Help on Extension tubes/Raynox


KitKatKiat

New Member
Jan 9, 2012
43
0
0
29
Singapore, Punggol
twitter.com
Hey guys, I'm on the verge of buying an extension tube(probably the Kenko one) or maybe a Raynox 250 to play with macro photography, before really diving in to buy a macro dedicated lens.
Having said that, is there any drawback on the items stated above?? What are the adv/dis-adv of both and which should I get??

I'm using a 600D, have a 50mm 1.8, kit lens 18-55 and a zoom, 18-200.

Thanks in advance! :)
 

Last edited:
Hey guys, I'm on the verge of buying an extension tube(probably the Kenko one) or maybe a Raynox 250 to play with macro photography, before really diving in to buy a macro dedicated lens.
Having said that, is there any drawback on the items stated above?? What are the adv/dis-adv of both and which should I get??

I'm using a 600D, have a 50mm 1.8, kit lens 18-55 and a zoom, 18-200.

Thanks in advance! :)

Both of them let you focus on your subject closer, however you lost to ability to focus to infinity... for many newcomers, it can be quite difficult... my advice is always use manual focus, use a monopod or if possible a tripod to stabilise your camera and lens. And because you will be focusing closer to the subject, you might want to use the flash (an external flash is thus desirable).
 

Both of them let you focus on your subject closer, however you lost to ability to focus to infinity... for many newcomers, it can be quite difficult... my advice is always use manual focus, use a monopod or if possible a tripod to stabilise your camera and lens. And because you will be focusing closer to the subject, you might want to use the flash (an external flash is thus desirable).

May I know what is "focus to infinity"?

If I'm using it on my 50mm 1.8 or kit lens, which one will be better? I heard extension tubes degrades the IQ of the lens.
 

May I know what is "focus to infinity"?

If I'm using it on my 50mm 1.8 or kit lens, which one will be better? I heard extension tubes degrades the IQ of the lens.

Extension tubes do not have any glass element, they do not degrade the IQ. Losing infinity focus means you cannot focus at objects that are further than a certain distance.
 

May I know what is "focus to infinity"?

If I'm using it on my 50mm 1.8 or kit lens, which one will be better? I heard extension tubes degrades the IQ of the lens.

Nope. extension tube will not degrade IQ of lens, in actual fact Raynox will have some effect on your image quality, but frankly speaking, the effect is not really that much that they became very obvious.
 

Extension tubes do not have any glass element, they do not degrade the IQ. Losing infinity focus means you cannot focus at objects that are further than a certain distance.

I see .. thanks!

Nope. extension tube will not degrade IQ of lens, in actual fact Raynox will have some effect on your image quality, but frankly speaking, the effect is not really that much that they became very obvious.

ahhh alright. I know now. Which one will be a better choice though?? I'm new to this so IDK the major differences between both. Any idea?
 

I see .. thanks!



ahhh alright. I know now. Which one will be a better choice though?? I'm new to this so IDK the major differences between both. Any idea?

No such thing as a better choice. Both of them are good. For the best image quality (exactly the same image quality your lens can produce) is using the extension tube, because extension tube had no optic elements in it, so will not cause any degration to your image. For Raynox 250, there will be a degration, but I doubt you will be able to see it... barely visible.

The thing with both method, like I mentioned before, would be that you would not be able to focus to infinity, but since it is macro photo, it should be alright.

Actually there is a cheaper option... you can reverse your 50mm lens on your camera, all you need is an adapter... which can be had for a couple of dollars from ebay. The only problem is that you would not be able to auto focus at all.
 

Actually there is a cheaper option... you can reverse your 50mm lens on your camera, all you need is an adapter... which can be had for a couple of dollars from ebay. The only problem is that you would not be able to auto focus at all.

well, it's not like that Auto Focus will be of much help either at more "extreme" length >100mm....used the Raynox 250 with my 55-250 and end up moving my tripod instead of re-focusing :sweat: otoh, I've used the Raynox 250 on my 18-55, still can Auto Focus, but manual focus most of the time.


oh, to add on, the reverse macro method that Rhino mentioned, will also make you lose the ability to change your aperture, unless you use a "hack" using the DOF button. This also mean that you will be shooting wide open if you don't use this hack.
 

No such thing as a better choice. Both of them are good. For the best image quality (exactly the same image quality your lens can produce) is using the extension tube, because extension tube had no optic elements in it, so will not cause any degration to your image. For Raynox 250, there will be a degration, but I doubt you will be able to see it... barely visible.

