Extension Tubes? - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM

08/21/2008 11:18:47 PM · #1

Hello everyone,

First off, I would like to say what an amazing site this is... huge community of photogs, and great contests.

Now, I am a student, and I do not have much money. My main interest in photography is macro, but I can't really afford a dedicated macro lens. I have heard quite a bit about extension tubes as a cheaper alternative. I was thinking to buy a Nikkor 50 f/1.8, along with a 25mm extension tube that would allow me to do some macro work, but also have a nice fast prime lens, for an affordable price.

Anything that I should know or look into before I purchase both?

Cheers!

Eric D.

cpanaioti

Canon EOS-40D

08/21/2008 11:30:06 PM · #2

You could get away with just the 50mm if you mount it reversed. All you'd need in addition to the lens is an adapter which has a lens mount on one end to attach to the camera and a male threaded end that is the same as the filter size as the 50mm lens.

Something like //www.diyphotography.net/diy_reverse_macro_ring

If you still want the extension tubes, kenko makes a set of three 12mm, 25mm and 36mm which can be used alone or stacked. The set runs < $100.

Message edited by author 2008-08-21 23:32:21.

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM

08/21/2008 11:32:23 PM · #3

Would it be useful to have three different extension tubes?

I'm also not very familiar with reverse lenses to be used as macro... so im going to stay clear of that.

cpanaioti

Canon EOS-40D

08/21/2008 11:37:28 PM · #4

Originally posted by EricD:

Would it be useful to have three different extension tubes?

I'm also not very familiar with reverse lenses to be used as macro... so im going to stay clear of that.

Having three makes your macro setup more flexible.

Why steer clear of the reversed lens setup? So you're not familiar with it. Google it and check it out.

08/21/2008 11:41:01 PM · #5

Hi, extension tubes work great for macro work... Depending on your subject...

I was in the same boat.... I didn't want to spend any money on a Macro lens, so I took that route... here's the thing...

I also have a D50 and here are your options (in used Prices)

sigma 50mm macro - $200
Nikon 60mm macro - $300

sigma 105mm - $350
Nikon 105mm - $500

and up from there...

I considered the first two options, but those lenses are not a large enough zoom to take pics of spiders and bugs because you have to get so close to them to get 1:1 ... you can get a 105mm, but even that can be a bit tricky too... i mean... 105mm would be fine, but WAY too expensive for me...

From what i know (SOMEONE Correct me if I am wrong...) extension tubes pretty much move the focus distance to behind the lens... what I am getting at, is if you get a nikon Series E 50mm from ebay ($20-$30 or so...) the minimum focus distance is about 0.45m... if you put an extension tube behind the lens, all it does it decreases this focusing range so you can focus a at a much close distance... BUT since the 50mm (yes, the Series E as well) is one of the SHARPEST lenses, even when you are up close, you will get very sharp results...

If you put several extension tubes on, you can get VERY good magnificaton although you have to have your subject VERY close to the front of your lens... THIS CAN BE A HUGE PROBLEM FOR BUG PICTURES....

there are several other issues though... you are making your lens LONGER, so you have a VERY shallow depth of field... When I use extension tubes, to get a tiny drop of water in full focus I have to stop down to f/22, and even then, it's tricky...

At first, I bought some extension tubes, but I was not that pleased with the amount of magnification (not enough) soooo I got an old set of Bellowes used off of ebay... it's like a long accordian extension tube... (i needed an entension tube on the rear of the bellowes to get them to mount on my D50...

The verdict: Extension Tubes / Bellowes are AMAZING for Still Life, but no good for an active subject...

Here is a pic I took with my Nikon Series E and Bellowes (lens cost about $20, extension tube cost $10, and bellowes cost $46... so total of approximately $70-$80) I used a nikon SB-28 on a SC-29 cord to light it from the side...

the tip of the leap was about 2cm away from the front of my lens for that one...

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II

08/21/2008 11:52:06 PM · #6

Here is a Pic of my setup

Bujanx

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

08/21/2008 11:54:01 PM · #7

I wasn't sure about extension tubes so I bought a really cheap set from dealexteme.com

Tube 1

tube 2

Maybe an idea to see if you like how tubes perform and then you can step up to something more expensive?

08/22/2008 12:06:50 AM · #8

on a side note.... an adapter for reversing a lens works very good too.... but not the best on a 50mm lens... it will work much better on a wide angle lens... like an old MF nikon 24mm lens.... the good thing about the old nikon lenses is that most of the Prime lenses are all 52mm thread, and most of the reversal rings (? BR-2 i think ?) screw onto the 52mm thread of the lens...

they basically are thin metal discs that have a nikon F mount like the back of your lenses on one side, and a (in most cases) 52mm male thread on the other so they can screw onto the front of your lens...

Try it reight now... take off your 50mm lens, hold teh front of it up to your body backwards and look through the viewfinder... (just don't take a picture without the lens attached because you can get dust in your sensor... well unless you know what you are doing, because that is actually how you clean your sensor... bla bla bla...

man, i just keep on rambling on don't I ??? well it's 12:03am over here and i'm bored off my ass... sorry... =)

Message edited by author 2008-08-22 00:08:12.

