Posts Tagged Macro extension tubes
June 24, 2011 – Ladybug
Posted by Dave in Animals, Macro, Picture of the Day on June 24, 2011
Ladybug
Friday, June 24, 2011
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=2533
So, here’s a ladybug. I used my Tamron 90mm macro lens that I picked up used at Glazer’s a year or two ago. The more I use it, the more I’m convinced that it doesn’t result in quite as nice of images as my Minolta-mount Kiron 105 that I got on Ebay. But, it’s a heck of a lot easier to use. That’s because it’s actually a modern, electronic lens that is designed for working with a Canon body, as opposed to an old, physically actuated lens that was designed for a mount that I’m not even sure they make anymore. The reason that makes a difference in usability primarily comes down to the aperture. With modern lenses, the aperture is held wide open as you’re focusing and composing, then it’s closed down to the desired size when you hit the shutter button. The minolta-mount lens has the same idea, but it’s done physically – meaning there’s a little spring-loaded rod in the mount that, when moved to the side, holds open the aperture. When you hit the shutter button on a camera that uses that mount, it then moves something out of the way that was previously holding that rod in place, thus the spring that I mentioned then closes down the aperture. But obviously, a modern Canon-mount camera doesn’t support that.
So, the upshot of all that is that when you’re using the Kiron lens, you have to close down the aperture before taking the shot. Which means that you’re restricting the amount of light that you have to focus with, sometimes severely so. And, to make matters worse, you’re enlarging your depth of field at the same time. So it becomes extremely difficult to tell if you’re focused on just the spot you want, particularly so when you’re taking macro shots, where being off by a millimeter or less can ruin the shot. Yeah, it’s hard. So, that’s what I mean when I say the Tamron is easier to use, because you can use the wide open aperture to focus, and it’ll automatically step down when you take the shot. But the images aren’t as nice. So it goes.
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Tamron 90mm macro lens with Opteka extension tube and Phoenix macro ring flash. 1/160s, f/16, ISO 100.
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February 9, 2011 – Aaaaaah, a Fly!
Posted by Dave in Animals, Macro, Picture of the Day on February 9, 2011
Fly
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1972
Aaaaaahhh!! There’s a giant camera in my face!
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens with Opteka extension tubes. 1/800s, f/5.0, ISO 800.
Popularity: 19%
October 19, 2010 – Ant
Posted by Dave in - Best of Dave's POTD -, Animals, Macro, Picture of the Day on October 19, 2010
Ant
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1965
What were you expecting, more fall colors?? Nah, not today. Instead, we’re going to go with an insect picture, just because I know how much my friend-in-law likes them. (That’s what you call somebody who is your friend by marriage, right?)
This one wasn’t taken with my normal macro setup. So I think that’s worth talking about. I took this one while out hiking, whereas most of my insect pictures are taken around my neighborhood. The macro stuff I usually use (macro lens, extension tubes, macro flash, sometimes a tripod or a monopod) can be kind of bulky. It’s fine if I know I’m going to be looking for bugs, but on a hike, bugs aren’t really the goal. So, that led to the question of what I should bring along. Ideally, if I did see a cool bug worth taking a picture of, I’d want to be able to do so. But, all the stuff I’m already bringing on hikes (camera, 3 lenses, plus filters, extra batteries, etc) is kind of annoying, so bringing even more stuff, like a lens specifically for macro and a flash, is not really desirable. So, as a compromise, I’ve started just bringing a couple extension tubes. They’re pretty lightweight and small, and they’re pretty rugged, so you don’t have to take as good of care of them as you do lenses. After doing some experimenting, I decided I could get “close enough” by using the tubes with my telephoto lens. (That worked better than with my wide angle or my standard range lens, for what it’s worth.)
The day I took this picture was really the first time I really tried it out in actual use, and I was glad to see that the hacked-up setup did indeed work “well enough”. It definitely wasn’t as pleasant to use as my regular setup, but it got the job done. Good thing, too, since I was on a hike that was supposed to have really great views (but didn’t, they were only mediocre) on a day that was supposed to have really nice weather (but didn’t, it was that bland featureless overcast that just kills me. And then it started raining), so it was nice to have other things to take pictures of. Although the fact that I didn’t have a flash meant that I had to crank up the ISO, but the results were still passable.
