New Camera? Or Flash?

[Keyless Works]

I am getting frustrated with my photo set up for pens and I would like some advice from the forums talented photographers.

 

I have a Nikon D3100 with a kit lens and a Micro (Macro) 40mm lens. This camera suits my needs but with one major annoyance, the pop up flash.

 

I do not want direct light on the pens. I use a cheap flash gun for diffused light but the only way to get the gun to fire is to use the pop up flash. As a result I cover the pop flash with aluminum foil to prevent the light from hitting the subject matter...I find this annoying and I am tired of it.

 

Also I am looking to replace my current travel camera a Sony RX100 II with something better like an RX1r. If I can find a camera that will serve double duty then I can spend more money up to a few thousand but if not I want to be around $1k or less.

[christof]

Why don't you use your Sony DSC-RX100II for pen photography? As far as I kow is the RX100 II the only Model with adapter for external flash.

I have the Model I whithout possibility to connect an external flashlight....and I hate that.

C.

[edebill]

Is the light trigger the only way your light gun can work? The D3100 has a hot shoe, so you should be able to use a hot shoe to PC adapter (like http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/896098-REG/Dot_Line_dl_0450_Shoe_Adapter_Nikon_To.html) and then run a cable to your flash gun to avoid having to use the light trigger. Usually speedlights and studio lights also support a either a PC cable or hot shoe mounts. http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101-start-here.html has lots of information on making that kind of set up work, as well as more expensive ones with radio triggers, etc.

[christof]

That's exactly the way I do with my D80.

...and I've learned somthing: the adapter for external flash is called hot shoe!

Thank you.

C.

[snowbear]

Since the pens don't move, you could also use a few clamp-on type work lights instead of the flash. Tracing paper can be used to diffuse the light.

[openionated]

The Nikon system has internal controls that will let you determine the output of the popup flash. Under the shooting menu, choose "Built-in Flash", and change the setting from TTL to "Manual". Under the manual menu you can turn down the output of the popup to as little as 1/32 power.

 

Unlike the higher end models, you can't go into commander mode to trigger the external flash wirelessly, but if you turn down the power, and cover the popup with something sheer like a piece of tissue paper, you will end up with a soft fill from the popup, and your external should still fire. Experiment with it, new gear is nice, but it isn't necessary to accomplish what you want.

Edited July 23, 2015 by openionated

[penswordnoassemblyrequired]

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Edited July 23, 2015 by penswordnoassemblyrequired

[pepsiplease69]

I am getting frustrated with my photo set up for pens and I would like some advice from the forums talented photographers.

 

I have a Nikon D3100 with a kit lens and a Micro (Macro) 40mm lens. This camera suits my needs but with one major annoyance, the pop up flash.

 

I do not want direct light on the pens. I use a cheap flash gun for diffused light but the only way to get the gun to fire is to use the pop up flash. As a result I cover the pop flash with aluminum foil to prevent the light from hitting the subject matter...I find this annoying and I am tired of it.

 

Also I am looking to replace my current travel camera a Sony RX100 II with something better like an RX1r. If I can find a camera that will serve double duty then I can spend more money up to a few thousand but if not I want to be around $1k or less.

 

 

That pop-up flash is annoying on my Canon as well.

 

For pen photography I decided not to use any flash at all, and just find a well-lit place in general, with plenty of ambient light, and take photos without flash.

 

I've got very decent lighting at the counter top at my bathroom sink (four tubelights going behind a diffuser shield giving me a very nice even lighting). I also have very decent lighting at my office, so maybe I'll bring my camera with me and take photos of pens during lunch hour when nobody is around.

 

Dealing with flash has always been a frustrating thing for me. I took a flash photography class and they said most of time it's ideal to have more than just one flash. Lateral flashguns (radio controlled) taking care of the shadows from the primary flash, and I thought "who has patience for that"..

 

I've also dived into the deep end, trying to understand and use flash for film cameras (Leica M6TTL) and on the whole I gave up after struggling with the complicated concept.

 

Ambient light is the most natural and appealing to me.

 

(sorry for the long-ish dissertation)

Edited July 23, 2015 by pepsiplease69

[Keyless Works]

Is the light trigger the only way your light gun can work? The D3100 has a hot shoe, so you should be able to use a hot shoe to PC adapter (like http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/896098-REG/Dot_Line_dl_0450_Shoe_Adapter_Nikon_To.html) and then run a cable to your flash gun to avoid having to use the light trigger. Usually speedlights and studio lights also support a either a PC cable or hot shoe mounts. http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101-start-here.html has lots of information on making that kind of set up work, as well as more expensive ones with radio triggers, etc.

