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Nikon R1C1, SU-800.
SB-R200
Macro photography is a discipline, which sounds interesting to a large percentage of SLR users - decades ago, it was an art, which only few experienced photographers had been able to master due to the technical difficulties - proper exposure, correct lighting and calculating the appropriate exposure correction factors, determining the best aperture for a given lens and other technical issues. But who was not fascinated by the results these beautiful shots, revealing even the smallest details which had barely been visible to the unarmed eye. In the past 20 years, a lot had changed automatic bellow systems, dedicated macro flash units, TTL exposure measurement and other technical improvements made it easy to start with macro photography. Attractive and well set lighting remained one of the few crucial elements which separated the beginners from the masters besides determining the optimum focal point for a given aperture. Before I start to describe the equipment I used, I want to highlight a few topics which are related to obtaining excellent results in macro photography lighting, I have mentioned already, exposure compensation why this? Well, the distance between an object to lens on the one side and lens to film plane (or sensor) are linked to each other with other words, the closer you get to the object, the further away you need to get with the film plane (or sensor plane) to get a sharp image. Those who are familiar with some optics, know the equation which rules this fact. Modern optical design however allows to maintain the actual distance between lens and film/sensor plane by internally shifting optical elements to simulate the appropriate repositioning a very intelligent solution which not only is able to maintain the actual mechanical dimensions, but also to maintain a very high level of optical correction, resulting in excellent images. Another topic of interest for macro photography is optical distortion with other words, the ability of an optical system to reproduce straight lines still straight even at those small distances which are common for macro photography. Most common lenses are designed such that they show a small percentage of distortion zoom lenses usually much more than fixed focus lenses, but even fixed focus lenses are usually not free of distortion. This is another reason why a standard lens is not a good choice for macro photography the entire optical correction (not only distortion) but also all the other lens errors (color, vignetting, astigmatism, coma...) of a normal standard lens is optimized for a reproduction ratio common in normal photography infinity to maybe 1:10 or 1:20 magnification. Macro on the other hand is the range of maybe 1:20 to 1:1 and even higher. This makes it necessary to optimize the lens for that magnification range to get to best possible results when geometrically challenging objects need to be photographed stamps, money bills, just to name two examples. There are more optical considerations of importance for macro photography, but I do not want to burden the reader with technical details too much. The Nikon R1C1-SU800 system + Nikon AF-S Micro 105/2,8G IF-ED
Nikon΄s
macro flash system, the R1C1-SU800 kit plus a newly designed special macro lens,
the AF-S VR Micro 105/2,8G IF-ED (what a long name...) makes it very easy to get
to fantastic macro photographs without a lot of hassle. I had the opportunity,
again thanks to Nikon Austria, to test this equipment and to use it for some
time and I΄m loving it. Nikon AF-S 105/2,8G IF-ED VR As mentioned before, I tested the macro system with the really recommendable Nikon macro lens, the 105mm VR silent motor lens an ideal combination for that application. As usual, I was interested in the optical performance of the AF-S 105mm lens, not only for macro but also for general photography as its focal length makes it pretty ideal for several other areas of interest portraiture, landscape details, some scenic photography and all those areas, where a light telephoto lens is of advantage. Let me start with the said lens to sum it up, it is excellent! The only bad news is its price and maybe also its weight, compared to many other 100 / 105mm lenses. Well, the weight is not a problem for me as I usually drag around at least a medium format equipment or often a 4x5inch camera plus several lenses and in comparison to those cameras, the 105mm AF-S is lightweight...
