# New Setup



## yorkie (Jun 30, 2012)

I just finished buying and building this setup:

Canon T3
Canon 100mm Macro
The light/cube setup you see which was made using the instructions in the IAP library.  I used tungsten bulbs first and, as you can see, they started to melt the light box.  So, I switched to CF bulbs per the IAP instructions for the light box.

I tried taking macro without a tripod and that was a disaster.  I used a neutral grey to set the white balance.

These photos are not altered in any way.

It's worth noting, I know practically nothing about photography and am currently struggling my way through Canon T3 for dummies.

Thoughts, guys???


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## ironman123 (Jun 30, 2012)

Pretty cool set up.  Not sure about the grey background.  What is the finish on that pen?

My 2cents on the grey background: I tried 3-4 colors of Poster Board and the off-white made the pen finish show better for my lighting.

Ray


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## yorkie (Jun 30, 2012)

I have white, I'll try that.  The finish is dipping lacquer.


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## 76winger (Jul 1, 2012)

yorkie said:
			
		

> I just finished buying and building this setup:
> 
> Canon T3
> Canon 100mm Macro
> ...



I think you've got a really good start there. The lighting is pretty even and color is fairly well balanced. I went with a gray background  for most of my own photos as well because it allows you to get good photos that aren't pushing the extremes of lighting which usually ends up causing problems getting the pen's to come out right. At least without having to do a lot of post processing to clean it up. But by all means, experiment and try. That's how you learn!

Sent from my iPad using Forum Runner


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## Carl Fisher (Jul 1, 2012)

I actually like the grey background.  Very nice end result.


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## yorkie (Jul 1, 2012)

Here some others I took today.  Same setup but using a 18-55mm lens.  No post production.


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## Ruby pen turning (Jul 1, 2012)

I think they look great. They grey looks good, the pens look good (maybe a hair out of focus but with Picasa or another freebee you can sharpen them. You need a tripod and macro. You could never hold the camera steady enough + on a tripod you can move the camera and tilt the camera almost anywhere. You could try Amazon.com or even Wal-Mart for a small table mounted tripod.


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## watch_art (Jul 1, 2012)

The wood in your first post is pretty.  Reminds me of this --

I think the official name is birds eye or something similar - but they've been nicknamed Screaming Souls in Purgatory.  
Just looked - the name was indeed Birdseye.
http://www.richardspens.com/?page=ref/profiles/wasp_clipper.htm


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## bitshird (Jul 1, 2012)

Nice Photography, Even the Macro close up looks good.


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