This is interesting...I use a remote trigger via the pc connection on my camera since my camera cannot receive a signal from a Nikon wireless remote but ignoring that for a moment, if I use the PC connection will the flash fire if I tell the camera no flash (otherwise the built in would fire)?

 

Also, I do have a D300 with more lenses...would this camera work better for my purposes since it does have more features (though much worse ISO performance)?...I am sure it would work with a Nikon wireless remote and this would free up my PC port.

[Keyless Works]

The Nikon system has internal controls that will let you determine the output of the popup flash. Under the shooting menu, choose "Built-in Flash", and change the setting from TTL to "Manual". Under the manual menu you can turn down the output of the popup to as little as 1/32 power.

 

Unlike the higher end models, you can't go into commander mode to trigger the external flash wirelessly, but if you turn down the power, and cover the popup with something sheer like a piece of tissue paper, you will end up with a soft fill from the popup, and your external should still fire. Experiment with it, new gear is nice, but it isn't necessary to accomplish what you want.

This is a good idea I will try this.

[Keyless Works]

Why don't you use your Sony DSC-RX100II for pen photography? As far as I kow is the RX100 II the only Model with adapter for external flash.

I have the Model I whithout possibility to connect an external flashlight....and I hate that.

C.

I used it when I first got it for pen photos but the Nikon is so much easier to handle that I went back to the D3100. If size and weight aren't an issue it's tough to beat an SLR from a comfort/ease of use perspective.

 

If it makes you feel any better the hot shoe doesn't do much...it's smaller than a normal hot shoe so you will need an adaptor and even then I think you are quite limited on what you can use. Sony made an expensive viewfinder and flash for it but that kind of ruins the pocketability of the camera.

[ac12]

The hot shoe trigger is independent of the internal pop-up flash.

On my D70, I keep the flash down and use the a PC adapter in the hot shoe to trigger an external flash.

If I want to use more than 1 external flash, I use either RF/radio for all flashes or optical slave triggers on the other flash(es). Personally, I found that optical is easier, IF you do not have other people firing off flashes (like at a party or event) or you are not working in bright light (like daylight).

 

Once you go external with non-CLS flashes (like the Strobist), you operate in fully manual mode, which is not as bad as the CLS folks would make it out to be. I use a non-CLS flash on my camera, and only rarely wish I had the iTTL capability of a CLS flash. I can buy an awful lot of older non-CLS flashes for the price of a CLS flash. Heck the 9xx flash is almost the price of a new 7xxx body.

 

As Pepsi said, it is much easier to work with continuous light (daylight or lamps), because you can see the shadows and the effect of lighting before you press the shutter. With a flash, you have to visualize it in your head, until you fire the camera and can look at the image on the screen.

[edebill]

This is interesting...I use a remote trigger via the pc connection on my camera since my camera cannot receive a signal from a Nikon wireless remote but ignoring that for a moment, if I use the PC connection will the flash fire if I tell the camera no flash (otherwise the built in would fire)?

 

Also, I do have a D300 with more lenses...would this camera work better for my purposes since it does have more features (though much worse ISO performance)?...I am sure it would work with a Nikon wireless remote and this would free up my PC port.

 

I shoot Canon instead of Nikon, but every camera I've tried has always triggered the hot shoe independently from the built-in flash. Turn off the built-in (or just don't pop it up if that's an option) and the hot shoe will still fire.

 

Once you start using flashes to light your subject low light performance doesn't matter nearly as much - just light things a little more brightly to compensate. I suspect either camera will do just fine for posting fountain pen pictures on the web. Choose the one that you enjoy working with more

 

Don't forget that you with a tripod you can always just set up normal (non-flash) lights and use a longer exposure to get what you want. I've got a friend who does really awesome food photography for his blog using a cheap point and shoot camera and a couple clip on work lights with pieces of paper taped over them as diffusers. He even skips the tripod and just figures he may need to make more than one exposure to get one that's as sharp as he wants. He's a foodie, not a photographer

[christof]

If it makes you feel any better the hot shoe doesn't do much...it's smaller than a normal hot shoe so you will need an adaptor and even then I think you are quite limited on what you can use. Sony made an expensive viewfinder and flash for it but that kind of ruins the pocketability of the camera.

Oh, thank you. That's good to know.

I doesn't make me feel better but it prevents me of buying a II.

c.

[TXKat]

I shoot Canon and have lights, flashes, so I fight another battle, but...

 

In one of my photography websites, the suggestion was made that if you have to use the built-in flash, use a thin white paper cup (light needs to come through) like a Dixie, over the flash to help diffuse the light. The premise is that it will work similar to a Fong on the large flashes. It will help with flash hot spots.

 

Many of the other suggestions regarding settings should also work, but not being a Nikon person, I can't help there. Good luck!

