Macro photography is a great way to capture photos from a whole new perspective. Bringing the camera up-close to subjects allows us to explode very fine details on today’s 20MP+ sensors. Typically, these images are captured with macro lenses. These lenses have long focal lengths (90-200mm) and are specifically designed with a reduced minimum focusing distance (MFD). This allows you to be physically closer to your subject and still achieve focus.
MFD & MWD Explained
MFD is the closest focus achievable as a distance between your camera sensor and your subject. This is different from minimum working distance (MWD) which is the distance between the lens front element and your subject. For this article’s purpose I will mainly use MWD, however most lens specifications will only mention MFD.
These specialized lenses can cost anywhere from $400 for budget third party brands, to $1500 for high quality optics! Fortunately for us, there are much cheaper ways to enter this type of photography. The two popular ways of budget macro photography are with reverse lens macro, and using macro extension tubes.
Today I will be reviewing the latter, and won’t get into the former as I don’t recommend reverse lens macro whatsoever. This requires two lenses, and holding their front elements against each other. Also, this method requires exposing the rear element of one lens, which will inevitably introduce dust in non-sealed lenses. Adapters made for this encourage you to reverse mount one or two lenses using the filter thread,which I believe is an absolutely terrible idea. Filter threads are not designed to hold the cantilevered weight of a lens, and this can easily damage your filter thread or even the glass front element. This is a very risky path for macro photography, plus, not everyone has two lenses lying around. Try this at your own risk. The somewhat safer method to macro photography is using macro extension tubes.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Extension tubes are hollow tubes that are placed in between your lens and your camera body. Distancing the lens from the sensor optically forces a decreased MWD on any lens that is attached! These hollow tubes can be found specifically for your camera mount type. They should include a body attachment, lens attachment, as well as a few spacers that can be placed in between.
Because we are interested in macro photos on a budget, we selected the most affordable extension we could find, as we feel this is what most people would be willing to experiment with. The FotodioX Macro Extension Tube set comes with a lens mount, body mount, and three different spacers: 7mm, 14mm, and 28mm. Various combinations result in 21mm, 35mm, 42mm and 49mm distance. This means there are seven different spacing configurations that can be experimented with, that’s a good amount of flexibility! Depending on your lens, not all of these spacing configurations will work.
- Canon Mount
- Nikon Mount
Why are all these barrel lengths useful? This will allow us to control how dramatic the change is in MWD. The short 7mm spacer will decrease the MWD slightly, while using the entire 49mm barrel will decrease your minimum working distance much more dramatically. Some lenses will not be able to obtain focus using the entire barrel length. It’s best to test the smaller spacers first, and increase the barrel length incrementally to find what works for your setup.
BUILD QUALITY
The spacers are made from aluminum and are hard anodized, nothing feels low quality about these barrels right out of the box. The individual spacers connect to each other via threads, and the connection to the camera seems solid enough.
The lens connection side on the other hand doesn’t inspire much confidence. The spring loaded pin is paired with a small finicky outer handle that serves as the lens lock replacement. After growing accustomed to the feel and security of most DSLR lens release buttons, this one scares me a bit as the lens still moves around slightly. Looking at the attachment from the side, there still exists a noticeable gap between the lens and the barrel in the assembled form.
FUNCTIONALITY
The sub par lens connection is pretty much the only real complaint here that doesn’t make the assembled setup feel solid. After using proper lenses made for your camera, this will feel especially awkward.
Using the entire extension barrel definitely requires your second hand to support the large length offset of the lens. No exceptions here if you’re using a moderate to heavy weighted lens. The cantilevered weight of heavy glass this far out will surely put stress on your camera lens mount that it probably was not designed for. Long and heavy lenses have collars on the lenses themselves to relieve the camera mount of major holding responsibility. Long lenses without collars are lighter, and are structurally made to be held at the lens mount. I would caution users of this attachment to not trust this barrel to be structurally sound with whatever lens you’re using. Any damage to your camera mount will surely not be under your camera warranty nor by FotodioX. Just support your extended lens so your camera mount doesn’t have to!
