Question regarding extension tubes and a macro lens

Scotty Pro

Scotty Pro

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Was thinking about getting a set of extension tubes to attach to my 100mm Macro lens to get me more magnification.

Would it work or not ? my thinking is if I put an extension tube on the 100 Macro I should get a lot bigger image, or do they not work with dedicated Macro lenses?

Got my eye on a set on the bay and was going to give it a punt but if they will not give me the extra magnification I may as well not bother.

Anyone using such a set-up, what's it like, Pro's and Con's would be nice (y)
 
macro lens work well with tubes as youre extending the focal length and will indeed get in much closer to any subject you intend to shoot (y)

Ive just ordered a set of Kenko tubes to use with my Sigma 105mm f2.8D Macro lens- go for it

Les :D:D
 
Mine arrived 15 mins ago(y)

just need to get out and shoot now- but still awaiting a seperate delivery from Amazon ( lens) :razz:

Les :D:D
 
Lez325 said:
macro lens work well with tubes as youre extending the focal length and will indeed get in much closer to any subject you intend to shoot (y)

Ive just ordered a set of Kenko tubes to use with my Sigma 105mm f2.8D Macro lens- go for it

Les :D:D
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So, will the tube give me greater magnification on say, a butterfly at a distance of 1 foot than my 100mm would at the same distance.

Or will it allow me just to get closer ?????

I'm trying to get a better magnification without having the lens stuck in its eye :)
 
I might be wrong:thinking: but if you add 100mm of tubes to your lens it will make it a 2.1 ratio.
 
Scotty Pro said:
Or will it allow me just to get closer ?????

I'm trying to get a better magnification without having the lens stuck in its eye :)
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Extension tubes will allow you to get your camera closer to your subject. But don't just use them with your macro lens, they work really well with longer telephoto lens as well, I use my extension tubes a lot on my 70-200 f2.8 lens.
 
Nikon Fan said:
Extension tubes will allow you to get your camera closer to your subject. But don't just use them with your macro lens, they work really well with longer telephoto lens as well, I use my extension tubes a lot on my 70-200 f2.8 lens.
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That sounds interesting since I have a 70-200.

So the tubes will not give me greater magnification at the same distance, was hoping to get more of the subject in the frame at the same given distance. I think I'm explaining what I want :bonk: but I'm not very good with explanations :thumbsdown:
 
Nikon Fan said:
Extension tubes will allow you to get your camera closer to your subject. But don't just use them with your macro lens, they work really well with longer telephoto lens as well, I use my extension tubes a lot on my 70-200 f2.8 lens.
Click to expand...

Extension tubes work perfectly well with a macro lens. Your distance from the end of the lens to the subject will be less, but you will get more magnification. A TC used in conjunction with tubes will get you more magnification and not affect your working distance much.

See my thread here:
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=305176
 
Scotty Pro said:
That sounds interesting since I have a 70-200.

So the tubes will not give me greater magnification at the same distance, was hoping to get more of the subject in the frame at the same given distance. I think I'm explaining what I want :bonk: but I'm not very good with explanations :thumbsdown:
Click to expand...

Extension tubes allow you to focus closer than usual... So you get closer to the subject and it fills more of the frame.

A tele-converter (confusingly called an extender sometimes) sits between the lens and camera and magnifies the image, allowing you to fill the frame from a further distance.

It's perfectly possible to use them both together!
 
Putting ext. tubes on a Macro lens will most certainly increase your magnification however you will find that DoF is reduced down to millimetres. You do need to be really close to your subject. I found that photographing a baby jumping spider next to a pin head, the front of my lens was probably about 1cm away.

An exceptionally steady hand is required. An aperture of probably around F11 and LOTS of light.

Here's a couple of examples of what putting 3 Kenko Ext. tubes on a Sigma 105 can achieve. This baby jumping spider was approximately 2mm in length with a head of less than 1mm. Bear in mind the pin you see in these images is a standard pin that you would get in a new shirt so you get an idea of the size.

Linked instead of embedded as it's not my thread.


(the wee beastie is missing a leg)
http://ipc.smugmug.com/Close-Ups-Macro/Macro/IMG8338/930082192_oA58b-O.jpg

http://ipc.smugmug.com/Close-Ups-Macro/Macro/IMG8331/930081982_ibQxx-O.jpg
 
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incapete said:
That's a fair point... But you don't have to use them all at once! I get good results with just one or two.
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Agreed. The amount of tubes required would be subjective to the size of the subject and to exactly how much mag is required :)

Either way, it's never a bad thing having some tubes in amongst your kit :)
 
Scotty Pro said:
That sounds interesting since I have a 70-200.

So the tubes will not give me greater magnification at the same distance, was hoping to get more of the subject in the frame at the same given distance. I think I'm explaining what I want :bonk: but I'm not very good with explanations :thumbsdown:
Click to expand...

Extension tubes will enable a greater magnification but you must use dedicated tubes eg Canon or Kenko to maintain TTL metering and AF . There are cheap tubes available which have no electronic connections and these require manual focus and manual exposure using the camera's exposure index scale ... and a lens which has manual diaphragm control. You could also try using a good quality supplementary lens screwed into the filter thread ... preferably an achromat (doublet ie two lens elements) type eg Raynox.

dunk
 
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