Of course, a maximum sustained aperture of 2,8 means a lot of glass inside the housing! The lens is fast in focusing, accurate regarding determining the correct focus, quiet and its repeatability regarding aperture and focus is perfect. I have made only observation, which I am not sure if this was related to that demo lens or if that is inherent to the VR system inside the lens and this is the following: After depressing the shutter release half down to focus, the image moves upwards within the next Ό to ½ second a tiny bit not much, but enough to see it when the camera is mounted on a very stable tripod. Nothing to worry a lot, but in extreme macro situations, you can see the image moving South-North maybe as much as 0.5% of the viewfinder vertical viewing area until it comes to a rest, When I disengaged the VR function, that effect was not visible. However, the shutter does not release until the movement comes to a rest and if you depress the shutter quickly, then that movement stops earlier to shoot a stable and steady image I was not able to detect any blurring due to this movement, but I wanted to mention that it existed. Distortion another area of interest for me I took photographs at the closest possible distance and used a microfilm copy of the Holy Bible as target straight and well defined pages and a tiny matrix of information. Not that I expected to be able to read the bible pages, but I wanted to see the amount of distortion of the lens and its extreme macro performance. To sum it up the lens is outstandingly good (for its class, its price and its category please keep in mind, this is not a Zeiss Luminar and does also not want to replace such a lens).
Microfilm of the entire Holy Bible - closest distance with the AF-S 105mm/2,8 IF-ED VR
Another test for making distortion visible is to take macro shots of money bills - I did and the results are outstanding - basically no visible optical distortion, not even at the closest possible distance. Here are few shots which show that performance:
10 Euro - the amount of details is excellent and no visible distortion At its closest possible distance, the resolving power and absence of distortion is visible in that following shot:
10 Euro - the closest possible distance - a crop of the center of the shot - look at the tiny details between the Euro writings! A second test I made was to see if the lens provides the full resolution of the camera, in my case, the D2Xs or if it is slightly less good than standard lenses - and as I expected it, the lens performs excellent - full resolving power even at non-macro distances. As usual, I used the Patterson resolution chart to get the result and here it is - 105mm focal length, photo taken at 40x the focal length times 1,5x factor for the internal magnification of the digital camera (the Nikon D2Xs is not a full frame sensor)
Patterson resolution chart
This excellent result confirmed by assumption that the 105/2,8 lens is not only a superb macro lens but also a very attractive lens for portraiture and similar applications. To show its superb imaging qualities, I have added a photograph of one of my daughters - despite the resizing for the website, it is still of impressive quality:
I tried the R1C1 macro flash system with other lenses as well, especially the Nikkor 28-105/3.5 AF-D lens, which has got a macro function it works of course well and one can use a part of the zoom range (50-105) in the macro mode. The disadvantage of that lens is the rotating front part of the optics it makes it necessary to adjust the orientation of the flashes as soon as one changes the focal length this points out an important feature of the mentioned 105mm macro lens nothing rotates at the front of that lens once adjusted, everything stays in place (which is not the case with many 3rd party compatible lenses be careful!). Nikon seems to promote the macro flash system primarily with three lenses the mentioned 105mm, the AF-Micro Nikkor 60/2.8D and the AF-Micro Nikkor 200/4 D IF-ED lens my personal favorite remains that 105mm lens because it is a very attractive focal length (distance between object and camera) and maximum aperture plus the VR function, which helps a lot to get sharp photos. SB-R200 / SU 800 Back to the two macro flashes nice and lightweight, compact and powerful. I have one complaint the color logics of the LED, which shows the status after switching them on, is nonlinear when the flash unit is ready for shooting, the LED is red and when it is not ready for shooting or the battery is low, the LED is green I have no idea, what the thinking behind the selection of colors was, but it is not very reasonable in my opinion any device which is ready is showing a green light and a device, which is not ready or something is wrong, shows red usually. Maybe Nikons engineers read this comment and can understand my reasoning. The control unit for these flashes and for all attachable flashes, which can be used within that system, is the SU-800, which sits on top of the camera, on the hot shoe. It is working with IR pulses and triggers all flashes without cords as long as you have got one of the very recently launched camera bodies, able for ITTL operation the F6, D2X, D2H, D2XS or the D200, D70s and the D50... One can use the macro flash system also with those modern digital cameras which have got an integrated flash unit, like the D70s the triggering device for the two macro flashes, which act as slave flashes (called SB-R200) is in those cases the built-in flash with a IR-transparent light absorbing filter unit placed in front of the camera flash (that IR filter unit is included in the complete set for macro flash photography). Of course, if one places the SU-800 on top of one of these cameras which have got an incorporated flash, then that master control unit works as it does with the D2 series of cameras.
