About macro extension tubes – P365 Nov03
This humble aluminium tube has opened up a whole new photographic world for me. The world of the small.
A series of tubes
All lenses have a limit to how close they can focus. A typical lens, for example, may not be able to focus on anything closer than 30cm. This is because as objects move closer to the lens, the focal point moves further back, eventually beyond the plane of the film or sensor. An obvious way around this problem is to move the lens further away from the camera. That’s what macro extension tubes do.
The macro extension tubes that I use are very cheap and simple. As you can see from the second photo above, it comes in five sections. At each end is a bayonet ring for mounting the tube to the lens and camera body (in this case Canon EOS). In between those any combination of three threaded tubes of varying length can be used to change the extension by varying degrees. That’s all there is to these tubes, nothing more.
Pros and cons
As with all compromises, there are trade-offs to the solution. This is especially true of a cheap, bare-bones solution like mine. Here’s the costs/benefits of tubes like mine:
- Moving the lens out from the camera sets an upper limit to how far away you can focus the lens.
- There is no auto function control over the lens, such as aperture or focus.
- The threads can be accidentally overtightened and thus become very difficult to seperate.
- The centre of gravity is moved forward and there is no tripod mounting collar, putting greater stress on the camera body’s lens mount.
- Moving the lens out and focusing closer makes the light rays more parallel at the focus point. This causes increased chromatic abberation which is much more obvious in high contrast macro photos.
- No aperture control means that in order to change it, the lens has to be set to the desired aperture while on the camera body, then with the camera on, removed from the body while holding the depth of field preview button to keep the iris at the desired aperture.
- Using the DOF preview hack to control the lens aperture, along with the fact that small scenes have less light on them, makes for an exceptionally dark view through the viewfinder.
- With no autofocus and a dark viewfinder, focusing manually can be extremely difficult.
- A natural and unavoidable effect of macro photography is an extremely small depth of field. This increases the need for a small aperture and the resulting dark viewfinder even more.
- Extreme close-up macro photos put the lens so close to the subject, lighting it can be very difficult. Side or back lighting may become your only options, as the lens gets in the way of the light.
- As there is no data connection between the camera and the lens, the camera has no idea what lens is attached, and as such much possibly useful information will not be stored in the images’ EXIF metadata. (Thanks to whipartist for this point, found via this discussion thread.)
Strengths
- Photographic opportunities otherwise unavailable (without very expensive specialist lenses) are possible.
- Dirt cheap! (Mine cost $30AUD including shipping)
- Works with most lenses, except for those with very short focal lengths.
- A light and compact addition to your gear. I carry mine with me everywhere.
- Useful even with telephoto lenses. A long lens is great for making things bigger, but they can’t focus very close at all. An extension tube can allow you to enlarge with the telephoto but still maintain a good working distance.
- Mechanically simple. There’s not much that can go wrong with these.
- They’ll get you thinking about new ways to take photos. Extension tubes make your lenses a whole lot more flexible, and don’t just have to be for photos of insects or flowers.
Alternatives
There are, of course, ways around many of these problems. The most obvious one (and one to which I one day plan to graduate) is using official brand name extension tubes. They most likely have the needed connections to allow full control of the lens from the camera, and each tube is bayonetted, making swapping and stacking them far simpler. Of course this makes them more complicated and more expensive solutions. The ability to keep auto focus and apeture control is a huge advantage likely worth the cost, however. Here’s an example of one Canon extension tube. Note the cost for a single extension, compared to that of my five piece no-name tube.
If you have a bigger budget, or enjoy macro photography enough to justify the cost, you can buy specialised macro lenses. These are great for macro photography. They eliminate many of the problems, especially chromatic aberation, and can get you extremely close to the subject. Also, extension tubes can even be fitted to these, resulting in the possibility of some insanely huge macro magnification. They are specialised optics, however, and can be quite expensive, especially when compared to extension tubes.
Lighting for macro
This can be an extremely tricky and frustrating issue. In fact it’s worthy of a detailed post in itself, so I’ll only mention it briefly here. There are many possible solutions, including:
- Shooting in a light tent.
