# Macro extension tubes



## adhocphotographer (Oct 3, 2012)

Hi guys,

Been having fun with a reversed nifty-fifty (attached) but want to get a bit crazy by adding extension tubes... can anyone recommend any, or any advice on what to avoid?

thanks,

John


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## charlesa (Oct 3, 2012)

Kenko produce a high quality set


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## adhocphotographer (Oct 3, 2012)

Thanks... was looking at those. I can even find them in India for the European price too...


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## neuroanatomist (Oct 3, 2012)

Since tubes contain only air, not optics, you just need a set that provide the necessary electrical contacts. Kenko are good, I have a Canon 25mm II, but only because I got it used for very cheap.


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## bkorcel (Oct 3, 2012)

Actually you need to make sure the tubes fit tight. I tried some 3rd party tubes and they fit loose...flexed a bit which was causing me all kinds of issues. So I too found a used Canon set cheap that fit tight. If all seems well with the Kenko then go with them.


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## BK (Oct 3, 2012)

I bought a set of Zeikos macro tubes a while back. They've got plastic lens mounts and after just a couple of uses the mount on every tube was cracked and leaving bits of black plastic. I was outside of the return period for Amazon and Zeikos wanted $12.00 for me to send them back as a warranty repair. I decided it wasn't worth it and threw the tubes away.

I hear great things about the Kenko tubes however. They are more expensive, but have metal mounts and look considerably more robust than what I originally got.


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## cayenne (Oct 3, 2012)

adhocphotographer said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> Been having fun with a reversed nifty-fifty (attached) but want to get a bit crazy by adding extension tubes... can anyone recommend any, or any advice on what to avoid?
> 
> ...



What a great image!!!

Can you tell a noob what a "reversed nifty fifty" is??

Thanks in advance,

cayenne


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## Sony (Oct 3, 2012)

Yes, Kenkos are good. I have all 3 of them with 100mmL f/2.8.


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## neuroanatomist (Oct 3, 2012)

cayenne said:


> Can you tell a noob what a "reversed nifty fifty" is??



It's when you mount a lens, usually a normal prime, 'backwards' (front element towards camera) using a reversing adapter ring. It cam be mounted directly to the body, or to the front filter threads of another lens, depending on the adapter type. A reversed lens is one of the many ways of shooting macro without a true macro lens.


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## cayenne (Oct 3, 2012)

neuroanatomist said:


> cayenne said:
> 
> 
> > Can you tell a noob what a "reversed nifty fifty" is??
> ...



OH wow.....that's incredibly interesting!!!

Thank you.....I'll have to look into this. Can this be done with most any lens? What lenses are your best candidates for this....?

C


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## knkedlaya (Oct 3, 2012)

Avoid ignoring the tripods when using extension tubes . If you are going more than 1:1 magnification tripod is must have. The DOF is much less even at or beyond f8, hand held precise focusing becomes extremely tricky. Some times flash also helps.
One sample at f8 with 100mm + 25mm extension tube.


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## sb (Oct 3, 2012)

adhocphotographer said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> Been having fun with a reversed nifty-fifty (attached) but want to get a bit crazy by adding extension tubes... can anyone recommend any, or any advice on what to avoid?
> 
> ...



It's hard to make a mistake with tubes other than paying too much for Canon ones  Kenko all the way - they work great and are reasonably priced.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Oct 3, 2012)

As noted, you can get really cheap tubes that perform well, but, there is no way to know what you are getting from cheap no name brands. Kenko and Canon are both excellent, and I've owned both, but sold them after getting a cheap set aloong with a used camera that worked for me, They are branded Rokunar, are plastic, have a plastic camera mount, electrical contacts, and after 25 years, are still fine. I would not use them with a heavy lens, but with ordinary lenses like a 70-200mm f/4 or similar weight there is no issue. I've also used them with my 70-200mm f/2.8 and 100-400L, but only when the lens is supported by its tripod mount. 
With this type of cheapie tubes, the joint between the tubes opens up under a heavy load, which then distorts the image. Mine have never taken any sort of a permanent set, and I knew what to look for, so I did not have any issues in use.
When using reversing rings, you need to be able to set the aperture of tthe lens in use. Some lenses can have a lever taped, or will stop down with just the aperture ring. Others, like the Canon FD are difficult to stop down unless mounted to a Canon body, or a adapter that will stop them down.


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## RAKAMRAK (Oct 3, 2012)

cayenne said:


> neuroanatomist said:
> 
> 
> > cayenne said:
> ...



