Teleconverters and extension tubes (camera geekery content)

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Teleconverters and extension tubes (camera geekery content)

11 posts & 4 voices | Started 10 months ago by molgrips | Latest reply from HTTP404

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molgrips - Member

I fancy a little more magnification on my 35mm macro lens. I see that tubes are fairly inexpensive, but they achieve better magnification by allowing you to focus closer, don't they? Focusing is already stupidly close on the dedicated macro lens so I don't think that would be useful. Plus, one reason I want more magnification is so I can get closer to insects without them flying off. Another reason is so I can be focused further away and get more depth of field.

The other option then is a teleconverter but they are £££ and some people complain about the quality of them esp with macro use.

Posted 10 months ago #
HTTP404 - Member

With a teleconverter you'll lose a stop or two which will make your lens s-l-o-w. You'll also degrade some of the image quality.
The olympus teleconvertors are expensive and I think you may also lose the autofocus(?).
And the Olympus ones are very expensive.
A cheap option - also retaining AF would be Close-up filters. Lose a bit of IQ but they are cheap and cheerful and if you're not blowing them up - who is to know?

Posted 10 months ago #
molgrips - Member

Hmm.. do close-up filters magnify, or just decrease focusing distance?

The other option is a tube with one of my zoom lenses, but from what I can gather that doesn't give much more magnification than my macro - but then again it WOULD allow snapping at the same mag but from further away. wouldn't be as good quality tho.

Posted 10 months ago #
b17 - Member

telecon on macro can work pretty well, i've had some success. Soligor 2x costs me some contrast in combi with sigma 50mm macro, but the sharpness of the lens is so good that with TC is still fine.

some discussion here:

http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php/85690-180mm-Macro-lens-1.4X-Extender-Teleconverter-Image-Quality

TCs can even give reasonable results on zooms if you stop down and do your best to nail tripod/long lens technique:

partial lunar eclipse 150611 by Geoff Warnock, on Flickr

Or for your macro you can always go for a more 'extreme' lens:

stained glass by Geoff Warnock, on Flickr

Posted 10 months ago #
b17 - Member

btw afaik close-up filters do indeed reduce focusing distance. also ime they are only really sharp near the center (affordable ones at least).

Posted 10 months ago #
5thElefant - Member

Are you sure you can decrease the focusing distance on your macro lens? You must be virtually touching the lens to the subject as it is.

EDIT: looking at the specs and doing a bit of guessing you're already 2 inches off the subject.

Posted 10 months ago #
molgrips - Member

5e yes with my macro I am already so close that I start blocking out even the ambient light in many cases, So I don't want a tube, I don't think. A TC would be good on macro but also fun on my 300mm zoom, just for a laugh like

Posted 10 months ago #
b17 - Member

nearly all my macro is done hand held with manual focus (i.e. set magnification then move back/forward for focus) and (TTL off camera - nikon) flash - gives you DOF and motion freeze, and no prob with blocking the ambient then.

TC on 300mm will ask for either mega good light or good tripod. if the lens doesn't have a tripod collar you may find that balance is tricky with poor results on sharpness at >300mm.

Posted 10 months ago #
5thElefant - Member

I've used 2x and 1.4x TCs. The 2x is only marginally better than cropping and only if you have a very sharp lens to use it on. I would have thought a 2x would be a non-starter on a 300mm zoom but the 1.4 might be OK.

Extension tubes on the other hand... should be well worth using on the 300mm.

Posted 10 months ago #
molgrips - Member

Good point, the lens doesn't have a collar (which is a shame, I don't think I can get one to retrofit either) and the TC would make it worse.

Maybe I will get the tube then as it's cheap enough to be an incidental purchase

Posted 10 months ago #
HTTP404 - Member

I can sell you my Olympus (OM) vivitar macro converter.
You'll need an OM to four-thirds adaptor mount but it works real nice.

Posted 10 months ago #

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