Because this is a simple spacer, it does not translate any of the electrical connections from your lens. The main controls you’ll be missing out on are auto focus and aperture control. If you’re interested in the AF and aperture capable version, it does come with an increased price tag. Here is FotodioX’s AF capable version: https://amzn.to/3hujucH . (If you’re interested in a tube that maintains electrical connections, I would do a little more research before moving forward, FotodioX might not be the best performer.)
RESULTS
Now to the good part, what kind of photos can we get with this $10 gadget? Check out the following images taken with the FotodioX extension tube. I used a Canon EOS T2i along with the Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM.
First impressions: these tubes let you get CLOSE! I actually noticed this extension tube was able to bring the focus distance inside my lens, which is bizarre. As this lens is very old, I caught some large dust particles on the inside face of my front element. This is pretty interesting and possibly a new way to inspect lenses!
In macro photography, having the subject extremely close to your lens is not always a good idea. You’ll quickly find that this blocks out almost all of the natural light hitting your subject. This requires using longer shutter speeds, and more stable shooting for proper exposure. This becomes an issue when using the full barrel length. I did also notice that getting very sharp photos was difficult with the entire barrel, which is no surprise. We are unable to control the aperture and are forced to shoot wide open. Also, lenses are specifically made with sensor distance in mind. The larger the spacer you use, the more deviation you will notice in optical quality. Optically, this is definitely not a direct replacement for a macro lens.
WHICH BARREL LENGTH SHOULD I USE?
With seven different overall barrel lengths to choose from, which should you use? The goal here is to reach your desired MWD with the least amount of spacers. Remember that its not always a good idea to have your working distance less than an inch or so, this will block out all your light!
- First grab your lens of choice, preferably one with a long focal length.
- Find the lenses native minimum working distance to your subject.
- Decide on where you would like your new working distance.
- Test the smallest barrel spacer. Was your working distance achieved? If not, test the next size up until achieved.
- Shoot!
When shooting without lens controls, its generally a good idea to put your camera in full manual mode and adjust shutter speed and ISO as necessary. The camera’s exposure meter will still work as a general reference for exposure.
TUBES VS DEDICATED MACRO
Now how does this compare to a proper macro lens? I took off the barrel and 28-135mm lens, and replaced it with the Canon 100mm f2.8L Macro: https://amzn.to/2Vrpyfa. Though this is not a very fair comparison, as we are putting standard optics against L optics, we are still curious! Take a look at the photos below, and excuse the difference in exposure.
These photos are cropped approximately 200%, and it’s clear the image on the right is much sharper. This is definitely due to the dedicated macro design, along with the L optics.
TIPS & TRICKS
- Use a zoomable lens to maximize the usability of this extension tube. I was having trouble finding focus on a fixed focal length, however with a zoom lens I am quickly able to scan through different focal lengths to find focus on the subject. This also allows for more creativity with composing your images. (However, you may have better optical quality with a prime lens.)
- Attempt to get more sharpness from your images by using a lens with manual aperture control. A couple aperture stops down will provide sharper images and allow control of your depth of field.
- Use live-view to make capturing proper focus easy. In live view, you can zoom in extremely close to ensure you have accurate focus.
- Use your spare body and lens caps to cover the open ends of your extension tube when stored in your camera bag. At the very least, store it in a zip lock bag. Remember any debris in this tube will be in close proximity with your exposed sensor. Follow this tip to avoid sensor dust!
WHO IS THIS FOR?
If you’re interested in testing out the waters with macro photography, and don’t want to break the bank, you will definitely be interested in picking one of these up. They will adapt to your existing glass, as well as let you bring in the MWD significantly. Be sure to follow all safety recommendations to ensure smooth usage. With this affordable accessory in your camera bag, there is no real barrier to enter macro photography!
- Canon Mount
- Nikon Mount
If you are more serious about entering the world of macro photography, and will heavily rely on auto-focus and aperture controls, you may be interested in the more expensive versions. Extension tubes with electronic connectors designed for your camera body will give you more control, save you time, and result in better quality images.
If you plan on pursuing macro photography in a more professional setting, and require native optical performance, I would highly recommend picking up a dedicated macro lens. These will often have features that extension tubes cannot compare to such as image stabilization and higher focusing speeds, and native compatibility in general.
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