First time with extension tubes

[theblackandwhiteblog]

I bought some extension tubes to play around with when my newborn son arrived and I wanted to know if any of you guys had any tips on using them? I like them and so far this is what I've gotten out of them:

 

[Derrel]

Excellent pictures for a first-time extrension tube user! Most impressive! Your two shots show great lighting, and ways to make use of the limited depth of field that a tube + lens yields in a single, non-stacked (not multi-exposures, combined) shot. Good shooting!

Tips? Sets of tubes often come in three units, of roughtly 12,20,and 36mm lengths. The 12 and 20 are often very useful. On short lenses, adding much extension can force the focus poimnt INSIDE The lens itself (weird, but true!! So...avoid the short lens lengths with much extension; 20mm may be too much!) If you cannot get the right focus, you might have the wrong tube on, or the wrong lens, or the wrong distance, or matbe even multiple wrong combos

MOST people use tubes on longer lenses: from 50mm on up to 300mm lengths are popular. Most 70-300 or 55-200 or 55-250 lenses will work well with tubes for close-ups. 24-85mm and 24-70mm zoom lenses may NOT WORK with extension tubes added, until you get above the 40mm or so zoom lengths. depends on the lens, and the tube itself. 12mm more-likely to work than 20mm; the 36mm tube>>>often of limited utility with short lenses.

Bend at the waist to focus! Sway forward and back, and get the focus then SHOOT! Or, use a tripod and miunutely move things. Focus is so,so,so critical with tubes. Because focus is so,so critical--it often pays off to shoot multiple frames for eacxh shot, to ensure that one or two are what you really had hoped to capture. Be generous in your shooting!

Do not be afraid to stop down to f/16 or f/22, to get more in focus. Foreget diffraction! DOF trumps slight loss of resolution due to diffraction

 

[Nature_Photo_Mastery]

Nice images.

I'll just add that the longer the focal length of the lens, the LESS effect the extension tube will have on the overall increase in possible magnification.

For example, putting a given extension tube on a 50mm lens will offer a greater potential increase in magnification then that same extension tube would offer on a 300mm lens.

 

[zombiesniper]

Great set.

Crap, another thing I want to experiment with now.

 

[BrentC]

Love the face!

 

[zombiesniper]

@Tigershark not sure if you are disagreeing that I think it's a great or that I want to experiment with extension tubes. Either way kind of a silly thing to disagree about.

 

[Tigershark]

@Tigershark not sure if you are disagreeing that I think it's a great or that I want to experiment with extension tubes. Either way kind of a silly thing to disagree about.

I'm so sorry, I didn't even know what you're talking about until I opend this thread on my computer.
Must have "clicked" the "Disagree-button" while viewing the website on my Surface. It absolutely happened by accident!

 

[zombiesniper]

All good.
Back to the fantastic photos above.

 

[theblackandwhiteblog]

Thank you all for the support! What a great group, extension tubes threw me off at first I had no idea why they were so blurry until I shoved my camera all the way in her face haha, she was confused because I'm always telling her to back up. I can't remember if I used a 50mm 1.8 or an 85mm.

 

[Dean_Gretsch]

Thanks for posting this query. I just recently bought a set and haven't quite figured them out myself.