Macro lighting: LED Vs flash - What's the difference and which is best
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- Опубліковано 8 лип 2024
- Confused about what equipment to use to light your macro images? Is LED better than flash for getting sharp photos? And what techniques will result in better-looking shots? I break down the differences in this week's tutorial and hopefully make it easy for beginners or advanced photographers among you to get to grips with lighting for photography.
I show how I use Godox flash lights like the AD200 to freeze motion and overpower the sun in bright conditions and how cheap LED light panels can just help pick out your subject in your composition.
Want to see how I use lighting on location? • Macro photography ligh...
Interested in the tripods I use for macro photography? • Macro: The best tripod...
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I enjoy using a flash more for various reasons. You can not only freeze motion with it but it allows for much more dramatic compositions. Its also mountable to your camera so you dont have to carry it seperately. I still find LEDs very uselful tho. They are brilliant for lighting up your videos and they are a strong light source that u can even use as a lamp in your room. For photography, im all in for a flash/speedlight but for videography its the LEDs. Have a nice weekend Andrew!
Perfect video for me a this stage. I have been looking at various options for light and this is really helping
Excellent presentation. I mostly deal with macro (1:1) to extreme macro, both inside my house and in my garden. Depending on highly varied shooting conditions I shoot without flash or LED to LED only (ring or directional). So the situation dictate what is proper over better or worse.
I've done macro photos using Lume Cube Lighting. The first version was able to work as a slave flash. I decided to purchase the second version, which doesn't include such feature, but can flash at a fairly bright luminance. Normal Flashes can be slightly brighter than Lume Cube. I've also tried using an LED panel which was about as powerful as a flash for the same price. I've found that diffuse lighting is important sometimes, especially for extreme magnification. I rarely use light sources though. I've realized that light sources aren't of much use for me as I initially had expected. Rather, I've tried to be making macro in sunshine during a cloudy day.
Good video. I completely agree with you. When hand holding flash a remote trigger is nice to use too.
Hi Andrew, again a great tutorial, thank you. I use most of the time 2 flashes to create the right ambiance. Sometimes I put a MagMod colour gel in one of the flashes to give give the picture an additional twist. Like you said a lot of trail and error, but you learn all the time which is fun, particularly when you are outside it is interesting to gain control over the light conditions.
Thanks Andrew. This is very helpful. I am trying to learn to use off-camera flash but still have a long way to go.
Although I presently don't have one I do plan on buying an LED panel for what I think will used as fill light in conjunction with flash, right now I use a flashlight. Good video, keep them coming.
You're great, mate! You have a fun disposition and make an informational video, such as this, fun to watch!
Cheers!
Hi Andrew! Great video. I used to use LED light, but now I'm learning to use flash light. I have Godox TT685N, I bought MagMod accessories recently and it's great!
Gracias por la explicación
Muito bom o comparativo, eu prefiro o flash para fotos pela sua potencia e versatilidade, o led realmente ajuda em uma foto que não precisa de muita luz, mas quando quer efeitos como você mostrou se torna problematico. Parabéns
I have an LED head for the AD200's, then use the same square diffuser as when shooting flash. This will work in a dim environment when continuous is needed. But I use flash a lot more often. Also, I've found that I can use a Godox 860-II-O Olympus specific flash with a Sony camera if I use the Sony specific controller and the flash off camera. Even TTL works. I have both Olympus and Sony camera bodies, so this saved me needing to buy a Sony specific 860-II flash.
Excellent video, just what I was looking for.
Thanks for watching!
Excellent presentation
Good info! I've always used flash (and monolights in studio)... Or just ambient light when it's sufficient. But I have thought about trying LED for exactly the reasons you mention...
Something you didn't mention was that some flash (and a lot of studio strobes) have a modelling light... A lower power but continuous light source you can use for a bit of a preview how your flash shot will look. For example, the Canon MT24EX Twinlite I use has a modelling light an each of its two flash heads.
