i have just bought myself a new 24-105mm lens and was thinking of buying the Lens Extension Tube EF 12 II and was wondering how much difference this will make etc; how close i can expect to get before the picture goes blurry im sorry if this is a stupid question im new to photography :-[
my new 24-105
- Thread starter AZRAE1
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This calculator http://www.mystd.de/album/calculator/ can be of help, and this has some good Macro information http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/macro-lenses.htm.
I'd actually recommend an inexpensive prime with an extension tube or reversing ring rather than a zoom. While the 24-105 is a good general purpose lens, it won't perform as good for macro, even with extension tubes.
I'd really recommend something like the 40mm f/2.8 or even the 50mm f/2.5 compact macro (only $300). That 50 + 12 or 20mm extension tube will be pretty good, or you could go for the 100mm f/2.8 Macro (non-L) for $600 and not need an extension tube for 1:1, or get one and get more magnification.
I'd actually recommend an inexpensive prime with an extension tube or reversing ring rather than a zoom. While the 24-105 is a good general purpose lens, it won't perform as good for macro, even with extension tubes.
I'd really recommend something like the 40mm f/2.8 or even the 50mm f/2.5 compact macro (only $300). That 50 + 12 or 20mm extension tube will be pretty good, or you could go for the 100mm f/2.8 Macro (non-L) for $600 and not need an extension tube for 1:1, or get one and get more magnification.
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AZRAE1 said:
I'd recommend you use the magnification calculator at http://www.mystd.de/album/calculator/. You'll need the sensor size of your camera, focal length of the lens, extension tube size. Plug those in, hit calculate, and it'll give you the magnification. 1 is 1:1 (or 100%), while >1 is more larger than life, and less than 1 is smaller than life.
Based on the specs of the 50 1.4 and 85 1.8, the 50 1.4 would be better as you get a higher magnification. But it's still not great, only 0.39x or 1:2.6 with 12mm extension tube on FF 35mm sensor. The 50mm Compact Macro is actually cheaper than the 85 1.8, gives you 0.5x out of the box and with 12mm extension tube gives you 0.71x magnification which is getting a lot closer to true macro (1:1).
If you get an extension tube set, you can generally stack then (although you get accompanying light loss from any extension tube), which means you can probably start with just the tube set, use your current 50 1.4, start figuring out best practices and how it works for you (don't forget a reasonably sturdy tripod, mirror lock up, remote shutter release). Once you have the basic technique down, start looking to see if you want to invest in a better lens, or better mounting/tripod system, bellows, etc.
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After a lot of deliberating I got the 100L macro. It is a lovely lens. Fantastic for macro and works well as a portrait lens too. So unless you need the f1.8, (the 100L is a f2.8) you will not need to get the 85mm. I got the 25mm extension tube and it works great!AZRAE1 said:
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AZRAE1 said:
Extension tubes work just fine with that lens. I would recommend getting a set rather than just one so you have more choice. There are many cheap sets out there. As long as they work with AF they should be fine. But you will MF or live view focus much of the time anyway.
I seem to remember the max focus distance will be the focal length over the ET length.
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