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07/18/2011 02:30:11 PM · #1 |
| I really like shooting macro, but a real macro lens doesn't fit into my budget right now. Does anyone know whether these extension tubes are any good? I don't like buying online and this site has a shop which is not far from where I live. |
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07/18/2011 02:43:35 PM · #2 |
They should work, but they're difficult to master. They're manual focus only, and switching between aperture values is a huge pain in the ass. Here's how it's done on the Canon.
You have to take your lens off the extension tube and put it on the camera normally. change to A-DEP mode. change the aperture to f11-22. hold down the DOF lock button (on mine it's on the left side, just underneath the lens release). With the camera still on, and holding the lock button, remove the lens. Put the extension on.
If you need to change your aperture (it gets really dark, really fast - on bright days outside I'm usually ISO 400-800 to get around 1/100th-200th) you need to do that whole process again.
With that in mind though, you get some crazy closeups for not a lot of money. With that one being plastic, I'd be careful of not stripping where the lens attaches. I know you don't like online, but there's another cheap one that is made of metal, and probably isn't too much more expensive than the on you want to buy.
//www.amazon.com/Fotodiox-Extension-Extreme-Close-up-Digital/dp/B003Y60DZO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300831558&sr=8-1 |
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07/18/2011 03:04:22 PM · #3 |
Whoa! I never knew any of that!
Here's how I change:
Take lens off, put extension tubes and lens on...
Shoot in any mode I like, but manually focusing...
Message edited by author 2011-07-18 19:04:33. |
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07/18/2011 03:06:52 PM · #4 |
They all contain the same high resolution air. But as James said, you will be on complete manual. I have the Kenko tubes, which cost me about 1/3 of what a used 100mm 2.8 goes for. The Kenko's have pass through electrical contacts, so auto exposure and aperture changes do work as they are supposed to. I used one of them on my 70-300 for the current bugs challenge. Interestingly, I found my optimum focal length tended to be around 100mm give or take a bit.
Message edited by author 2011-07-18 19:08:43.
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07/18/2011 03:13:45 PM · #5 |
I spent about $25 dollars on mine and they are AF...therefore I can use them on any of my lens and have full benefits....look for a set of AF ones Canon should support that...
ETA:...I might have spent about $50...it's been awhile since I got them and I got Waddy  MelonMusketeer to help me choose mine
Message edited by author 2011-07-18 19:17:03. |
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07/18/2011 03:20:04 PM · #6 |
jamesgoss has me confused here. From the description:
Access Auto-focus and Aperture controls on attached lenses
I certainly wouldn't want to buy something that doesn't have automatic controls. I don't even trust my eyes to do manual focusing. |
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07/18/2011 03:22:56 PM · #7 |
they do make AF Extension Tubes for Canon 7D mind you I would shop this more...but at least you know they can do it (AF)
Message edited by author 2011-07-18 19:23:18. |
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07/18/2011 03:23:11 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by GinaRothfels:
jamesgoss has me confused here. From the description:
Access Auto-focus and Aperture controls on attached lenses
I certainly wouldn't want to buy something that doesn't have automatic controls. I don't even trust my eyes to do manual focusing. |
I just made an incorrect assumption about cheap tubes. These are actually a brand I have heard of, and they do appear to have electrical pass-through.
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07/18/2011 03:50:49 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:
Originally posted by GinaRothfels:
jamesgoss has me confused here. From the description:
Access Auto-focus and Aperture controls on attached lenses
I certainly wouldn't want to buy something that doesn't have automatic controls. I don't even trust my eyes to do manual focusing. |
I just made an incorrect assumption about cheap tubes. These are actually a brand I have heard of, and they do appear to have electrical pass-through. |
yep, you can disregard what I said about the process. That's the thing that's notorious about cheap tubes is that they have a lack of electrical support. The more expensive stuff has these contacts and allows for easy operation.
still, be prepared to mis-focus a lot, both in manual and automatic focus :D |
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07/18/2011 03:58:05 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by jamesgoss:
Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:
Originally posted by GinaRothfels:
jamesgoss has me confused here. From the description:
Access Auto-focus and Aperture controls on attached lenses
I certainly wouldn't want to buy something that doesn't have automatic controls. I don't even trust my eyes to do manual focusing. |
I just made an incorrect assumption about cheap tubes. These are actually a brand I have heard of, and they do appear to have electrical pass-through. |
yep, you can disregard what I said about the process. That's the thing that's notorious about cheap tubes is that they have a lack of electrical support. The more expensive stuff has these contacts and allows for easy operation.
still, be prepared to mis-focus a lot, both in manual and automatic focus :D |
I can live with mis-focusing. I've experienced plenty of that with my close-up filters too. As long as I don't have to go through all that other stuff you mentioned.
What I really wanted to know was whether this make is any good. |
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07/18/2011 03:59:56 PM · #11 |
I'm not sure if the price is equivalent, but I'm super happy with my Kenko brand extension tubes.
A set of three is cheaper than a single tube from Canon, and they have full electronic pass-through.
$170 on Amazon, metal bayonets too!
//www.amazon.com/Kenko-Auto-Extension-Canon-Mount/dp/B000U8Y88M
Message edited by author 2011-07-18 20:01:14. |
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07/18/2011 04:08:55 PM · #12 |
Thanks  Mousie. That price actually looks pretty similar. However the cost of getting anything sent to South Africa makes buying from foreign sites a nightmare. That price does make me feel better about the ones I'm looking at though. |
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07/18/2011 04:10:32 PM · #13 |
I don't know about their tubes, but Phottix makes some other products that I have heard positive things about from other DPC members.
