insulated wires. Option B would be for me to clip/tape flash heads (cheap consumer ones would do, or old Norman 200B barebulb ones, or the like might be nice, too, if handy) to the same wires, that way you can use the LEDs as your guide lights and the strobes for the actual exposure.

[Bosaiya]

Bosaiya, those LED goosenecks made for jewelry pfotography sound interesting. Can you give us some more information about these? Thank you.

Sorry for the delay.

They're on goosenecks and can be positioned kinda-sorta okay. I've found that the length of the necks is too small for my tastes and I end up having to kerjigger the whole thing to get both lights pointed right. A big problem is that it's hard to adjust one without messing with the other and I have trouble pointing both of them at each other with enough space in between for a subject.

I'd prefer the necks were longer and more easily positioned. Other than that I think they're great for what they are.

[Steve M Hostetter]

powerful flash in a 24x24" softbox w/ reflector

[z_photo]

i wonder if the nikon r1c1 could be adapted. it might make a fun experiment. thinking about it, one could attach the ring to the LF lens and use a digital camera to fire the flash. if you already have the goodies it would be an easy solution. strikes me that it would be easy enough to set the LF exposure long enough to allow triggering the flash which is set properly for the expsoure you desire.