Hi CS menbers,
I'm newbie in photography and i have question about marco.
Can i use a nikon 35mm 1.8g with Macro Extension Tube or it will be better for 55mm 1.8g and 18.d?
Which one is better?
I own a Nikon D3100.
Appreciate if anyone can answer above question.
Thank you.
Hi, Let's get the terminology right first.A true macro lens gives a 1:1 or greater magnification.That is if the subject is 12mm long,it will appear as 12mm long on the sensor.Anything less than 1:1 eg:1:2,1:4 is not macro but
close up photography and that's what most people do.
So you are going to use normal lenses and not specially designed macro lenses as such with extention tubes.
Extention tubes normally come in a set, 12,20,25,36mm.You can use them singly or stacked for higher magnification even
1:1 or greater.
Traditionally macro lenses start from 50 -200mm.The short ones give a subject to lens distance of 2-3 inches. and 180-200mm distance of about 12in. or 1 feet which is good for outdoors as you don't want to spook your lovely nature friends.
Can you use wide angle lenses with extension tubes? Only up to 35mm as anything wider eg. 28,24mm you cannot focus
because the focal point is in the lens! However you can use lenses wider than 35mm eg. 18mm when you use a
reversing ring or adapter,that is using the filter thread to lens mount.Generally they cost about $12 for the common brands.Of course you lose all auto functions.
Also 35mm has greater angle of view so may be distracting to include alot of detail.It all depends on what you wish to create or see in your composition.It can be used creatively so don't be afraid
to try 35mm or wider.
Do bear in mind if you use cheap extension tubes without mecahanical or electrical mechanisms,you lose auto focus and possibly metering functions unless you buy those designed for your camera brand.Anyway because of the tubes the light
will be less or dimmer and less competant cameras like 3100 cannot autofocus in dim light anyway which force you to do manual focusing.
You can also use extension tubes with
medium zooms although they have already close up function 1:2,1:4 to get higher magnification and subject to lens distance again good for outdoors.Because light is dim you will probably need a tripod because of long exposure unless you up the ISO sensivity.
Finally you can also use extension tubes with lenses longer than 200mm, eg.300 or 400mm. Just gives you longer subject distance again but need to use tripod.Even for shorter lenses you may want to use a remote shutter release to prevent
camera shake.Or timer feature on some cameras where the mirror is flipped up before shutter activation like 10 seconds
or pro cams with mirror lock.
Now go shoot something!
Edit; Tubes that have no auto functions and auto focus lenses that have no aperture ring may have a problem unless you use manual lenses.
