I have borrowed my daughters sony a550 SLR and as she doesn't use it much I can have it for a while. My passion is for macro artistic shots. I only have the kit lens 18 - 55 lens. Can anyone tell me if extension tubes will work for me? Or could I try reversing the lens. Money is an issue, hence looking for alternatives. Any help will be appreciated.
Reversing a lens that doesn't have a aperture ring will be a problem as you will always be shooting the lens at its max aperture, of course you can still shoot that way but you will have very shallow DoF and you will not be able to use your cameras light meter and will have to shoot in manual mode. Extension tubes will work but make sure that you get a set that will communicate with your camera so that you can control your aperture and use your light meter and autofocus
Ooo how I would love a macro lens...Until I win the lottery I have opted for a reversal ring...tricky but fun...you have to do everything manually but its nice to play around and see what happens..this was about £7. Ive also got a pack of close up filters which were about £10 for 4 and I love mucking around with these. They arent as good as a macro lens but for the price they are a good alternative and you can get some lovely results x
I don't know, because I don't know the camera, they work with mine. BUT having said that I paid about $AU120 for my extension rings...it's probable worth looking at on line proces for macro lenses to see how they compare.
Hi Meredith, I only have close up filters for my macros as I too cannot afford a lens at present. I shoot all my macros in manual focus as I find I get better results so having extension tubes that don't talk to the camera wont be too disimilar, I am hoping as I have just bought some (but yet to play) I have also recently bought a reversing ring and again yet to play. Let me know how you get on.
@macromover Hi Meredith, I was really lucky to get some extension tubes for a recent birthday! I did find them hard to fit at first as they needed to be worked in and out many times before they anchored. If you get them, do go for tripod and very stable surface, the slightest vibration gives blurry picture - good luck with it
Cheap extension tubes will not communicate with your lens so you will have no control over aperture. Macro (aka close-up) filters that screw on the front of your lens will work better for you, and are as cheap as extension rings.
Hi Meredith! I wrote a whole series about inexpensive macro that might help you out (and compares extension tubes to reverse rings, etc.) My favorite option is actually close-up lenses, which are filters that screw on to the front of your lens and allow you to focus closer to your subject (which makes it larger). Mine have the best results on my 50 mm, but they would help on your kit lenses too.
I have auto focus extension tubes that I use with an 18-120mm lens on my Nikon. It's a less expensive way to get macro images. If you are really keen on macro photography and the budget allows a dedicated macro lens would be the way to go. I wish I could afford one :) I have a number of images in my albums that have been created with extension tubes
I saved up and bought and macro lens which I love but for a long time I used close up filters to get closer and they worked really well for a very low investment. I say buy read Katie's info then buy some close up filters. Play with those while you save your pennies for the real deal. You'll be able to get some great shots with close up filters. I used mine on my 50mm lens which let in more light than the kit lens so I think that will be your biggest hurdle is getting enough light. Can't wait to see what you come up with!
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Here's my comparison article that has links to the detailed posts: http://www.boostyourphotography.com/2013/04/cheap-and-easy-macro-comparisons-and.html