- Using reflectors.
- A professional ring flash.
- A macro flash bracket.
- Or even a super cheap and fast hack.
Final thoughts and links
Ever since I got these tubes, I’ve loved shooting macro photos. It’s a lot of fun and gives so many new opportunities. It’s a challenge to be sure, but that’s part of the fun. I plan to upgrade to “real” extension tubes in the future, but when the entry level gear is so cheap, there’s no reason at all not to try your own hand at macro photography.
Here’s some useful and inspirational links about macro photography:
- Macro group photo pool at Flickr.
- Equipment Options for Macro Photography at Epic Edits weblog.
- No Cropping Zone a blog about macro photography.
- How To: DIY $10 Macro Photo Studio at Strobist.
- Macro photogarphy at Wikipedia.
Some of my macro photos
very interesting. i will have to try this. i love macrophotography. i don’t have a lot of money to spend on expensive lenses. even if I did, I have not digital slr to put expensive lenses on.
i have a couple of cameras with lens mounts and extension tubes. I’ll try this method of enhancing their macro ability.
thanks for the detailed tip, and for the pros and cons of this method.
Wow Neil, you’ve really put together a great resource on the subject! I’m a big fan of the extension tube as an introductory method of macro photography. But even after you “graduate” to more sophisticated equipment, they’re still worth hanging onto. On several occasions, I’ve coupled my extension tube to my macro lens — great for those really small subjects.
My Canon Extension tube EF25 has electric contacts and is transmitting all lens functions.
Thanks for the comments folks, I’m glad you enjoyed the article. I love it when you can spend a little bit of money and get a lot of results, so I wanted to get the word out about the fun I’ve had with these :)
Hi, thanks for the article I love it.., anyway I am beginner in photography, never have experience about it. Recently I bought DSLR camera and I also bought this extension tube, and I think I just wasting my money because I don’t know how to set my camera to use this stuff..Last time I had tried to adjust my camera to manual setting but it didn’t work ..My camera caught nothing…just darkness..too bad.
Would you please to assists me to use this stuff? Please..My camera is Nikon DSLR D40X..Thanks
Great article! I’m convinced, I just ordered a set of those tubes off ebay!
I just got my set in the mail, which i ordered off of ebay after reading this post. All I can say is these are great fun and if you use the whole stack and set your lens to the widest aperture you great a tiny depth of field (as seen Here
@Crozzier – It’s a bit hard to help with such a general query. My suggestions would be to make sure everything is connected properly, then make sure you’re not just missing the focus point. The DOF is VERY narrow with macro. Zoom yout lens all the way out then go thru your full focus range. If you can’t find focus there, pull back the zoom a bit, and do the same. Repeat till you find focus.
@Chris, @Matt – Have fun with your tubes! I love mine :) Thanks for sharing your photos Matt, some very nice ones there!
im using d300 and 105vr micro and this kind of extension tube. why am i getting and aperture of 0? is there any settings im missing?
@marke: The reason for that is that the extension tubes do not have data connections between the lens and the camera. The aperture is set in the lens, but because the camera cannot communicate with the lens, it displays an aperture of f0. The lens, by default will be open at its widest aperture. If you want to change the lens’ aperture, you need to put it back on the camera and use the DOF preview trick described in the article above. Good luck!
can i use two sets of extension tube..like for example two sets of kenko extension tube, a total of 136mm. can i use it at the same time?
hello, I have a nikon D40x, but this camera dosn’t have the DOF button, so, what should I do to keep the aperture at a desired
settings…
but, I think it won’t be a problem, with my Nikon AF-D 50mm f/1.8 lens, because on this it can be adjusted the aperture manualy, Thanks anyway…
i’ve just got the exact same tubes as yours but don’t know how to use them. as you mentioned, it is very dark through the viewfinder, and i can’t seem to get focus, even manually. As nycko, i too am using the 50mm f1.8 so can i adjust aperture directly from the ring?
