School me on extension tubes

[lyonsroar]

Thank you for the info!

What is this I'm hearing about no aperture control? That's kind of a necessary setting I would think...

Would extension tubes work on my 50mm? That's the lens I most often reach for now...

Thanks again!

Here is a link to the Pro Optic brand of economy extension tubes currently being sold though Adorama MCAETEOSP Pro Optic Budget Auto Extention Tube Set for Canon EOS SLR Cameras

These are $49, and as you can see, they have electrical contacts, which will give your Canon EOS camera control over the lens aperture in the normal manner. The next step up are the Kenko AF brand of tubes, which are sturdier, and made better, and which also give f/stop control.

I believe that, for beginners, and for serious users, having f/stop control over the lens is very useful for field use; for copy stand type work, like slide duplicating or copying documents, even the old rinky-dink method I described above can be used with a Canon camera and the el-cheap-o tubes. For $49, the Pro Optic extension tube set is a good value,and will work pretty well with a 50mm Canon 1.8 or 1.4 lens, as well as with many zoom lenses.

Buying me a set of these right now! Beat the cyber monday rush!

Thanks for the help!

 

[GooniesNeverSayDie11]

You can set the aperture by placing the lens on the camera, setting fstop, press the DOF preview button and remove the lens while still holding that button down. This will lock the blades at that fstop, then you can reverse it ( or place a fake homemade tube between the lens and camera. When you place the lens back on the camera the next time normally, the blades will revert back to normal. This is how you do it with reversing them. So if you use a fast prime lens, you aren't stuck shooting at 1.4 or 1.8 etc.

 

[hjf]

No, it doesn;t work on Nikons...most Nikon lenses allow the user to turn the aperture ring and just "set" the aperture...the new G-series Nikons function like castrated lenses (like Canon lenses), since the G-designation stands for "Gelded".

Don't take Ken Rockwell's word literally. There's a lot of jokes and sarcasm in that site. He calls APS (Advanced Photo System) the Amateur photo system.