The thing with both method, like I mentioned before, would be that you would not be able to focus to infinity, but since it is macro photo, it should be alright.

Actually there is a cheaper option... you can reverse your 50mm lens on your camera, all you need is an adapter... which can be had for a couple of dollars from ebay. The only problem is that you would not be able to auto focus at all.

Both tube and diopter have pro and con. Your choice depends on the lens they are used with.

Single reverse lens method is even more challenging for newbie. It is not only AF issue. Left wide open, DOF is too shallow for macro. Stop down permanently, it will be very dim in the VF.
 

Last edited:
oh, to add on, the reverse macro method that Rhino mentioned, will also make you lose the ability to change your aperture, unless you use a "hack" using the DOF button. This also mean that you will be shooting wide open if you don't use this hack.

You sure the DOF button still has control over a revese-mounted lens aperture (lens is mounted on its filter thread only)? Care to provide the link of your "hack"?
 

You sure the DOF button still has control over a revese-mounted lens aperture (lens is mounted on its filter thread only)? Care to provide the link of your "hack"?

The DOF button will work when you have not reverse mount yet. For the links, I got a couple of links off google, here's one of it. Take macro shots like this for less than the cost of a pizza « Stack Exchange Photography Blog

Scroll down to Canon lens (if you are using Canon)
 

The DOF button will work when you have not reverse mount yet. For the links, I got a couple of links off google, here's one of it. Take macro shots like this for less than the cost of a pizza « Stack Exchange Photography Blog

Scroll down to Canon lens (if you are using Canon)

Yup, this allow you to stop down aperture permanently by pressing DOF button and unmount lens.

However, your earlier post is misleading with "hack" that allow one to change aperture. And this isn't a hack anyway. ;)
 

Last edited:
Yup, this allow you to stop down aperture permanently by pressing DOF button and unmount lens.

However, your earlier post is misleading with hack that allow one to change aperture. ;)

oops, but, oh well ;p too lazy to put too much info into the post, wanted to let TS do his homework if keen on that hack :p
 

Both tube and diopter have pro and con. Your choice depends on the lens they are used with.

Single reverse lens method is even more challenging for newbie. It is not only AF issue. Left wide open, DOF is too shallow for macro. Stop down permanently, it will be very dim in the VF.

True :) I kept forgetting that there are no aperture control for most of the lens these days... I am normally using old manual lens for the reverse lens technique and I can thus change aperture to suits me.

And for very very close distance focusing, I tend to use live view more than viewfinder... It is a personal preference though.
 

rhino123 said:
True :) I kept forgetting that there are no aperture control for most of the lens these days... I am normally using old manual lens for the reverse lens technique and I can thus change aperture to suits me.

And for very very close distance focusing, I tend to use live view more than viewfinder... It is a personal preference though.

It won't help even with old manual lens. You gonna set it wide open to focus and then stop down before shooting?

As for live view, it's more difficult to hold steady for handheld.
 

It won't help even with old manual lens. You gonna set it wide open to focus and then stop down before shooting?

As for live view, it's more difficult to hold steady for handheld.

No... for my case, I use live view all the way and I don't use handheld... I use tripod + a macro rail. So I don't need to open wide, I just stop down to whatever aperture I need, then rely solely on live view.

Oh... and I use the flash too...
 

Last edited:
I think there's also some loss of exposure with extension tubes because of the longer flange distance. I'd agree that you need a tripod and manual focus because the dof is extremely shallow. Using a tripod also allows you to take 3 shots with different focus points and do focus stacking in PS. This gives you a picture with a great depth of field .:)

That said, extension tubes are a very cheap option. I pair mine with a circular ring flash and the results are excellent. :)

Both of them let you focus on your subject closer, however you lost to ability to focus to infinity... for many newcomers, it can be quite difficult... my advice is always use manual focus, use a monopod or if possible a tripod to stabilise your camera and lens. And because you will be focusing closer to the subject, you might want to use the flash (an external flash is thus desirable).
 

rhino123 said:
No... for my case, I use live view all the way and I don't use handheld... I use tripod + a macro rail. So I don't need to open wide, I just stop down to whatever aperture I need, then rely solely on live view.

Oh... and I use the flash too...

Adding tripod and macro rail, it won't be a cheap option anymore as you suggested earlier. ;)
 

Adding tripod and macro rail, it won't be a cheap option anymore as you suggested earlier. ;)

The macro rail will cost abt $20-30 bucks from ebay. But still it's not a must to have but a real nice to have.