As Neuro said, it is mounting the lens "fron element towards camera". For this you will need a "##mm reverse mounting ring" (do an amazon search to see what those look like). The ## stands for the front filter thread size of your lens. So for example the nifty fifty you will need "52mm reverse mounting ring for canon/EOS/EF". These are just black anodized metal rings - one side of which looks like the rear side mount of the lens and this mounts on the camera, the other side has the 52mm (or 55mm or 58mm or whatever mm) thread where you screw the lens. So first you screw on the ring on the lens as if it was a filter and then mount this "filter" on the camera using the mounting side of the ring. This is just one way for doing Macro photography with what you have without spending too much on a true macro lens. But this technique makes the use of a tripod almost mandatory. On top of that since you loose all AF capability (unless you chip the reverse mounting ring with third party AF confirmation chip, has anyone tried this?) you will probably need something like a "macro focusing rail" (again do a google or amazon search) for achieving good focus.

The other way of doing macro (without macro lens) is using extension tubes. These are just metal/plastic tubes that mount the lens away from the image plane and achieve macro images. I prefer metal tubes. No plastic tubes. Again as Neuro said (here and in some other posts) "kenko air" is as valuable as "canon air". So any extension tube (for me as long as they are metal) works. These tubes generally come in a set of three pieces of different lengths, by using different combinations of these you can achieve different tube length and so different magnifications. You mount the tube on the camera and then mount the lens at the end of the tube. Here you can either mount the lens in the normal way or reversed as described above. For the second method you will need the reverse ring of the above paragraph. The use of tripod and macro focusing rail becomes essential again. Kenko and some other companies make tubes which give focus confirmation (and may be AF, aperture control). But there are other much cheaper alternatives (just metal or plastic tubes, no connectivity) which do not provide such connection between lens and camera. If you mount the lens reversed on tubes, then you loose AF etc anyway.

Most of the lenses starting with 50mm to wider focal lengths work perfectly when reversed. I have not been able to achieve good results with 85mm or longer.

Canon EF lenses do not have aperture control on the lens body (you control it directly from camera). Thus I find it a bit awkard to use either nifty fifty or any other EF lens for this reverse or tube method. I need to first stop down lens while normally mounted on the camera body. Then I have to unmount the lens while keeping the Depth of Field Preview button pressed so that the lens remain stopped down even when unmounted. Then I can use the lens on tube or reversed. The stopping down of the lens is to achieve a little bit more depth of field, as the above methods (reverse or tube or reverse on tube) make the DOF of the order of 1 to 2 MILLIMETERS. For this, lenses which offer aperture control (example older pentax, or non-G nikon, probably FD) are better suited.

Finally to repeat myself, I have found that any extension tube works as long as it is made of metal (assuming you are not looking for AF or aperture control). The lenses that you are going to mount (50mm or below, the lighter versions) are not so heavy that they will create problem. of course 35mm L or 24mm L may create problems. So avoid heavy lenses.


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## RobertG. (Oct 4, 2012)

Hi, I just have the Canon 12mm II tube, which allows me to use my cheap EF-S 60mm macro on my ff 5DII. The autofocus works, although slower than without the tube. The vignetting is noticeable but it can be croped away...


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## adhocphotographer (Oct 4, 2012)

Thanks for the advice and comments guys... think i'll the Kenko ones as I can actually buy them here in India! 

reversing my nifty-fifty is great 2 lenses for 100€, both getting good results! no brainer for anyone (like me) who wanted to give macro a bash!


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## wickidwombat (Oct 4, 2012)

Anyone tried reversing a 100 macro?


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## RAKAMRAK (Oct 4, 2012)

wickidwombat said:


> Anyone tried reversing a 100 macro?



I have not. But will it work? Because the wider the lens the more the magnification - I think basically the wider angle of view now works in reverse. The 100 macro should not be that great a macro lens (as it is straight on) when reversed. But this is all my conjecture.


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## RAKAMRAK (Oct 5, 2012)

adhocphotographer said:


> Thanks for the advice and comments guys... think i'll the Kenko ones as I can actually buy them here in India!
> 
> reversing my nifty-fifty is great 2 lenses for 100€, both getting good results! no brainer for anyone (like me) who wanted to give macro a bash!



Just for my curiosity. How much does the Kenko tubes cost in Indian Rs. (I am Indian, but right now in USA for studies, have never bought any camera equipment in India, so just want to know). If you want you can send me a personal message.


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## adhocphotographer (Oct 5, 2012)

RAKAMRAK said:


> Just for my curiosity. How much does the Kenko tubes cost in Indian Rs. (I am Indian, but right now in USA for studies, have never bought any camera equipment in India, so just want to know). If you want you can send me a personal message.



11,500 INR http://www.gadgets.in/kenko-dg-extension-tube-for-c-af-s-lens.html#
About on a par with EU prices...


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## hash (Apr 17, 2013)

adhocphotographer said:


> Thanks... was looking at those. I can even find them in India for the European price too...



Hi nice shot!!

Can you please tell me where i can find reverse lense adapter and extetion tube for cannon 450D in india?

i am leaving in Pune Maharashtra


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