www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

I have been thinking about new lenses as we all do from time to time. I currently have the above lens which takes some nice butterfly shots. Would I be able to improve these and keep the quality with extension rings? Is so can any be recommended and at what cost?

Many thanks

Marc Heath

You could also consider using a Canon close-up lens. It can be easier to slip on and off than extension rings. There is a comment on it at http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forum ... mm-f4.html

Mike

Hi Marc, you need the Canon EF 25 extension tube, £115.00. http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Revi ... eview.aspx

It works great on a 300 F4. I also have the Canon close up lens that Mike mentions, hate it, you will be limited to a very close working distance, kind of nullifying the point of using the a 300mm lens for macro work.

Regards Gruditch

Thanks for the replies so far. I assume the Canon EF 25 will give me that closer shot but still keep the quality of the shot that Canon does. I would not want to lose ut on the quality side of things. I think i can get to within 1.5 metres currently with the lens. What distance roughly would this let me get to?

Marc

Hi Marc

The close up lens will probably cause loss of sharpness and quality as it adds more glass between your subject and sensor. The extension tubes are just that, an empty tube allowing the lens to be moved closer to the subject. As they are an empty tube you will not lose quality but will lose some light, probably one f stop with a 25mm tube.

As for using a Canon tube, I would look at other makes. I purchased some non Canon tubes that work with all my lenses, even the EF-S ones, and I got a set of three sizes for around £75 that allow all the auto functions. Please check to ensure that the tubes will allow the correct connections for the auto functions of the lens.

Hope this helps.

I had a look on EBay and there are just hundreds. There were a lot of non Canon extension tubes but most do not offer the auto focus option. I mostly do manual focus in AV normally anyway, is this essential or not to have auto focus options. If not they can be bought for anything from £6!!

Marc

I would get the Canon tube Marc. You get what you pay for, been there tried it with those £6 sets, rubbish.

Regards Gruditch

I have a set of these which were what most people recommended several years ago:

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-ken ... -/p1005553

Cheaper than Canon's own and worked fine for me with all of the lens functionality retained on the lenses I've used it with.

I have seen some stunning closeups taken with this lens and just a 12mm extension tube added.

Although Kenko is not a very familiar name here, it is the parent company behind the well-regarded Tokina lenses. I have a Kenko 1.4X teleconverter and have no complaints about either its performance or compatibility (on a Nikon). I would expect their extension tubes to be similarly well-engineered.

Mike

When I got my £6 set they were advertised as being Kenko, turned out they were nothing of the sort.

FISHiEE wrote:I have a set of these which were what most people recommended several years ago:http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-ken ... 553Cheaper than Canon's own and worked fine for me with all of the lens functionality retained on the lenses I've used it with.

Actually more expensive, you can get the Canon one for £115.00, but being 3 tube set with AF, better value.

Regards Gruditch

I got a (genuine) Kenko set from E-Bay, and they work very well.
It maintaines AF on an F4.5 lens, with the middle sized one.
I use it on 500mm for small birds closer than the normal close focus.
I haven't used it for macro at all - but I guess it would be pretty effective.
Quite how you tell if they are genuine or not before you buy on E-Bay, I don't know.
I guess I was possibly lucky?
It may be better to buy at a slightly higher price from a reputable dealer.
Their coffee isn't bad either.

Doves anybody have any views on the Canon EF 12 extension tube, any good at all. Will this work well and get me nearer using the Canon f4 300mm lens?

Obviously, being Canon, it will be peerless.
However, I think the 12mm alone will not be enough. The longer the lens, the longer the extension needs to be.

I am pretty sure the attached link is for the vendor I purchased my Kencos from
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Kenko-Ext ... 45ff86da4c

A set of 3 for less than £100.
Don't sue me if they are copies though....

It was a Kenko set I purchased on EBay for around £85 if I remember correctly. I had to make sure they worked with a Canon EF-S lens as only the latest versions work with both EF and EF-S lenses. Thus these worked fine with all my Canon and non Canon lenses on my EOS 450D.

Providing the auto functions work which these did I don't see the point on buying Canon as there is no glass involved.

I still keep them handy but normally stick with the trusty Sigma 150mm Macro for butterflies. They fit on the back of this lens for closer work with a tripod of some sort.