[penrivers]

I have the Nikon D3200 manual user. No problem, there are 3 pages 32, 33, and 34, dedicated to the flash functioning, I just set the flash mode icon in off, and flash does not fire even when lighting is poor or subject is back lit.

Edited August 28, 2015 by penrivers

[DrDebG]

I have a higher end D810, but what openionated suggested would probably solve your issue.

 

I am mostly a landscape photographer, and prefer to use natural light to artificial light. If I do use artificial light, I prefer to use ambient rather than direct light. I set up a background and use diffused lamps. My diffused lamps are really just adjustable desk lamps with a white pillowcase. I then place them directly over the item I am photographing and adjust light or item accordingly. Many times, I will do a "set up" in natural light. Using a polarizer of neutral density filters, I can modify my exposures accordingly.

 

As a good friend once told me, it isn't the equipment that makes a good photographer, it is the passion, skill and technique . . . and mostly experimentation.

 

Good luck!

[KnightsWritingCo]

Forgive me for rambling - I am new to the forum so I hope I don't do it wrong! I'm no photography professional by any stretch of the imagination, but I have found (and my photographs are still not perfect by a long shot) that several factors are important. Photography is close to my heart as I have suffered the same problems (and still do ... it's never ending)!

 

The great thing about pens is they don't move as one reply mentioned. This gives you ample opportunity to be able to get a shot right before you go anywhere near the camera. I find it can take an hour or two to get a shot set up and then after that several shots with minor alterations to be pleased with the results.

 

Lighting:

 

I usually work with a couple of white/neutral light boxes and they are defused (with covers) so that I can get softer shadows and less harsh light. Defusing light is very important and also the use of a 'gobo' (go betweens... bits of cardboard held to block light in various instances) or two perhaps over the pen to stop too strong 'reflective' light. I don't use a flash for pens. I also don't use a light cube because I find the intensity of the light is a little overwhelming for the exposure.

 

White balance:

 

I generally do set a custom white balance when happy with lighting. You can get away with a neutral 'cloudy day' while balance.

 

Exposure:

 

I tend to have the exposure one or one and a half stops above zero mark. This allows me to get creative with the 'gobos' which generally darken the subject a little.

 

I like to shoot all my subjects using RAW mode - in the olden days of photographic paper, the dark room was your place of creativity. With the advent of digital cameras the computer is your dark room. RAW images don't change the picture the way a camera does when it post-processes into a JPG file (as you might take from the card). You can take a RAW image and put it in photoshop or some other similar software and perform the same operation that you might have done in your dark room - and better than the camera can, because you are making the shot specifically pleasing for yourself.

 

ISO / aperture:

 

Because of the lack of movement you can use ISO 100 and aperture setting you want. By tweaking these and correcting the exposure (experiment here) you can get a great shot - you can have something out of focus behind the pen, perhaps get a shot of a nib with everything else fuzzy.

 

In essence, what I am trying to say is that equipment is only part of the puzzle. The camera and the lens is only 25% of the problem.

 

Understanding lighting, understanding angles and reflection (direct and diffuse), understanding color and file formats (RAW vs JPG) is important. Composition can make a huge difference also. The lens might be more important than the body of the camera, it's ability to take RAW shots, connect to a computer to view the short (rather than use an LCD or view finder).

 

I would recommend a couple of books: find a good book on exposure and a good book on lighting. Actually understanding those concepts reasonably well would help your shots with your existing camera.

 

I would love to see a photograph of yours - perhaps some immediate suggestions would come out.

 

Best regards.

 

Edited August 31, 2015 by KnightsWritingCo

[penrivers]

Not an expert so far. When I take pictures of my pens I don't use the camera flash never, instead I use a small desk lamp, I work in the composition, diferent angles of light and shadow and I focus mainly in the nib but not necessarily, that stetic requirements can change in every moment according to my spirit . I take the pictures with the best skills I can develop but anyway I don't worry, I have the theory that a 20 percent of the results depends on the camera and the 80 percent depends on the image manipulator you are using, personaly I rely to much in Photosop cs6 and the nik suite but not to much in the latest, I use levels and 2 or 3 functions of photoshop, in nik I like its new sharpeners but no its image color controls, not to much use for them, don't foget duplicate , and image resize if you want to post in internet. All is very easy and funny.

Edited September 17, 2015 by penrivers

[penrivers]

I trust a lot the Japanes technicians, it means I rely in Auto, it let all your time to focus in composition, btw it is the reason we see from Ansel Adams to Eva Rubinstein, from Walker Evans to Cartier Bresson in internet, composition. Once in my image editor I worry about apertures, speeds, isos, luminosity, contrast , sharpeness, color or black and white, levels , curves, etc.

Edited September 20, 2015 by penrivers