So, to summarize, here’s the setup I bring with me on hikes these days, for those who are curious. Camera (Canon EOS Rebel T1i), with Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens attached. I usually have that in my hand the entire hike. Then, I have a small camera bag attached to the side of my backpack. In there, I have two lenses (Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 and Canon 55-250mm IS), two extension tubes, two filters (circular polarizers for the 11-16 and 17-50 – need to get one for the 55-250, but haven’t bothered yet), 3-4 spare batteries (they’re super cheap on eBay), a couple spare memory cards (that I haven’t needed to use in years), and a lens cleaning cloth. That’s all the important stuff anyway. Then, I sometimes also (when I remember) bring along a gorilla pod, but I basically never get around to actually using it. I really should use a tripod more often, for those times when I want to slow down a river or get some depth of field. But… whatever.
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon 55-250mm IS lens with Opteka extension tubes. 1/250s, f/7.1, ISO 800. Focal length: 55mm (Well, that’s what the lens was set at..)
Popularity: 17%
July 9, 2010 – Crazy Bug
Posted by Dave in Animals, Macro, Picture of the Day on July 9, 2010
Insect
Friday, July 9, 2010
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1608
I realized earlier today that it’s been a little while since I’ve posted a crazy macro bug shot. So here you go. I’ve got a fair number of bug shots that I just haven’t for whatever reason put online anywhere yet, so I had to dig this one up in order to post it today. I took this one earlier this spring, when I went on a little field trip to one of the parks here in Seattle (Carkeek Park, for those that know the area), because I was sick of the lack of bugs in my neighborhood. (Crazy, right? That I’d be complaining about there *not being enough* bugs. Weird.) I was using my recently-acquired macro ring flash, and two extension tubes with my Canon 50mm prime. (I don’t know the exact lengths of the extension tubes, but it was the two longer tubes out of the set of 3. With the third one on there, the already tiny working distance was just too short to be of any use..)
It’s really not very hard to get cool bug shots if you’ve got the equipment (and the equipment is surprisingly affordable!), but it does require a lot of patience. Both looking for bugs to take pictures of, as well as not getting too frustrated when they inevitably fly away before you get set up. Also, getting the bugs in focus is a real pain in the ass.
Another issue that I had with this particular set up is what I just hinted at: the small working distance. In order to focus, the bugs are only an inch or two from the front of your lens. So depending on how skittish the bug is, it can be hard to get close enough without them flying away. Also, they move a lot (especially the crawling bugs), so it can be extremely frustrating. But, it’s fun, so it’s worth the perseverance. (Wow, spell check told me I spelled that last word wrong, and after correcting it, it’s totally spelled differently than I would have expected.) Ideally, it would be nice to have a macro set up that would get me a similar level of magnification (or even more!) with a longer working distance. That’s where 100mm and 180mm macro lenses come in to play. Also, my macro flash isn’t adjustable at all, it just fires at full strength every time. Which means that sometimes there’s just no way to NOT overexpose the picture, because I’m already at the smallest aperture my lens will go to, at the lowest ISO my camera will do. I suppose the options would be to either use a different lens (that can go smaller), to manually cover some of the flash, or to use a neutral density filter. Perhaps I’ll try those later.
Anyway, have a great weekend everyone!
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens with Opteka macro extension tubes. 1/160s, f/20.0, ISO 100.
Popularity: 17%
June 11, 2010 – That’s Not Pollen
Posted by Dave in Animals, Flowers, Macro, Picture of the Day on June 11, 2010
Tiny Red Spiders
Friday, June 11, 2010
http://www.davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1558
When I decided that it would be worth my while to crouch on my knees all the way down there on the ground to take this picture, I thought I was looking at a tiny white flower with little bits of red pollen on it. It wasn’t until I actually looked through the lens that I realized that the little red bits of pollen were MOVING. That was pretty creepy. Then, it wasn’t until even later than that, when I was looking at the images on the big screen back at home, that I realized that those aren’t little red insects, they’re actually little red SPIDERS. I mean, wow, that’s straight up freaky right there.
Just thought I’d share…
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens with Opteka macro extension tubes. 1/160s, f/18.0, ISO 100.
Popularity: 39%
May 19, 2010 – Fly
Posted by Dave in Animals, Macro, Picture of the Day on May 19, 2010
Fly
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
http://www.davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1542
And there it is.