YES, robbie, you can, I`m using this extension tube since monday this week, it’s working very well, you’ll need a lot of light, set the aperture to f1.8, the focus at min. 0,45 m and you’l have move very close to the subject, good luck, if you have further problems don’t hesitate to ask on kynczo@gmail.com…
Thanks, nycko. gonna try it out tomorrow in the garden. will probably be contacting you again if i run into trouble. :)
tried and it works. i just gotta master my shake or get a better tripod. thanks.
if you’re curious, this is the most successful shot with the tubes.
http://www.zooomr.com/photos/ciewkui/5269711/
(pls don’t flame me for posting the link. just sharing that the tubes DO work, and works very well)
:)
I’m glad you managed to work with it, it was my pleasure helping you, I wish you nice shots with it…
very nice shot robbie, I like your gallery, keep up the good work…
Thanks a lot nycko for helping Robbie with their query. I’ve been unable to reply to all the blog comments recently, so I really appreciate you helping out :) I hope you’re having fun with your extension tubes Robbie!
No problem at all, Thank you, to sharing with us your experience and for your wonderful macro shots, recently I updated my D40x to a D80, so I have a new “toy” to play with, take care…
I’m looking for some help – I bought a set of these tubes on ebay for my Oly E-510 and tried them out today, but I can’t separate the tube from the lens! Has anyone got any suggestions? it seems jammed and I don’t want to break the lens
so, it’s very easy, there is a metal button on the tube set, you need to pull, or push it backwards and, than the tube will release the lens, but do it very gently… I hope you’ll be able to separate them, good luck…
Thanks nycko – now I feel so dumb, the button didn’t seem to do anything, but it turns out it was really stiff and just needed more pressure, the lens is now free – phew!!
Thanks again for your help
Just to follow-up to IainMac’s question re the lens being stuck to the ring – THANKS to nycko for the answer! I’ve always used my extension tubes with my Holga lens which just twist off. Today I wanted a different effect and put on my usual autofocus lens. As soon as it went on I thought, oh bugger, how will I get it off again?? I didn’t realise the screw was a LEVER to release it. I spent an age screwing with it (literally) and had convinced myself it would have to be hacked off. Maybe this could be mentioned in the body of the text above, because the gizmo came with no instructions?
Help! I bought a set of extension tubes for my D200 nikon. Same problem as Robert and Iain- no instructions and cannot get the damn adaptor off of the Lens. I emailed the seller but he knows less than nothing! the adaptor ring is fitted to the lens itself so do I have to depress or pull [out] the small chrome button to release it? and just to make sure- which way does it then unscrew if I hold the lens pointing away from my body [as if attached to the camera to shoot] I am loosing sleep over my lens being damaged! By the way, great pics!
Denis
with the lens pointing away from your body use your thumb to slide or pull the button towards you, hold it there and twist off the lens.
I hope this explains it and you can release your lens.
Good luck
Iain
The pressure you apply with your thumb should be away from the lens and parallel to the side of the tube.
Is this making sense? It is difficult to describe.
;-]
Iain
Hi Iain, Thank you for the advice. The ring seems to be firmly stuck! This may well be due to the excessive pulling and pushing I have carried out over the last few days….I am going to take to a repair shop just in case. I can’t afford to mess up the lens as couldn’t afford to replace it. Many thanks for input much appreciated. Best regards Denis
Hi,
Bought a cheap extension tube from ebay. when the tube and lens is connected to the D80, the f– keeps blinking as if no lens has been attached to the camera. Appreciate if somebody could help how to get this working.
Many thanks & regards,
Ajai
Hi Neil,
thank you for the explanation about extension tubes, now I have a question which is that I’m going to buy a canon EF 100mm 2.8 macro lens and i’m wondering if buying the extension tube Ef 25mm II with it is a good idea or ot..thank you very much :)
Great article
Nocturnus, a 25mm tube will be a good addition to that lens.
I wish to take some time to clarify some of the points made by Neil, if I may.
Almost all of the disadvantages claimed by Neil can be remedied by buying more expensive tubes. Kenko, for example, make tubes that pass through the aperture data so all the pre-aperture and dark screen focus screen stuff can be ignored. They are also far cheaper than the Canon ones. Most macro focusing is done manually anyway, so AF is not really needed.
