Hints for using the Canon MT-24EX Macro TwinLite

One thing to know about the Canon MT-24EX flash – the lighting it produces is very harsh. Even though the size of the reflectors is relatively large when shooting high magnifications, they still produce hotspots and specular highlights that are not very aesthetic. I diffuse mine whenever I am using it, with a custom modification that is very easy….

Bear in mind that I am one of those photographers who regards his equipment as his tools, not jewels. If I need to stick duct tape over something, I do it, even if it leaves the nasty residue. I don’t worship my gear for resale, instead I tend to use it until it dies. So, in light of that (pun intended), you can see that my MT-24EX mounting bracket has a circular series of small Velcro tabs stuck on it. Permanently. Because I use this Velcro to attach a diffuser of my own design and making.

 Notice the small patches of Velcro attached to the front of the mounting bracket of my Canon Twinlite MT-24EX

I have a couple of different sizes of diffuser dependent upon the magnification of the zoom on the 65mm. I cut these out of thick plastic sheet that is translucent and an excellent diffuser. I don’t know what it is called, I just wander the aisles in art supply shops and find it.A couple of diffusers for attachment to the front of the Canon 65mm 1-5x zoom lens, when used with the Canon Macro Twinlite MT-24EX

These diffusers, though simple, make a world of difference when lighting macro subjects, particularly shiny ones, or highly reflective ones that produce significant specular highlights. The shorter one is for higher magnification, the larger for lower magnification. I can also use it on my 50mm macro lens.

Above is the short diffuser for high magnification shots. The flashes from the Canon Twinlite Macro Flash are so intense, that even through this diffusion material, there are still distinct highlights in reflective subjects, but the diffuser softens them to the point of being acceptable. The overall light quality is drastically improved.

This is the longer diffuser for less magnification, and can also be used with the Canon 50mm f2.5 Compact Macro lens – one of my favorites.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 7th, 2011 at 11:51 pm. It is filed under Featured, Flash, Macro. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.