While those modelling lights aren't very powerful, they can give some idea how the shadows and highlights are going to fall on a subject.
Great video 👍 - I have just ordered a Kenro flash but was unsure if I’d made the right decision. Now that I’ve watched your video.. I see that I have ordered the right thing 😀 Thank you - Steve
Hi Andrew, I will try to use more flash on my next trips, thanks to your really cool videos.
Thank you very much and please keep up the good work.
Just had my 1st trial at macro photography with a diffused speed light flash and also a led macro ring and I found using both of these together was the best results as the ring leds just filled in the shadows while the diffused speed light really lit up the subject and also it wiped out the blue cast that the leds gave to the images resulting in really nice autumn 🍂colours in the subject which was some mushrooms 🍄 on a old log 🪵 .the test shots just with the ring led was alright but lacking in colour and detail which yeah could be corrected in post but straight out of camera the flash wins leds just there for shadows 👍
There are benefits and drawbacks to both Continuous and Flash lighting and for the most part you have pointed these out well in the video. There are a couple of things I would like to add. Modern cameras and flash also allow for HSS so shooting at the camera's sync speed under 1/320 with FP shutters is no longer a limitation. The images in this video portray the subject in isolation by using artificial light to overpower the natural light on the background. For this affect the flash is useful. It is however indistinguishable from shooting the subject in a studio. On the other hand if you want to portray the subject in it's natural environment and only highlight or fill, then the constant light or a reflector works fine and has the benefit of WYSIWYG. In conclusion, there are no overall right or wrong tools ( a hand held screwdriver, a battery powered drill or one that runs on mains power) will drive that screw. It is the situation, the subject and the desired result that make some tools better suited for the given combination.
I only ever use flash for outdoor, handheld macro - and then only if there's too little natural light, or if I need to freeze very fast action (rapid moving/flying insects etc). I'm not too keen on the "trial and error" aspect of flash composition in the studio and use only continuous light there (except for action-freezing, but I hardly ever do that in a studio-macro context). I mix halogen goosenecks, flat panels and big COB monsters as needed, whatever the setup requires.
One thing to watch out for with the cheaper LED panels is flicker. If they're dimmed, they do it by switching the LEDs rapidly on and off and this can show as thin stripes in your images at higher shutter speeds. So, usually best to use a slow shutter with these panels (I regularly use 1/10th sec shutter in the studio, just to eliminate this issue completely). Another thing is gaps in the spectrum, they tend to have blue and red peaks with little in between and this will change the apparent colour of some subjects due to metamerism. The bigger COB lamps generally don't flicker when dimmed and give a uniform white light (equal intensity of all colours across the spectrum) which avoids colour inconsistencies between different shots and subjects. Despite the bulk, I find the COB lamps incredibly useful for studio macro lighting. Very easy to use with fewer potential issues to dodge. I have 2x Godox ML60 and 2x Amaran 60d - with the latter being smaller and my favourite to date for macro use. My lamps are used for "traditional" studio lighting too, so cost is shared. They might be a bit too expensive for "macro only" use - depends on your budget I guess.
Both are great if you know how to use them.
I mostly use natural light, but when I tried super macro I went for the flash to "freeze" the image, I will give that some more time in the future. Thanks!
Hay you, I've tried both and for me the flash gun works so much better.
Danke!
Thank you!!
nice tuto. any experience with godox mf-r76 ringflash and mf-12 macro flashes ?
I use both and occasionally a bendy led desk lamp!
Cogent post, Andrew. Well explained and illustrated.👍 I use both, but LED when there is less time to get an acceptable image - one where some scene lighting attributes can be “adjusted” in post. At first glance, IMO, folks might be more put off by additional menu settings, options, and buttons in todays flash units. Complexity can deter.
