The ID of the narrowest part of the tube is 3/4". The OD of the widest part is about 1".

I'm guessing from that that these are from their 3/4" range.

I'd be interested to see what you come up with.

Ideally (according to any Pentax DSLR/flash manual, P184 of the K10D manual) the adpters/cables should be daisy chained in series, not stacked in parallel like I have them. To do it as the manual describes, I'd have to buy an off-camera adapter, which I didn't want to do.

From the pics I've seen of your rig, you use two slightly different adapters, one is the Hot Shoe Adapter F, and the other . . . isn't. Mine are both Hot Shoe Adapter F.

It all seems to work fine anyway. I chose to use the AF240FT's for TTL compatibility with the *istD. To get the same compatibilty with a K10D I'd have to use 2 x AF540FGZ's which is way too expensive and heavy. I've now got the whole lot in one bag so when I get the time to go out I can just grab it 'n go.

Thanks for the ID. I've used a Lumiquest Softbox too, and it is good. If you use long extension tubes or bellows for higher magnification though, a hotshoe mounted flash may not do the job because the subject to lens distance can be very small. Your subject would then be in the shadow of the lens/hood.

For these test shots I dispensed with the hood on the Sigma, and the Pentax lens doesn't have a removeable one.

I've not used this rig in anger yet, I'll post some 'proper' pics when I do.

This is another quick 'n dirty shot to show a result using the K10D + 2 x AF360FGZ's with Omnibounce diffusers in wireless mode, the popup flash was used as a controller.


K10D, 2 x AF360FGZ, Sigma EX DG IF 180mm Macro ( very heavily cropped) 4mm Subject was about 500mm from the end of my lens.

Certainly. These were taken today to illustrate the lighting. I've not used this rig in the field yet, I'm still playing with it.

Rig used is as shown at the head of the topic except shots were taken hand held (no SR ), with/without diffusers, and 2 different lenses as stated below.

The subject is one of our house guests. Anybody know what it is? It's body length (without wings and 'tails' is about 4mm).

SMC Pentax-FA 100mm Macro, direct lighting - no diffusers. Note the harsh shadows.




SMC Pentax-FA 100mm Macro, direct lighting - with diffusers. Note the softer shadows.




Sigma EX DG IF 180mm Macro.

Photo's of the rig here.

The rig handles the weight of the AF240FT's OK so far but I haven't added all the extensions to the arms yet. If it's any help Clarky, the links have the name Loc-Line stamped on their side.

Kit in photo:- Pentax *istD, 2 x Pentax AF240FT, 2 x Hot Shoe Adapter F, 2 x 5P Extension Cord F, 2 x Stofen Omnibounce diffusers, Stroboflex twin flash bracket, Manfrotto 055ProB tripod + 804RC2 3-way head. Lens is a Sigma EX DG IF 180mm 1:3.5 Macro.

The arms of the Stroboflex can be extended by about another 4 inches by adding more joints so that the flashes can be mounted higher if necessary. With a shorter lens like the Pentax-F, FA or D-FA 100mm Macro, a flash head can be positioned over the top of the lens to illuminate the subject from above.

Whilst the Hot Shoe Adapters are not configured in the recommended way, this setup works fine giving me TTL flash control, which I can't get with the K10D unless I use the heavier (and more expensive) AF360/540FGZ units.

The Stofen diffusers are actually from my AF360FGZ's and don't fit too well, necessitating the use of tape to keep them in place.

Did you do your training at the Al Quaeda school of photography ?

Useful video Don, thanks.

Me too. Well done to the web team.

PS: To the webdev team: When you do the next upgrade in a few years time, hopefully more preparation will be done beforehand, rather than firefighting afterwards.