Thanks Steve,
 I think my wife will be getting a surprise real soon. She has been asking about getting some macro gear for her.
 
best regards,
mike
 
 

SteveStrummerUK
Thanks gentlemen
 
Mike this is the cheap and cheerful ringlight I've got - NEEWER 48 LED Ring Light
 
It's handy because it comes with a mains adapter, although it can also run on batteries. You get a range of adapter rings so it can be attached to a variety of lenses.
 
The best feature is being able to select just half the LEDs (either right or left) to add shadows and depth. The full setting is good for even lighting, although it can leave the image looking a bit flat.
 
My next purchase will definitely be a ringflash though. Having to stop down to small apertures to get any depth of field means the more light you can get on the subject the better.
 
Incidentally, these are the extension rings I bought - Polaroid Auto Focus DG Macro Extension Tube Set
 
These do feel really well made, and keep the electronic connections between the camera and lens, so auto focus and exposure work as per usual.
 
So what do you chaps want next - I've got some steam trains and a butterfly called Gary in the can

mike_mccue
Wiki explains that the jewels are only used in extremely low force applications and offer a bare minimum coefficient of friction. In these applications the functionality and consistency is prolonged so that the mechanism remains accurate for years and years.
 
I haven't found much info about mineral facets but I guess they just don't come in to play when the material is used as a bearing.
 
best regards,
mike

I think that's what I said....

Friction creates heat....heat causes things to break down....if they were metal they'd wear out faster and
accuracy would dwindle...since Jewels don't get as hot (have less friction) and provide better slip,
they last longer, hence the increase in value and life of the mechanism....

mike_mccue
Thanks Steve,
 I think my wife will be getting a surprise real soon. She has been asking about getting some macro gear for her.
 

The genuine Canon ringflash looks like an amazing bit of kit Mike.
 
And of course, you'd be able to borrow it whenever
 
If I had a bit more of an engineering/woodworking type brain on me, I would definitely build myself some kind of jig to hold both camera and subject, and maybe lighting. It seems that having the camera/tripod separate makes it very difficult to get perfectly perpendicular to the subject. I was actually finding it easier to move the watch forwards and back to get it in focus range.
 

I agree Larry. That's what you said. :-) Sometimes, I am denser than coal.
 
I know a bit about bigger bearings and such and just didn't appreciate how these jewel bearings were functioning more like bushings than some sort of micro roller bearing.
 
:-)
 
I'm still curious about how they get around the cleavage plane issue, because that occurs at the molecular level and so it seems, to me, like it would be very difficult to get a perfectly round circle out of a material that is pre disposed to make a perfectly proportioned polygon.
 
best regards,
mike

Nice pics!

 
Cheers Craig.
 
Remember we chatted a while back about 'focus-stacking' images to blend the sharpest parts of each one to increase the depth of field.
 
Well, I knew my PS Elements couldn't do this, but I bought a neat little plug-in (Elements XXL) which actually has this feature (as per screenshot below).
 
The really handy thing about XXL is that it actually integrates into Elements, and all the features appear in the regular Elements menus; you can choose to highlight them blue.
 
I can't wait to give this a try
 

 
 

mike_mccue
I agree Larry. That's what you said. :-) Sometimes, I am denser than coal.
 
I know a bit about bigger bearings and such and just didn't appreciate how these jewel bearings were functioning more like bushings than some sort of micro roller bearing.
 
:-)
 
I'm still curious about how they get around the cleavage plane issue, because that occurs at the molecular level and so it seems, to me, like it would be very difficult to get a perfectly round circle out of a material that is pre disposed to make a perfectly proportioned polygon.
 
best regards,
mike

That much I'm not quite sure of...
I know that they usually use Ruby or Sapphire for the Jewels...
And any quality Watch will also have a Sapphire Crystal...
Sapphire is EXTREMELY scratch resistant...

With my mega gigantic hands, I can't even begin to imagine how they
get those Gems perfectly round to fit inside a gear that's the size of
a pencil tip.....and then drill those microscopic 
holes in the gems and then feed tiny little axles through them....
and then attach them to tiny little gears, etc....I know these guys must have the patience of the Saints to do it...
I'm sure modern machines can do this now...but this was all done by hand for centuries...

Being a Mechanical Engineer most of my life...I find it completely fascinating...

Am I the only one who noticed that Strummy needs to clean his watch???

Beagle
Am I the only one who noticed that Strummy needs to clean his watch???

He doesn't have time for that.

craigb

Beagle
Am I the only one who noticed that Strummy needs to clean his watch???

He doesn't have time for that.

I'll second that motion.