Re lighting effect preview, didn’t some flash units come equipped with onboard “modeling lamps”? You couldn’t preview intensity differences, but the small lamps gave some idea of how the flash illumination would be shaped on the subject, if that makes sense. Cheers!
As always a very good tutorial how many done a lot of flash photography although I do intend to try my hand as for the LED lights this is just a thought as I have not tried it myself can you use the LED light to work out where you best be further light direction and then put your flashlight with that Cut 0ut all the guesswork ?
Subscribed (Colorado). Flash: Godox for Nikon. Sometimes cheap Amazon flash with radio trigggers.
3:52 Jeez you've got the jitters. Great video.
Some flash units have built-in modelling LEDs. Best of both worlds.
Which NEO were you using? The NEO 2 in flash mode output is significantly higher. The output goes up by 200% on internal battery or 500% on external battery. I’ve found the NEO 2 works fine in flash mode.
Hi Andrew and many thanks for your time, trying to help many of us out on the flash subject.
I have Canon gear and want to buy a canon speedlight, but don't know which one to get. I started off photographing wildlife and now want to also do macro and today purchased the RF 100 f/2.8, so need to take that in to account. I've only heard of master and slave units but don't know how to programme them including how much flash out put is needed.
Where I'm lost on working out which speed light to purchase, is will the specs be ok for macro as well as future genres that I try out. I'm only learning so won't include weddings, but as my nerves extend to family portraits, I need to include that. I guess the bottom line is, I haven't a foggiest what to do as I'm a complete newbie, but cost isn't an issue, I've always bought the best but lost on where to draw the line if I don't need the best if that makes sense. Millions of thanks in advance 👍
Hey. Great video. But, I can't completely agree with you regards to that the Rotolight is only a constant light. My Rotolight Neo 2 works flawlessly as a flash. I use it all the time. But it requires an Elincrome trigger or a sync cable🙂 In flash mode it is much stronger/powerful than in constant light mode.
Agreed, you can get the benefit of a modelling light and flash which is brighter (and high speed sync) 👍🏼
They can produce a short burst of light or if you wanna call it a flash outburst but they are still not a Flash/Strobe and neither is it HSS ;) Don't get me wrong, they are good LEDs but for the price I can buy ProFoto gear.
Any method of using focus bracketing option in R5 with flash for macro shots
or you can put the model light on the flash to see where the light is going to land, then when photograph the subject the flash will take over the model lighting situation.
what about simply using a strobe with a LED modeling light? once you see where the latest is falling you take the picture with the strobe
Hey, Great content just starting with flash but I'm realizing not every flash works with my camera. Trying to do a work around. Thanks for your work.
Thanks Michael, much appreciated! Let me know if there are particular questions you have as it may be that I could do a video around starting with flash to help answer them!
Andrew, Now that you said, love got an Olympus EM-5 that's 10 years old but works well.But the Olympus flash FL 50 , it seems not see the camera or the camera doesn't see the flash . So I thought I would just use as a Slave flash but the flash won't go to slave mode. Maybe the flash is bad. So I'm going with a different flash and try transmitter set up. Maybe you'll do a video on How and Why . I like my Olympus because of the size factor and the 2x crop . Thanks
I asked this in commentd of your another video but why are you using AD200 instead of regular speedlight with hotshoe mount? You can use speedlight off and on camera so I find it more versatile. AD200 of course has more power but do you think it matters in macro work compared to average speedlight?
Doesn't that AD200 have modelling lights to help with positioning?
What about the NEO 2 also being able to be used as a Flash, not like normal LED panels? I have seen it Shoot 300 Shots without missing a beat.
"Speedlight" or "Speedlite" are the names that Nikon and Canon give their flash units. There are not generic terms, although Americans tend to use them as such. Not everyone uses a Nikon or a Canon, or their flash units.
Great vid again Andrew. Have you done a vid on setting up a flash for newbies at all? I'd love to do more flash photography and I do have a cheap speedlight and triggers but I have no idea how to set it all up and what setting to use.