So in short, don’t buy the cheapest you can find and your entry into the world of macro will be a lot more fun. And the good news? Extension tubes can be used on your macro lens for even better results!
Hi Neil Creek and Guys,
I have one Nikon D50 and I am going to buy one set tube. I just don’t understand “No aperture control means that in order to change it, the lens has to be set to the desired aperture while on the camera body, then with the camera on, removed from the body while holding the depth of field preview button to keep the iris at the desired aperture.” Could you tell me more detail how to do this? Give one example maybe more helpful.I am new learner on my DSLR.
Thanks,
What i wsa describing was a hack to have control over the aperture setting when using “dumb” extension tubes that don’t connect electronically to the camera. The only way to set the aperture of the lens is with this trick. First, with the lens you want to use with the extension tubes mounted on the camera, you set your desired aperture. Then, with the camera turned on, you press and hold the depth of field preview button while removing the lens from the camera body. This should leave the iris in the lens set to the desired aperture. You can then mount the lens to the tubes and the tubes to the camera, and shoot with your desired aperture. I hope this answers your question!
Hi – nice article. I just got these today and was looking for some sort of instruction / hints / tips webiste. What do the 3 rigns do etc what lens is best to use with them etc.
Do you have any further info on this?
I have e the same kit as you have and I have 18-55 kit lens, 50mm prime and 200mm zoom. really looking for some help in getting the best out of this amazing cheap piece of kit.
thanks
Hi Tim,
So far, I only used extension tube with my 50mm/f1.8. What I did is set lens manually at biggest aperture,and then installed tube set. It looks work on unmoving subject but not work very well with moving subject.I still want to learn how to use it in different way on other lens.
Regards,
Devin
great web site. very helpful. I’ve been thinking about the macro extension tube for a long time… I’ve always dreamed about macro photography… Right now I use my wide angle lens to get some macro… but it’s not enought :/
I think, the macrto extension tube is a great way to start!
Mine has got stuck too… Grr, I think I have to go to the repair centre now. Expensive and annoying! Any thoughts on how to avoid/fix this?
I’ve made a DIY extension tube and installed it with the EF 18-55mm IS kit lens..You can check the detail of how I made it and the results here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/snocturnus/3948020419/
Nice work, and great images you captured with your homebrew tube. Well done :)
Once when my threaded macro tubes became overtightened, I managed to get them apart using a tool my wife uses for beading. She has a pair of plyers with teflon pads. I was able to put a good amount of force through the plyers to unscrew the thread without damaging the tubes themselves.
Looks like I’ll become your frequent reader from this Saturday. This staff gets me.
The last days i could not sleep because my lens was stucked… until i found this tread (google).
Thanks so much !
Bye from Belgium,
Ian
I just have to say, I posted a comment almost 2 years ago (May 19th, 2008) with a link to a photo I took using these extension tubes and while I don’t get much traffic to my flickr page, almost everyday I get a referral through your site on the photo. That’s pretty cool!
Thanks for the post – and for all the advice on stuck macro tube. Somehow the feeling I am not alone who had the same scare helps! It wasn’t the first time I used the macro extension tube, but it happened anyway – I tightened it too much …
Panic Panic Panic mine too got stuck, read your fantastic email and my lens is free now. What a fright I got, we would all be lost with-out you cleaver guys. Thanks again
PS I take it that you can only use the tubes with large aperture lens such as 50mm 1.8 lens. Thanks again v
Help! I have an extension tube adapter stuck on my camera body – Nikon D300. It will turn left and right (clockwise and counter clockwise, but will not come off of the camera body. I’ve pressed the lens release to no avail! If anyone can help, I’d greatly appreciate it! Thanks – Alan
Same problem than Alan!!!! Macro tube stuck on my Nikon D80 body… Don’t know what to do… Any help please????
same problem with my d40x.. help please?
Hi rex, I finally solve my problem. It seems that one of the metal pieces that attach the tube to the camera body is too big. Solution: force a little bit the tube to get off. I was not so brave to do that, but in Nikon technical service they do without any problem, and for a cheap price.