Extension tubes

ruffdog64

ruffdog64

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Harvey
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I'm hoping to do some macro photography and don't have the money to get proper macro lenses so I've been looking at extension tubes i`d be interested in peoples opinions who have used them,Harvey
 
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I have used both types, the cheap ones with no contacts and Kenko ones with electrical carry through..

Dont bother with the cheapo ones unless you are using lenses that let you set the aperture manually on the lens..

The Kenko ones are superb quality, and I still use them now with my 100mm macro lens. Money well spent IMHO.

Sam
 
I just got some Jessops tubes from here not 10 minutes ago, when they come will let you know how I get on with them. FWIW I also have the Canon 100mm Macro, the tubes are for a bit of an experiment.
 
Thanks for the replies,i`ll take a look at the jessops ones when there are back in stock, but would be interested when you have tried yours scotty:thumbs:
 
maximust said:
Hello

what is the purpose of extension tubes?

sorry to sound dumb
Click to expand...

Allows you to focus closer, in effect turns a normal lens into a macro lens.
And turns a macro lens into something that can focus really really close.

Being able to focus closed has the effect of making it look larger in the picture as you are closer.

Dont confuse it with magnification.

:)

Sam
 
sam_cat said:
Allows you to focus closer, in effect turns a normal lens into a macro lens.
And turns a macro lens into something that can focus really really close.

Being able to focus closed has the effect of making it look larger in the picture as you are closer.

Dont confuse it with magnification.

:)

Sam
Click to expand...

so can you use them with a non dedicated macro lens, just a lens which says macro on it.

if that makes sense :)
 
Extension tubes can be used with almost any lens but a really good one is the 50mm f1.8 which is extremely sharp and cheap.

Using 3 kenko tubes together you can easily get more than 1:1 on the sensor which means that when processed any subject can easily be 10-20 times normal size.

But I do recommend a tipod and manual focussing.

Also be aware that using a small aperture with any form of macro lens will really show up dust on your sensor.

.
 
Or you could just buy a Raynox
 
Extension tubes can be used with any lens, doesnt matter if it has MACRO written on it or not.
I have had my best success using a lens thats in the 50-100mm range (on a 1.6x crop body).

Doing macro your DOF becomes very very small so you WILL want to be at F11 or possibly higher to get a workable DOF.. Which means you will want plenty of light on your subject to be able to see to focus and for the exposure to be at a workable shutter speed.

Sam
 
agree with Sam in post #2. Dont bother with the ebay cheapos. Get the kenko or jessops with contacts, makes life easy.
 
Darthchaffinch said:
+1 for a raynox! Are they much different (in terms of effect) than ext tubes??
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Extension tubes have no glass/lens, so image quality is not degraded. Raynox is basically a magnifying glass on the front of your lens.
 
Would I be correct in thinking extension tubes are the better option?
 
Another thumbs up for Kenko tubes. Has contacts for AF confirmation to pass through, no optics means no loss of image quality either.
 
sam_cat said:
Being able to focus closed has the effect of making it look larger in the picture as you are closer.

Dont confuse it with magnification.

:)

Sam
Click to expand...

Erm, if you can get closer to the subject, then the magnification IS increased!!!!
 
strobemonkey said:
Extension tubes have no glass/lens, so image quality is not degraded.
Click to expand...

That's not strictly true. Any faults in the lens used will be magnified, also, using extension tubes on a lens not designed to close focus will take it outside its design parameters and can introduce faults. Supplementary close-up lenses are a very good way of getting in close with non-macro design lenses and even with macro lenses. I've used a +4 on a 120mm Zeiss Planar Makro mounted on a bellows on a Rollei 6006, giving me 3x mag on 6x6 film with excellent results. Here's an image to prove it:
lge_red_damselfly.jpg


Personally, I would use good quality (achromat) supplementary lenses in preference to extension tubes on non-macro lenses, because the light path through the lens is nearer the original design parameters.
 
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