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07/18/2011 04:10:38 PM · #14 |
Originally posted by GinaRothfels:
Originally posted by jamesgoss:
Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:
Originally posted by GinaRothfels:
jamesgoss has me confused here. From the description:
Access Auto-focus and Aperture controls on attached lenses
I certainly wouldn't want to buy something that doesn't have automatic controls. I don't even trust my eyes to do manual focusing. |
I just made an incorrect assumption about cheap tubes. These are actually a brand I have heard of, and they do appear to have electrical pass-through. |
yep, you can disregard what I said about the process. That's the thing that's notorious about cheap tubes is that they have a lack of electrical support. The more expensive stuff has these contacts and allows for easy operation.
still, be prepared to mis-focus a lot, both in manual and automatic focus :D |
I can live with mis-focusing. I've experienced plenty of that with my close-up filters too. As long as I don't have to go through all that other stuff you mentioned.
What I really wanted to know was whether this make is any good. |
You won't have to go through that other stuff.
As for good, it's hard to differentiate because the quality differences between all of these is going to be subtle. I don't like that they're plastic, but it won't effect the image at all. There's no glass in these, in any brand, they work by adding a space in front of your lenses. You can get the same effect by using a piece of PVC pipe (not recommending this), as all it does is add room before your glass.
the big difference between cheap and not cheap is the ability to control your aperture or not.
other than that, things to look at are just personal preferences. If you're going in person, check to see if the area where it mounts to the camera/lens is plastic. To me, this seems scary, as it could strip very very easily if you're not careful. Plastic tends to break more frequently when dropped (compared to metal), so that should be considered as well- although with how light these are, that may not make a difference.
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07/18/2011 04:16:05 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by GinaRothfels:
Thanks Mousie. That price actually looks pretty similar. However the cost of getting anything sent to South Africa makes buying from foreign sites a nightmare. That price does make me feel better about the ones I'm looking at though. |
Kenko stuff is imported to the US, and I believe they're available around the world from various outlets. They kind of have the 'buzz' when it comes to extension tubes... popular in online macro discussions... check around.
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07/18/2011 04:28:01 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by Mousie:
Originally posted by GinaRothfels:
Thanks Mousie. That price actually looks pretty similar. However the cost of getting anything sent to South Africa makes buying from foreign sites a nightmare. That price does make me feel better about the ones I'm looking at though. |
Kenko stuff is imported to the US, and I believe they're available around the world from various outlets. They kind of have the 'buzz' when it comes to extension tubes... popular in online macro discussions... check around. |
I found a link to Kenko tubes in South Africa. The price is about 2.5 times as much as the Phottix ones.
jamesgoss as far as I can tell from the photos, the mount is metal. Thanks, I will certainly check for that when I go to the shop. |
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07/18/2011 05:19:28 PM · #17 |
I own the set from amazon that jamesgoss referenced, except they are for Nikon. THey do not have any electrical contacts, so everything is entirely manual. To use them, one really needs a lens that has a manual aperture setting ring. I use them with my Tokina f/2.8 100mm macro. I put the camera in manual mode, open the aperture to f/2.8 so I can see to focus, then set the aperture where I want it for the shot. Of course, the camera is on a tripod for all of this. But for an extreme close-up it should be on a tripod anyway.
For 10 bucks they are hard to beat if you are willing to put up with a little inconvenience.
Oh yeah, at first I thought they would not work with my D80 because my camera gives an aperture error when they are mounted. Then I gave it a try in manual and just ignored the error and it worked fine. |
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07/18/2011 05:41:08 PM · #18 |
| I have the kenko set too, and I love it, I have the canon 12mm extender too and I find the kenko set to give me just as good results as Canon... the reason for getting the Kenko set was to have the other two extenders that come with it. |
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07/19/2011 03:25:22 AM · #19 |
| So nobody has Phottix? I really can't pay the South African price for Kenko. |
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07/19/2011 05:09:13 AM · #20 |
If the shop is near your house, maybe they will let you try the extenders. If they work and are easy to mount and remove, I think they will be fine.
Its not a very technical item, if your lens still works while mounted the tubes are fine.
I went with a set of canon 12mm and a 25mm since I have L glass and did not like the idea of a cheap item holding my glass off the concrete.
I have almost always used them stacked together (so 37mm total). I just used them on my macro without bugs or flowers entry.
Go and try them out, and ask questions on how to mount them, using them is pretty self explanatory, you will have a very short DOF and focus range. Enjoy! |
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07/19/2011 05:17:29 AM · #21 |
| Thanks amsterdamman. I just hope they will let me try them. |
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07/19/2011 06:37:16 AM · #22 |
Speaking of mis-focusing, the best way around that is by focus stacking. That's a technique in which you take a number of photos with different focus points and combine them to create a more focused image. My current Macro challenge shot is done using this technique. With 52mm of extension tubes on my camera, even at f/22 my depth of field was tiny. By taking 6 images and combining them I was able to get my entire subject into focus.
Here's a good intro to get you started: //www.digital-photography-school.com/an-introduction-to-focus-stacking |
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07/19/2011 06:46:39 AM · #23 |
| Thanks giantmike. I'll have to try that some time. Of course it won't work on a bug that refuses to keep still:) |
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07/19/2011 06:50:16 AM · #24 |
You can always squash the bug first, then the focus will all be in one very thin plane. : P
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07/19/2011 07:46:58 AM · #25 |
Originally posted by MelonMusketeer:
You can always squash the bug first, then the focus will all be in one very thin plane. : P |
Then it will keep still so focus stacking would be easy:) |
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