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon 50mm f/1.8 with Opteka macro expansion tubes and Phoenix ring flash. 1/160s, f/18.0, ISO 100.
Popularity: 18%
May 7, 2010 – Hello, Friend
Posted by Dave in Animals, Macro, Picture of the Day on May 7, 2010
Hello, friend
Friday, May 7, 2010
http://www.davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1561
Hello again everyone. I’m still under the weather, so I’ll keep this short again. But, here’s another image that came out of my new macro toys, the extension tubes and macro ring flash. It’s a fly! I’ve been using two of the tubes in combination with my 50mm prime lens, and it’s been working fairly well. The downside is that you have to be REALLY REALLY close to the subject to get it in focus. As in, less than 2 centimeters away. It’s really hard to get that close without scaring things away. What I really need is a true macro lens (so that I don’t need the tubes, or don’t need as many tubes), or maybe even longer macro lens (like a 90 or 100mm macro lens, or Canon and Tamron both make a 180mm 1:1 macro), that would give me more of a working distance. One day, one day. Until then, this will do, for sure.
In other news… I fooled around a bit last night and got the Facebook like button working on my pages. There are a zillion different WordPress plugins to do it, but surprisingly, NONE OF THEM EFFING WORK. They’re all busted in the same ways – granted the root cause is probably a bug on Facebook’s side, but STILL. I ended up just hacking up one of the plugins to use the newest version of Facebook’s APIs, and that did the trick.
Why would you want to use the button? Well, I’ll tell you why. It helps me out, you see. When you click like, it’ll show up in your news feed on Facebook, and then all of your Facebook friends will see it, and then all the cool ones will click through to check it out, and they’ll get hooked just like you did. Brilliant! I know, I know, lots of you are all freaked out about the Facebook privacy concerns and stuff, so all you guys can feel free to not click the button. Don’t worry though, I don’t get your login information, nothing like that. I don’t even get to see the names of the people that click like unless you’re already my friend on Facebook. It’s all cool.
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens with Opteka macro extension tubes and Phoenix macro ring flash. 1/160s, f/20.0, ISO 100.
Popularity: 16%
April 27, 2010 – Bee and Lavender
Posted by Dave in Animals, Flowers, Macro, Picture of the Day on April 27, 2010
Bee and Lavender
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
http://www.davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1543
As promised, here’s a picture taken using my new macro tools that came in on Friday and Saturday. (To refresh your memory, I got a set of macro extension tubes, and a cheap macro flash.) I spent a little bit of time playing around with them over the weekend, and so far I’m pretty happy with the results. I’ve been using the setup almost exclusively with my 50mm prime lens so far, and it’s been working out fine.
It doesn’t seem like you can get in as close with this particular setup as you can with the reverse mounted lens, although that was sort of expected. (Although I wasn’t sure how dramatic of a difference it would be.) This picture was taken using 2 of the 3 tubes, so I could have added the third to get in closer, but it’s pretty unwieldy as-is with the flash attachment and everything on there, so getting close enough to the subject would be pretty challenging. (The tip of my lens was about an inch away from the bee as it was.) I need to try it out on different lenses though, to see how it reacts with each. (The longer your lens – not focal length, actual length – the less dramatic the effect. Makes sense, really, since if you’re 3 inches out from your sensor to start with, adding another 3 inches means you’re doubling it. If you start 12 inches out, adding 3 more is less than 30% of an increase..)
The flash is pretty awesome though. It of course takes a little bit of time to refresh, so my old strategy of just taking oodles and oodles of frames as I slowly swayed back and forth (to try to ensure that I got at least one in focus) needed to be adjusted somewhat. But, the benefit of being able to use a super-tiny aperture (f/18, even at ISO 100!) outweighed that. After shooting with the reverse-mount for awhile, having the extra depth of field is reeeeeally nice, and it has the added benefit of covering your butt if your focal point is a tiny bit off. It’s definitely a little bit unwieldy, especially when you mount it on a short lens. Having a longer lens (like a 100mm macro) that allows you a greater distance to your subject would be really handy for getting into corners and stuff. But, if you’re on a budget like me, this setup seems to be working out great so far. I’m sure this won’t be the last you’ll see of it. 
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens, with Opteka macro extension tubes. 1/160s, f/18.0, ISO 100. Phoenix macro ring flash.
Popularity: 16%