[Leica] Light Diffusing Tent Advice

[henningw at archiphoto.com (Henning Wulff)]

>I'm looking at purchasing a small light diffusing tent to place 
>items inside for macro photography. The tent should be approximately 
>24"X24"X24" and have ceiling and walls that are translucent.
>
>Preferably I would like something that opens at the top to allow a 
>daylight balanced spot light to light up the interior and be made of 
>a material that will allow flash light to penetrate the walls and 
>ceiling.
>
>Anyone using a setup like this that can give some pointers or make 
>recommendations?
>
>TIA.
>
>Greg
>

I needed something like this a number of years ago (say about 20 and 
finally had a cone formed by a local plastics company. For my needs a 
cone of translucent white 1/4" acrylic with a diameter of 2' and a 
height of the same size, with a top hole of about 3.5 in diameter, 
and not completely closed, with a gap of 3 in running down one side 
proved to be the right thing.

Acrylic sheeting comes in various thicknesses and degrees of 
translucency, so you have to specify these things. Light could be 
shone on the surface of the cone; a high intensity spot could be 
shone anywhere from the top all the way down to horizontal through 
the slit, and the camera could look in from anywhere the spot didn't. 
Sometimes I also put the whole thing on a flat sheet of glass or 
acrylic to allow lighting or shooting from below.

If you want to try something, get a protective collar that dog owners 
use to prevent their pets from scratching or getting at their heads. 
They often come in a fairly flexible white translucent plastic that 
is suitable. I've used that.

Some camera manufacturers offer these types of cones for sale at high 
markups, and not necessarily with the size/features you want. Mine 
cost 1/3 what I could get commercially made.

-- 
    *            Henning J. Wulff
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