New Olympus macro light...any similar products out there?

Oskar O · Post by **Oskar O** » Thu Jan 06, 2011 12:36 pm

Was eyeing through the new anouncements for CES, when I noticed some new stuff from Olympus. The interesting bit was their new "macro arm light", described in the press release like this:

"Macro Arm Light (MAL-1) - Not one, but two bright LED lights – each on the end of its own fully flexible metal arm and powered by the camera. Both arms extend up to 17cm. from a sleek and slender unit mounted on the camera's Accessory Port. For macro shots or attractive close-ups of small items or for online auctions, the MAL-1 is ideal for getting the lighting just right."

and here are two pics: http://a.img-dpreview.com/news/1101/oly ... -light.jpg
http://a.img-dpreview.com/previews/Olym ... llight.jpg

sources:
http://dpreview.com/news/1101/11010622olympusepl2.asp
http://dpreview.com/previews/olympusepl2/page2.asp

Due to the way it's designed, it will only work on Olympus' cameras. I was, however, interested, since every now and then I keep wanting some sort of light to illuminate the subject for focusing when it gets dark. The flexible arms seem to be perfect for this and this might even be useful for actual illumination of the subject (they should just make some color-correction filters and diffusers for these...)

Has anyone seen similar products? I've only seen hotshoe mounted LEDs, whose direction cannot be changed.

In any case, it's kind of nice that there are some new macro products coming out in the mainstream. I hope you share my enthusiasm

Len Willan · Post by **Len Willan** » Thu Jan 06, 2011 2:36 pm

Oskar ,this may be of some help,in close lighting of subjects for focusing, I have found it very satisfactory,as it is mains powered.

You will note in my Rig the conical support stands are cheap plastic cups with an attaching thread embedded in concrete in the cup , then painted matte black.

http://photomacrography.net/forum/viewt ... highlight= A Simple Vertical Stacking Rig using a XY Linear Stage ________________________________________

Focus lighting is provided by a flexible gooseneck 240 volt mains powered CREE light, there is also a supplementary battery powered LED light so one can read the micrometer when taking photographs

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.26308

Flexible Aluminum Cree Q4 3W 180-Lumen Ultra Bright Reading Lamp Light
Price: $19.44

canonian · Post by **canonian** » Thu Jan 06, 2011 3:07 pm

Hello Oscar,

You could allways consider this one. They work fine for me.

http://www.ikea.com/fi/fi/catalog/products/50163202

_________
Fred

realjax · Post by **realjax** » Thu Jan 06, 2011 3:19 pm

FYI: I recently got me an additional Ikea light as pictured above. I had bought the version with the clamp a couple of months ago, but it turned out the led bulb is different! The new table stand one has a much warmer led making them useless when combined:

Oskar O · Post by **Oskar O** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 4:33 am

Thanks for the suggestions... but I would actually only use something battery powered, need to use it outdoors too.

The Ikea model with the clamp looks quite interesting, but the difference in color temp looks really nasty. Oh well, it's starting sounds like a DIY project...

But I think there could be a wider audience for this. Continuous light is easier to work with than flash and modern LEDs are often quite powerful, especially for macro. This could be developed into a poor man's substitute for some fiber optic lighting...

ChrisR · Post by **ChrisR** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 4:41 am

Video lights? A big flat panel of LEDs doesn't need much diffusion, close-up.

Craig Gerard · Post by **Craig Gerard** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 4:44 am

Oskar,

Thanks for uploading details of the on-camera LED lights.
It's a good initiative on the part of Olympus.

Craig

DQE · Post by **DQE** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 4:09 pm

Just an impression - aren't these Olympus light sources too small in diameter?

I've developed the belief that light sources that are positioned near the end of a macro lens need to be about 25mm x 50mm in size (or larger) in order to minimize specular lighting artifacts. Most people use a flash diffuser that is very approximately 75-100 mm in diameter, I believe. Those who use a Canon MT-24 twin flash arrange their rig so that each head has an auxiliary diffuser. I don't see how a small diameter light source would avoid excessive specular reflections.

It would certainly be great if we field macro photographers could abandon our large flash diffusers.

DQE · Post by **DQE** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 4:15 pm

Is there some simple way to estimate the magnification of their macro lens converter in use with this camera? I don't see how it could be very high magnification if its working distance is 24cm. Perhaps this number is for their 75-300mm lens at 300mm, presumably providing its lowest magnification?

Here's some text from the Olympus web pages:

http://www.olympusamerica.com/oai_Headl ... ressNo=818

Macro Lens Converter (MCON-58): Enables the user to capture fascinating close-ups from as little as 24cm. away from the subject (depending upon the lens in use). The MCON-58 is also compatible with the ED m14-150mm f4.0-5.6 lens (28-300mm equivalent), ED m40-150mm F4.0-5.6, and ED m75-300mm f4.8-5.6 (35mm equivalent 150–600mm) for close focusing shots.

Oskar O · Post by **Oskar O** » Sun Jan 09, 2011 3:33 am

Just an impression - aren't these Olympus light sources too small in diameter?

Depends how small the subject is

It does depend a lot on what sort of light pattern the lamp throws, i.e. what kind of lens the LED has. But it's still going to be small, although I wouldn't expect that the power is massive either, so speculating this might be useful for adding fill light when daylight is the main light or in quite dark conditions. Used as a fill light, some specular reflections might actually add some liveliness to the subject on an overcast day.

It wasn't said whether the power of these are adjustable, but I would like to see the following:

- adjustable output
- cc filter attachment
- some simple diffusers to attach

Besides macro, I also do some on location portraiture (amongst other things...) and the equipment for that, while versatile, is certainly overkill for macro.

Is there some simple way to estimate the magnification of their macro lens converter in use with this camera?

If the 24 cm figure is for the lens focused at infinity, then the diopter power would be about 4. But since it's phrased as "as little as", it might mean diopter + closest focus, in which case the diopter power would be lower. It wouldn't surprise, since I've never seen a high power diopter used on a normal zoom, a combination I personally wouldn't try.

From my perspective the significance of these two announcements is that there is actually a commercial interest in macro, even to the point of bringing entirely new products to the market like that light system. I'm hoping that someone will evolve the concept further -- it's not rocket science anyway.

ChrisR · Post by **ChrisR** » Sun Jan 09, 2011 3:59 am

the significance of these two announcements is that there is actually a commercial interest in macro

Yes, perhaps they'll bring out a mirrorless, high speed, auto-stacking feature. They "do have the technology".

dickb · Post by **dickb** » Tue Jan 11, 2011 9:03 am

DQE wrote:Is there some simple way to estimate the magnification of their macro lens converter in use with this camera? I don't see how it could be very high magnification if its working distance is 24cm. Perhaps this number is for their 75-300mm lens at 300mm, presumably providing its lowest magnification?

Earlier M(acro)CON(verters) from Olympus were named after their focal length, MCON-40 being a 40cm lens, so 400mm or 2,5 dioptres. If they kept this system it should be a 1,72 dioptre lens. But it appears to have a 58mm thread, so I presume they've changed the naming convention.