Thanks Peter! I haven't done a 'getting started' video yet, but it's on my list to do, particularly if there's interest in it. Sounds like it might be one you'd enjoy so I'll keep it in mind!
@@AndrewLanxonPhotography Love your videos, always well presented and helpful. A 'getting started' video on using flashes would be great.
That would be really helpful, I’d like to try using flash and don’t know where to start.
@@AndrewLanxonPhotography Really enjoying your videos. Am new to macro, and am up for the challenge. I have a fear of using a flash, and have no idea where to start, what to buy or how to use it. A video would be so much appreciated.
im due to buy my first flash for macro photos what would you recomend please ?
Yes, but try stacking multiple photos with flash recharging...
I really appreciated your discussion and comparisons of a LED light and a flash. But I’m always surprised when you talk about using a small aperture, like f/11. With my macro work, f/11 feels like a large aperture because it gives me only about 1mm depth of field. I consider small apertures to be more like f/22 or f/32 that might give me a few mm of depth of field. I’m guessing that the difference is that you are further away from your subject? Or is there some other equipment difference that allows you to get more than 1 or 2mm DOF at f/11?
With f22 you will get diffraction blurring. Especially on high magnification
Only focus stacking will give you DOF and keep fine details
For example, on my canon mp-e 65 at magnification x3 sharpest aperture is about 5.6. On f16 it's awfully blurry. Make some test shots and compare sharpness with different apertures
I bought a pair of Roto Light Neo II hoping for them to be amazing but surprisingly they were underwhelming. They were too bright at low levels and from 0-20% their color temperatures changed if you were using any temperatures that had any warmth to it. What made it even worse was a cheap Chinese LED video light from Amazon was just as good. It was kinda sad as I wanted the rotolights to be amazing.
Tape a led torch to the flash you will see the lighting before using the flash👍
Andrew nice video! I think you may have missed an opportunity overlooking the NEO2 flash capabilities as it is in another class, LEDs that give excellent light with consistent and flash outputs. Also, the recently released Rotolight NEO3 outperforms all the lights in your demo and includes RGBWW light in flash and constant modes.
You forgot to mention that for the price of these things you can buy a dozen flashs, also no modifiers, RBG? well, I have no trouble folding up a couple of gels (no room, no weight) By the way the flash capacity still doesn't come close to strobe. Just saying, Cheers
I am not sure if this has been mentioned in the comments but that little LED light is also a flash unit, could you not just take it with you and use it for both.
I agree that if only gonna have one light, a flash is the way to go. But it was both surprising and disappointing that you can't remotely trigger a speedlight from the r6 without a trigger. Thats another thing to carry that cost 250 pound. You can also use a cable, but its hard to understand why its not built into the camera in that price range
I have just bought the R6, and want to buy a flash, but have little idea how to use one, but am uncertain, as it a mirrorless camera, whether any flash will fit. Have you any advice you could offer me please?
Why LED is a little blur at the thing's edge? but Flash light doesn't have that blur, thant means Flash is much clear than LED. the Aperture is same, the shutspeed is high like 120-160(not same), iso is different.
Most strobes have modeling lights (including that AD200)
Most LEDs are only really good for Video and Jewelry.
Cheap LED lights are not colour accurate and Big LED lights are very expensive.
Ummm maybe you didn’t realize it, but your Rotolight is not only an led panel, but it is also an led flash panel. And when you use it as a flash, it outputs twice the power. Try it as a flash & see what you think!
The only problem with flash: doing focusstacking shots!
Get a flash with modelling light…..
00:19 Congrats and most people use light otherwise you get D-Max images…
Unfair demonstration. You should have used the stronger round LED instead of that little rectangle piece of crap.
I don't own a flash.
i love how these led vs flash videos always pretend that led gives you the advantage of previewing what the light will look like, as if modeling lights aren't a thing, especially with macro flashes.