Extension Tubes

I am a big fan of macro photography and just over one third of my 1000 blips have been taken with my 105mm macro lens. However, today I have been experimenting with a set of extension tubes. Several of you, my blipfriends, have mentioned using these tubes and I have been fascinated to see the results and wanted to try them for myself. Also many of my clients are interested in macro photography but (having usually just bought a DSLR) do not necessarily wish to plump for a macro lens straight away.

I have a set of three tubes (12,20 and 36mm) and they can be used individually or in combination. The tube has no optic in it and sits between the camera and the lens resulting in higher magnification and closer focusing.

The main shot you can see was taken with my Nikon D600 with all three tubes and a 50mm prime lens (extension tubes work best with prime lenses though you can use them with a telephoto lens)
I think this is a fabulous macro effect. I am about one inch away from the gerbera, auto focusing is tricky but then it is tricky with a macro lens also and I am comfortable using manual focusing.

To give you a direct comparison, in extras the first photo of the three gerberas is taken with the 50mm lens and no tubes and that is as close as I can get to the subject. The following extra shows how close I could get to the gerbera with the 50mm lens and three extension tubes…wow! I had to use a smaller aperture for the second shot as the depth of field was so shallow. Almost too close and I should have used a tripod but the demo speaks for itself. Just one of the tubes instead of all three would have been a more comfortable image for me.

I then wanted to see if the tubes would work with the 18mm to 55mm kit lens that comes with most entry level DSLRs. The next extras, the yellow gerbera and the orange gladi are taken with a Nikon D3200, the kit lens and one extension tube, the 36mm one. Again, really good results.
On the negative side the tube limits the light getting to the sensor and the shallow depth of field means that typically you would choose a small aperture to maximise detail, but then you are limiting the light even further and the resulting slow shutter speed could be a problem when photographing an insect or a flower blowing in the wind. ISO can compensate but you will be adding grain. This would probably not be a problem on a very bright day but certainly a tripod is pretty much a necessity.

However, the results are good, especially when using tubes with the prime lens and the price is fantastic. I got these three tubes for £26. If someone wants to see if macro photography is for them this is a really good place to start.


Macro lenses are much more expensive but an additional plus point for me is that I use my macro for portraits and have even used it for landscapes where I have wanted a particularly blurry background. The 105mm macro works well for me as I want to get close to the insects but not too close! With the extension tubes I would have been uncomfortably close and indeed I frightened a wee fly away when I tried it. I am really pleased to have added the tubes to my kit bag and will be trying them again for future blips I am sure.