Aiming Lights for the
Nikonos V Closeup Kit
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Get a fish into the framer of your closeup lens?
Are you kidding? Maybe a fish in the supermarket. Here's a way to use your Nikonos V closeup lens without the framer. It's very accurate for both aiming the camera and getting the critter in the proper "plane of focus." You'll put one light on each side of the Nikonos, mounted to the strobe tray. When the two lights converge into one on the garibaldi, your subject is exactly in the center of the picture, and is perfectly within the plane of focus. This method uses the Sea&Sea double-strobe tray, two UK Q-40 miniature dive lights ($20 each), two 1-13/16 x 5 joist ties, and two 1/4 inch stove bolts. |
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Drill a centered 1/4-inch hole, 1/2 inch from one
end. (There's usually a smaller hole here already.) 7/8 inch from the end you drilled, make a 3/16th inch notch on each side. |
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| About 1-1/4 inch up the joist tie, cut down to the notch on each side. The area surrounding the drilled hole will be the base support for your light holder. | At the other end, cut off a corner to remove about 5/16 inch from the long direction and one inch from the short side. This cut forms the end of the tab that holds the light. | Cut down from the new corner, at 90 degrees from the tab end, for a length of 1-1/8 inch. Cut in 1/4 inch to meet this cut. Cut out the opposite side to match, to form the shape shown below. |
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This is the completed shape and dimensions prior
to bending. The forward-leaning notch (top right in the picture) is where the front of the
flashlight sits. Before bending the metal, nip off a tiny piece of each corner to round the edges. File the corners smooth. (Note: the joist tie doesn't appear perfectly square in the picture due to distortion caused by the macro lens.) |
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Holding the side that will receive the flashlight
face up, bend 1/8-inch tabs down on each side of the base support (where you drilled the
hole). Now bend the metal upwards, making an angle of about 110 degrees with the base support. |
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Bend the top tab inward (towards the base plate),
forming a 90 degree curve matching the curve of the UK-Q40 light. Test to see that the tab
slides through the light's holding bracket and fits snuggly. Now twist the body of the holder diagonally so it angles inward about 15 degrees at the front. |
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Use the mask-strap holder of the UK Q-40 to
attach the light as shown. Fine tune the bending of the metal. This gives a fairly solid
temporary mount for the light. (However, the mask-strap holder can be pulled off by rough
handling or kelp entanglement. The benefit of using the strap holder is: you can easily
remove the light and attach it to your mask. Disadvantage: you may lose the light.) |
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For a semi-permanent mounting, use two plastic cable ties. Insert the ties under the strap bracket, but over the metal support as shown. Thread the ties through the pre-punched holes, or drill your own. Pull the cable ties tight, and clip the ends. |
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| Attach the base support using the existing hole in the Sea&Sea strobe tray. Adjust the bending of the tabs, if necessary. Check to be sure the camera body clears the metal edges, and that you can rotate the strobes to take them off the tray without running into your new mounting bracket. |
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Make another light-holder that's the
mirror image of the first. Attach both of your aiming lights and the Nikonos closeup framer. Rest the camera with the framer against a solid background, making sure the camera is straight on the strobe tray. Fiddle with the curve of the tab, and the twist of the arm of the lightholder, until both lights shine exactly in the center of the framer. You're done! |
Before each "closeup" dive, attach the framer and check the accuracy of your aiming lights. Then take the framer off to go diving. You're going to get some great closeup fish pictures now!
