I have been looking at extension tubes for my Nikon D2X, does anyone have experience with them, have any recommendations, what to look out for, what is good bad or ugly?
I cannot afford any at the present moment, but I would prefer to know how much I need to save in order to buy a set.
Good question Michelle, i also want to know about extension tubes, what they are? How they work? and more importantly are they expensive? Thanks for asking xx @michelleyoung
Hey Shells - The ones I use - Kenko - can be purchased for Nikon and will set you back around $140 (Australian). You get really cheap ones but they have no connection with the camera and thus you can't change aperature etc. I'd be getting the Kenkos if i were you.
@scatcat
There is no issue with image quality being degraded by using tubes Muse. All of my macros are shot with a full set of tubes and there is no difference in quality vs the lens being used without tubes.
@dcr lol Drew, I am laughing here.. as you were the first person I was going to ask, then I realised that you used a cannon, so hence i started the discussion..
@dcr I have been looking at two different sets, which vary in price by a huge amount.
Can anyone advise me which ones are the better for their specific qualities etc. I am a total novice with all of this stuff, so all help is appreciated.
Both have connections to the camera. Main difference seems to be build quality. A few reviews around question the build quality of the Opteka ones and mention them "bending" with some lenses on. Opteka's appear to be made in China with the Kenkos in Japan. Having said that I've got no experience with Optekas.
A year or so ago, when considering whether extension tubes were right for me, I made my own with a bit of PVC pipe, an old 50 mm lens and spare body and rear lens caps: total cost was under €10. The down side was no communication between the lens and the camera, with manual focus only and limited control over aperture (I could control it somewhat by loosening and tightening the rear lens cap slightly), but it was still a semi-successful experiment. :-)
Aperture wide open
Aperture closed up more
Anyway, if you want to play around with homemade extension tubes before investing in real ones... it's a fun project for a rainy day. ;-)
well i think it's depend on your objective, as illustration, while attaching ET on your lens for macro you wont be able to shot for landscape. your shots will limited at certain distances.
for me, it doesnt matter at all...
Also Shells, as Wahyu touched on, you'll have significant light drop off especially if you stack all three tubes. I know you've got access to an external flash (which is ideal!) so you can make a diffuser and you'll be good to go.
I bought the cheep $10 kind for my nikon. everything said it should work, but with no communication between them & my camera I can not get them to work. everything is dark :( so, don't waste your time on them. I've heard the Kenko's are great!
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Hey Shells - The ones I use - Kenko - can be purchased for Nikon and will set you back around $140 (Australian). You get really cheap ones but they have no connection with the camera and thus you can't change aperature etc. I'd be getting the Kenkos if i were you.
@scatcat
There is no issue with image quality being degraded by using tubes Muse. All of my macros are shot with a full set of tubes and there is no difference in quality vs the lens being used without tubes.
Thank you so much Drew, you are a diamond :o)
Can anyone advise me which ones are the better for their specific qualities etc. I am a total novice with all of this stuff, so all help is appreciated.
http://www.amazon.com/Kenko-Auto-Extension-Nikon-Mount/dp/B000JG88JU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305019563&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.com/Opteka-Focus-Extension-Digital-Cameras/dp/B002YIY44O/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1305019563&sr=8-5
Both have connections to the camera. Main difference seems to be build quality. A few reviews around question the build quality of the Opteka ones and mention them "bending" with some lenses on. Opteka's appear to be made in China with the Kenkos in Japan. Having said that I've got no experience with Optekas.
Aperture wide open
Aperture closed up more
Anyway, if you want to play around with homemade extension tubes before investing in real ones... it's a fun project for a rainy day. ;-)
@davidchrtrans David, I may be crazy and love experimenting.. But I think thats out of my league lol
Yay, Drew... you're the man! you absolutely right on ETs, There's no optical in it so no image quality degradation.
other notes, with ET, your gonna lost some light and not able to focus to infinity.
Sorry to ask so many questions here.
well i think it's depend on your objective, as illustration, while attaching ET on your lens for macro you wont be able to shot for landscape. your shots will limited at certain distances.
for me, it doesnt matter at all...
Really appreciate your help.
Also Shells, as Wahyu touched on, you'll have significant light drop off especially if you stack all three tubes. I know you've got access to an external flash (which is ideal!) so you can make a diffuser and you'll be good to go.