Can one use that flash system with older cameras as well yes, it is possible, but one needs connecting cables between the master control unit and the slave flashes because these older cameras do not have the ITTL function built-in, just normal TTL or DTTL like the D1 series of cameras. If the two supplied slave flashes are not enough one can use many more flashes and they can be put into three categories each one with either the same power setting or with a different one which means, one can create a fully flexible and creative lighting system, which is not only portable but also very lightweight. Such a system does certainly not replace a full studio lighting system, but it is an attractive alternative!
An interesting feature of the SB-R200 flashes is their built-in auxiliary lighting, which can be switched on to control the direction of the flash that light is dim but under subdued lighting conditions strong enough to see if the flash had been positioned correctly or needs some further adjustment. The color of the flash can be altered by placing filter foils in front of the flash which are mounted inside a little plastic filter holder. The holder itself is fine but the colored filters are for my liking to thin and fragile I guess that some people would damage them during their first use how about making them a bit stiffer and thicker? Or even better instead of the color filter foils, adding colored filter holders instead of the clear plastic ones. Maybe they are a few cents more expensive, but more durable. That clear filter holder holds not only those thin color filters but also the ultra-close-up attachments. These devices are producing smooth light at very close distances - pretty practical at distances well below 10 inches. But they also can create reflections if not used with care - the surface needs to be structured, otherwise the white diffusing front side of these devices creates hot spots.
Just to mention - the flashes can be positioned anywhere on the circle of the mounting ring - here an example how I mounted the flashes for a different lighting setup: For several macro shots, I added a SB-600 flash as third flash as I mentioned, one can set up three groups of flashes, three channels for communication and in addition set the intensity balance individually the third channel, in my case, the SU 800 was set to M, manual macro mode and the intensity ratio between the SB-R200 and the SB-600 was varied to get different lighting ratios. Setting the SB-600 to M does not mean that you get into problems with the exposure because with digital cameras, one can control the actual exposure right after taking the shot; it only means that one cannot set the intensity relation between that third flash system and the two others to a certain ratio and then work in full automatic mode. The setting of the power ratio is very easy - and shown in the following shots, first the setting of two different power ratios for the SB-R200 which are set at the SU-800 control unit and then the backside of the SB-600 in slave mode as third flash:
To show the results which I obtained with three flashes - two SB-R200 plus one SB-600 flash in slave mode, here some shots. The intensity of the two main slave flashes varied and the third flash was placed in the background.
The entire system the SU-800 plus the SB-R200 flashes and additional flashes like the SB-600 or SB-800 can also be used for standard flash photography as I mentioned before, it is not designed to replace a powerful studio system, but for table-top sized photographic projects, it is a very attractive and still affordable portable solution. To show its capabilities, I have photographed not only that above shown antique glass carafe, but also a couple of antique crystal wine glasses and finally a couple of espresso cups, which are about 150 years old all photographs with three flashes in macro mode, controlled by the SU-800 unit and as one can see from the various photographs, with different lighting set-up arrangements. I varied the intensity of the lights, their position and their direction and all these effects were achieved by the control of the SU-800 unit.
To complete the results, I have used one of my orchids (I like those flowers very much) and played again with the lighting - two flashes, three flashes, front, side, back light etc. Here some of the results:
The list of examples could be continued with dozen of other shots with different illumination, all by changing the power ratio of the two SB-R200 flashes and the SB-600 unit, but what you see here shows the versatility of the system and how creative it can be used. I am aware that this review is neither comprehensive nor complete, but it should show the power of Nikons R1C1 system and the outstanding performance of the AF-S 105/2,8G IF-ED VR macro lens. I am sure, if you get it, you will enjoy it as much as I did!
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