08/22/2008 12:22:01 AM · #9

Thanks Shutter-For-Hire

I actually just calculated the cost of getting a 50 f/1.8 + extension tube... it works out to be about $250 give or take...

A sigma 50 f/2.8 dedicated macro lens is $280... think ill go for the dedicated lens.

08/22/2008 12:23:28 AM · #10

Two more comparison pics...

Here is a regular pic of a show box...

Here is a shot of one of the small "10" numbers on the box taken with my bellows set-up

.

Message edited by author 2008-08-22 07:06:27.

08/22/2008 12:27:11 AM · #11

There are some good deals on ebay... that's where I buy all my stuff.. but then again... not everyone is a fan of ebay... so it's your call

Just a completely random question for you Eric... any chance you went to York University in Toronto, Ontario?

I ask because your name sounds familiar...

thought you might be someone I had in a photography class and he had the same camera as you...

MelonMusketeer

Nikon D7000

Nikon MF 50mm f/1.4

08/22/2008 12:37:33 AM · #12

If you are going to go to the trouble to shoot with a reversed 50mm or with manual ext tubes, you may want to have a look at getting an older manual 55mm Micro Nikkor on eBay or Amazon. They usually sell for around or under $100, and both the 2.8 and the 3.5 are excellent for both macro and normal shooting. They will get down to 2/1 without an ext tube, and 1/1 with a medium length ext tube.
Metering may not work with the older Ai lenses and the D50. It's that way with the Fuji that I use, but the focusing will be at full aperture, with auto stop down when you trip the shutter so I use the LCD and histogram for a meter.

08/22/2008 12:45:42 AM · #13

yea, a 55mm is a great idea too, and i have seen them for the same price... Now, put one of those on a bellowes, and then your set =)

MelonMusketeer

Nikon D7000

Nikon MF 50mm f/1.4

08/22/2008 01:08:36 AM · #14

There is a 55 2.8 with sticky focus on Fleabay now for $49, buy it now. The focus has a "rough" spot, but otherwise all ok. It's 6 days 21 hrs out.

08/22/2008 01:16:47 AM · #15

I'll look into the 55 f/2.8...

Shutter-For-Hire, sorry, I have not attended York University.

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM

08/23/2008 01:07:32 PM · #16

I've just recently come across the Canon 500d... Would that be better to get than extension tubes?

cpanaioti

Canon EOS-40D

08/23/2008 01:08:33 PM · #17

Originally posted by EricD:

I've just recently come across the Canon 500d... Would that be better to get than extension tubes?

Extension tubes are always better than a closeup type filter.

levyj413

Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max

Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Nikon

08/23/2008 01:46:19 PM · #18

Originally posted by EricD:

Just one more thing to consider: extension tubes turn any lens into a macro lens, with varying focal lengths. The magnification is the ratio of the focal length to the size of the extension tube.

On the other hand, what shutter-for-hire said is true: extension tubes make lenses focus extremely close.

So you're going to get different functionality out of the two options; it's not a straight-up cost comparison.

Have fun either way!

DarkRider

Nikon D300

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

08/23/2008 01:49:33 PM · #19

quick question....?

does adding the ETs change the angle of view?? Does a 50mm stay a 50mm?

levyj413

Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max

Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Nikon

08/23/2008 03:10:52 PM · #20

Originally posted by DarkRider:

quick question....?

does adding the ETs change the angle of view?? Does a 50mm stay a 50mm?

If you mean "If I look through the lens and see what's included in the shot, and then put an extension tube on, do I see the same stuff?" then no. It's not as wide angle.

But it won't matter. You'll have to move much closer to your subject anyway, so that'll radically narrow the field of view compare to no extension tube.

08/23/2008 04:40:14 PM · #21

Just to add to this... For fun, I tried putting an extension tube on my kit 18-55mm lens... it DOES work... BUT wide open at 18mm (27mm when put in comparison to the 50mm) the results were VERY poor

Anyone want to guess why?? pop Quiz... WHY???

it has to do with that little 'G' included in the name of the lens...

'G series lenses have NO apperture ring... SOOOO you CAN'T select the aperture manually with the lens

Basically, when you mount a lens on an extension tube (unless maybe it is a newer expensive one) it's like you are mounting it on a very old manual focus camera... what this means is that the lens is FIXED at it's widest aperture... this gives you like NO depth of field with an extension tube...

take for example the leaf pic I showed below... i had to stop down to f/22 and even that was JUST barely enough... try taking that picture at f/3.5! it will look like a big blurry out of focus mess...

Just a little note for people who think that extension tubes will work on lenses with no aperture ring... they will NOT do what you want them to do...

BUT BUT BUT... there may be some sort of extension tube that will communicate between the camera body and a newer G series lens... i don't know of any though...

.

Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Nikon

08/23/2008 05:34:48 PM · #22

I think kenko has some .

What extension tube did you specifically use? Some now you can use auto focus with, metering works, aperture, shutter, etc.

levyj413

Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max

08/23/2008 05:52:05 PM · #23

Originally posted by Shutter-For-Hire:

... the lens is FIXED at it's widest aperture.

Unless you buy extension tubes with electrical contacts, like the Kenko tubes I have. I don't have to set the aperture on the lens; I do it through the camera, just like for a normal shot.