PhotographyRing light 3.1: CCFL Ring Light
There's something magical about ringlights. The unnatural light cast, the halo shadows. Yet the idea behind it is as clever as it is simple: looking through the light source.
Overview
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Quick overview:
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4.1 |
Fiber optic TTL flash ring light, uses popup flash and 67 fiberglass bundles |
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4.0 |
Fiber optic TTL flash ring light, uses popup flash and 120 plastic fibers |
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3.1 |
2 CCFL continuous ring light |
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3.0 |
4 CCFL continuous ring light |
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2.1 |
52 mm filter mount 140 LED continuous ring light |
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2.0 |
52 mm filter mount 90 LED continuous ring light |
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1.0 |
Simple, 30 LED continuous ring light |
The ring light 3.0 project turned out a disappointment for telephoto close-ups. But now that I have a lens capable of very close focus, I have started to rework the CCFL rings to suit this lens. The wide light spread of this ring light is not a problem here, because the source of light is now very close to the subject. If you look at it as a way to fill in the light taken away by the lens barrel, instead of as a total lighting solution, then I think works beautifully.
Anyway. The mount had to be redone to fit the Sigma 17-70 f/2.8-4.5 DC macro. I had to decide on how to attach the ring to the lens; using the hood mount or the 72 mm filter mount. The hood mount is a bayonet type which allows me to attach the ring very rapidly and without the hassle of tangling the wires. The 72 mm filter mount is much more generic, but I wondered if I'll ever be needing this ring light on different lenses, and it would be easy to convert anyway. So, for simplicity, I chose the hood mount.
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It's hard to make out in the above picture, but there's a black ring around the 100 mm CCFL tube. It has a cutout for the wires. The ring will be painted silver on the inside. There will be a second CCFL, an 80 mm one, inside this one.
Unfortunately, while doing the first test, the mounted 100 mm tube failed. A pin came loose inside the glass end underneith the shrink tubing, so no way of fixing it. Before I even started this ring light, the other 100 mm tube had already failed too. So, with no 100 mm tubes left, this project goes in the freezer. I managed to do one shot, which was a fairly good one:
I really like the result, even if it's only one shot. Because of the proximity to the lens, there's not even a hint of the halo shadow you see with the LED ring lights, and an exposure value of 10 EV isn't bad either, especially considering this is just 1 tube. The shot was hand held at ISO 100, and although the lens is wide open at f/4.5 and depth of field is very shallow, I think it's remarkable.
At the moment I'm not sure I'll be ordering new tubes, with 2 of them already failing. Maybe I'll look for a different source or just order a box full. Anyhow it doesn't matter much, because while building this ring light, another idea had sparked my mind: fiber optics!
© Joris van den Heuvel, Fuzzcraft.com