I wanted to take photos using my Wild M8, but of an upright aquarium cell. I thought the method might be of interest, although the results were not brilliant...
Setup using prism as reflector. Flash feed via fibre optic cable into aquarium
Caddis Larva
The method works in principle, but I was unable to get a good photo of the specimen as it preferred to hide in its home and the few clear shots were not great for focus.
Graham
Though we lean upon the same balustrade, the colours of the mountain are different.
Well we all have to start somewhere. I would say that you did quite well for your efforts. It may not be the sharpest caddis photograph but nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say.
Have you tried evaluating this setup with a fixed target? The image that you show is seductively good. It's just a bit lower contrast and less sharp than one might like to see, and I can imagine thrashing around for ages before realizing that those aspects are due to spherical aberration or simple crud on the walls.
BTW, what's the scale on this image? I see what looks like a 1X objective, so I'd guess that we're looking at around 10mm across the field, but I've been way off on such estimates before.
Rik, I first tested the setup visually with a fixed object and it is capable of producing a good image. The main problem with the posted image is focus, which falls best on the foreground, leaving most of the insect just out of focus. Also, some glare from the flash. Unfortunately I do not have an accurate scale because I moved the zoom inadvertently before I could take a photo of a suitable calibrated scale. I guess the insect was about 1.5 - 2 cm long in total and was a typical caddis. Being alive, when it was out of its home it kept moving, but most of the time was in hiding. trust me to choose a homebody!
Graham
Though we lean upon the same balustrade, the colours of the mountain are different.
