Macro

[davidsimageline]

I always thought that to take a macro shot you need a macro lens. I bought this extension tube from china for $9

bucks and it works perfect. You have to manually focus the lens and also the aperture. I did a test on my sons

lego and this is what I got with my D200 and a 28-70mm AF lens.<div></div>

[tommyinca]

If you have a macro lens, you could have a tight macro portrait with auto aperture. Vivitar 100mm/2.8 macro with TC14A and an +5 diopter at a bit over 2:1.<div></div>

[lex_jenkins]

There are lots of ways to take closeups. In many cases the advantages of a dedicated macro lens won't be apparent. A purpose-designed macro lens reveals its advantages on flat field subjects such as document photography; when stopped down for maximum DOF without compromising too much on diffraction; minimal edge distortion and chromatic aberration.

 

I'm probably overlooking a few significant advantages to a dedicated macro lens. But those advantages are not always readily apparent in some conditions.

 

I don't always carry a macro lens in my bag, but usually have a closeup diopter to fit the lens filter threads. Sometimes that's good enough. Sometimes an extension tube works well enough with some lenses.

 

For some folks nothing less than purpose-designed macro gear will do, right down to a focusing rail for their tripod heads. (Perfectly understandable if you've ever wrestled with the wrong equipment to attain precise alignments.) For the rest of us, close enough is close enough.

[eyal_v1]

I think you should separate between the two - using a low quality extension tube? not a problem, in order to get good results you just need it to be well attached to the lens, no hi-tech is really needed here. The lens is a different story - no matter how good the extension tube is, if the light enters through a 'bad' glass, it will affect the image.

[walterh]

Dave nice shot. You are quite right - often the motivation and the idea of a shot is the most important part.

Perhaps you can motivate many to experiment.

 

A small improvement of image quality may need a big increase in technique and money required. Often this is

necessary - but often we see overkill especially in a tech forum .-)

[Peter_in_PA]

Nice photo. and hilarious, too!

[graham_marsden]

Hi Dave. Could you provide a link to the source of the $9 extension tubes please? I'd love to have one in my lens bag.

 

I don't think it would be a breach of forum rules because you are not actually advertising for them are you.

.

[davidsimageline]

Hi Graham pertaining to your question no I am not advertising for them. I bought mine from ebay once you go to ebay just type in nikon extension tube. It came from Hong Kong or China one out of the two.