which extension tubes for canon eos 400D

[cwilk]

Hi there,
Novice here so please bear with me.

I've seen some really cheap ones on Amazon/ebay, and some very expensive ones elsewhere. On my old (non digital) SLR I just used a set of 10 quid cheapies which were fine for my amateur snaps.

As far as I can tell, the main difference is that the cheap ones are 'electronically' connected to the brains of the camera, therefore you can't use the autofocus functions of a digital camera. However, I tend to manually focus when doing closeups by moving the camera forwards and backwards rather than the lens.

Is there anything else I am missing here? Is there any other disadvantage apart from the loss of autofocussing?

many thanks.

[nightshade]

I think you get what you pay for when connecting to a DSLR buy the best you can afford/stretch to

[glsammy]

Extension tubes are very simple, as they have no glass in them you can usually get away without spending a lot.
The set I've got have electrical contacts so your camera can meter correctly, but to me it hardly matters as I tend to use mine with my macro lens where I usually use manual mode anyway.Certainly no need to stick with the camera makers brand. The set I've got came from Jessops and work just fine.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by glsammy

The set I've got have electrical contacts so your camera can meter correctly, but to me it hardly matters as I tend to use mine with my macro lens where I usually use manual mode anyway.Certainly no need to stick with the camera makers brand. The set I've got came from Jessops and work just fine.

surely even on manual you need your camera to do ttl metering - or are you using a hand held meter ?

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by eeyore

surely even on manual you need your camera to do ttl metering - or are you using a hand held meter ?

Nope, I guess!! Take a shot, look at it and adjust accordingly. Works well enough. It's not often I use the tubes, and it's usually on a static subject where I've got lots of time so plenty of time to adjust as necessary. I wouldn't recommend it when used on any other subject!

[pressld2]

Hi cwilk,

I'm a Nikon user but the principles are the same...

I took the middle road and bought a set of Kenko tubes. These were quite a bit cheaper than the Nikon ones but not the cheapest on the market. They have the necessary contacts to maintain metering and AF, although like most people I rarely use AF for macro and never when using tubes. I do use the metering most of the time though...

Dave P.

[Blackbrook Eye]

Please take note!!!, the cheap ones without electrical contact between the camera body and the lens will not facilitate the apperture stop down mechanism, therefore you will be using maximum apperture at all times, not a good idea for macro where a small apperture is needed to get any useful depth of field.

Keith

[cwilk]

Hi all,

Thanks so much for all the replies, the forum is a veritable mine of expertise!

So, as far as I understand, if I used the cheapo ones then I would have to use the camera on fully manual and manually set the focus, speed and aperture. TBH, this doesnt bother me too much as I've used a fully manual camera before (VERY old slr with discontinued batteries!) I tend to do close ups when pottering round the garden looking at flowers and the instant feedback provided by digital cameras certainly speeds the learning curve.

Blackbrook - only being able to use a very wide aperture is a bit more of an alarming prospect. Would this happen even on manual, do you know? For example, if I set the aperture to f8 before fitting the tubes, would it remainat f8, or would it default to the widest aperture? (excuse my terminology, I get terribly mixed up with stopping down or up so I tend to think of it as wider or narrower).

many thanks.

[pressld2]

Originally Posted by cwilk

Blackbrook - only being able to use a very wide aperture is a bit more of an alarming prospect. Would this happen even on manual, do you know? For example, if I set the aperture to f8 before fitting the tubes, would it remainat f8, or would it default to the widest aperture? (excuse my terminology, I get terribly mixed up with stopping down or up so I tend to think of it as wider or narrower).

That was a good point that Blackbrook Eye made and one that hadn't occurred to me. The answer is it depends on your lens. If your lens has an aperture ring on it then you'll still be able to set a small aperture manually. However, many modern lenses don't have an aperture ring on them and the only way to change the aperture is via the camera body. If you're using tubes without contacts then you won't be able to set the aperture and, as Blackbrook Eye says, it will default to it's widest position. It will do this even if you set a different aperture before adding the tubes.

Dave P.

[cwilk]

Damn, I thought £10 was too good to be true. I will have to see how generous father christmas is feeling this year!

many thanks to you all!