Extension tubes or magnification lens for 70-300mm VR G-ED IF
- Thread starter Shawn_B
- Start date
Extension tubes do not reduce image quality at all. By magnification lens I am assuming you mean close up lenses. Close up lenses DO reduce image quality and add distortion and lack of flatness of field but do have the advantage that they do not appreciably decrease the amount of light falling on the film or sensor. Extension tubes, on the other hand, do not reduce image quality but DO reduce the light reaching the film or sensor.
I use extension tubes for all of my 35mm/FX work but use the Hasselblad Proxar close up lenses on my Hasselblad. The Proxars are very high quality and were quite expensive (like everything with the Hasselblad name on it), but not nearly as expensive as a Hasselblad extension tube, and are composed of two elements, not just one and do not appreciably reduce IQ. The CZ lenses themselves are so sharp and the film format so large that I really do not see a difference
It is up to you which one who want to choose based on your photographic needs but I would choose the extension tubes over close up lenses,
I use extension tubes for all of my 35mm/FX work but use the Hasselblad Proxar close up lenses on my Hasselblad. The Proxars are very high quality and were quite expensive (like everything with the Hasselblad name on it), but not nearly as expensive as a Hasselblad extension tube, and are composed of two elements, not just one and do not appreciably reduce IQ. The CZ lenses themselves are so sharp and the film format so large that I really do not see a difference
It is up to you which one who want to choose based on your photographic needs but I would choose the extension tubes over close up lenses,
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Shawn an extension tube in itself will not effect IQ,what you may find is with a zoom its a bit tricky to find the focus area and magnification you want as you will need to use the zoom facility for initial focus,also you need to buy a very good tube with full communication and make sure its strong i read of one of the cheaper ones breaking with the lens weight.
Cant recommend any as i dont have them.
Cant recommend any as i dont have them.
This is one of the better quality Nikon close up filters,you would need to research them to find the closest suited one for your lens,the best ones are two element.Nikon NO. 4T Two Element Close-Up Attachment Lens with case and box | eBay
I'm a little confused...the OP wants to extend his focal length. It sounds like he should be looking at teleconverters, not extension tubes or close up filters....
Thanks Hark for the clarification. Tele converter is another thing than extension tube.
Unfortunately, a tele-converter would not work well with the 70-300 lens. Two reasons: First, the aperture already being 5.6 at 300 would be decreased by the tele-converter. This would bring the actual aperture to between 8 and 11, depending on the tele-converter power. Second, there are some glass elements on the back of the lens and on the front of the tele-converter that could come into contact with each others at certain focal lengths. This could cause some damage to the lens glass. This is why Nikon does not approve of using such tele-converter on this particular lens. Inside the manual that came with the lens, or inside the camera's owner manual there is a list of lenses that can work with the tele-converters. Usually the lenses would be larger apertures.
Unfortunately, a tele-converter would not work well with the 70-300 lens. Two reasons: First, the aperture already being 5.6 at 300 would be decreased by the tele-converter. This would bring the actual aperture to between 8 and 11, depending on the tele-converter power. Second, there are some glass elements on the back of the lens and on the front of the tele-converter that could come into contact with each others at certain focal lengths. This could cause some damage to the lens glass. This is why Nikon does not approve of using such tele-converter on this particular lens. Inside the manual that came with the lens, or inside the camera's owner manual there is a list of lenses that can work with the tele-converters. Usually the lenses would be larger apertures.
I understand your reasoning about a teleconverter as I wouldn't use one on this particular lens either, but neither an extension tube nor a close up filter will extend the focal length which is why I am confused as to the OP's desire. I hope the OP will elaborate a little further.
I understand your reasoning about a teleconverter as I wouldn't use one on this particular lens either, but neither an extension tube nor a close up filter will extend the focal length which is why I am confused as to the OP's desire. I hope the OP will elaborate a little further.
In a way the extension tubes would extend the focusing range of a given lens though... So we won't know until the Original poster clarifies his question. Unfortunately, a lot of one times posters never come back or stick around long enough to have their query really answered.
The Kenko extension tubes have the lens to body contacts and the G lenses are all controlled by the body.
Hey,
it has been sometime since I posted this.
Thank you all for the replies
So to clarify my request, I want to be able to zoom further than 300mm with this lens.
It's great lens and I have gotten some great pics with it.
However my subjects are usually far an I want to be able to zoom closer to them, fill the frame with more of the subject
isit possible to achieve maybe 400mm or 600mm using an accessory on this lens ?
it has been sometime since I posted this.
Thank you all for the replies
So to clarify my request, I want to be able to zoom further than 300mm with this lens.
It's great lens and I have gotten some great pics with it.
However my subjects are usually far an I want to be able to zoom closer to them, fill the frame with more of the subject
isit possible to achieve maybe 400mm or 600mm using an accessory on this lens ?
I would say no.if you found a converter that would fit IQ would suffer and you would lose light,a 1.4 giving a 420mm at the long end would lose 1 f stop and a 2x giving 600mm at the long end would lose 2 f stops,and there is a very good chance you would lose AF even with the 1.4.
As such the IQ at 300mm is nothing to rave about. Adding a teleconverter will decrease it even further, to the extent that you will be better off without it. Please read up reviews of long lenses on the net. There are detailed reviews which give the sharpness, CA and other parameters, with and without TC.
For longer range - 400 to 600, either get a longer zoom or get a prime super telephoto with a TC. The least cost long range solution for good IQ is the Nikon 300mm F4 AF-S lense with TC 1.4. That will give you 420mm with good IQ, better than Nikon's own 200-400mm zoom (which incidentally costs very much more). At the lower cost end are the 150-500 and 150-600 zooms.
I have the 70-300mm and although I can't complain about the lens, I'd not be sure if the 200-300 range is good enough for a TC to be worth it.
I even doubt the lens works with the Nikon TC since, even while being AF-S, it is not on the list of supported lenses.
Extension tubes might magnify some of the range but on longer lenses, you'll have to add a whole lot of extensions for that to get enough distance. I'd be like shooting with a rain pipe installed on your cam. Not to mention the increase of tension on the bayonet fitting of your cam if you do not support the front of the lens.
I even doubt the lens works with the Nikon TC since, even while being AF-S, it is not on the list of supported lenses.
Extension tubes might magnify some of the range but on longer lenses, you'll have to add a whole lot of extensions for that to get enough distance. I'd be like shooting with a rain pipe installed on your cam. Not to mention the increase of tension on the bayonet fitting of your cam if you do not support the front of the lens.
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I max extend zoom my 70-300 AF VR to 280mm, my copy is soft IMHO at 300.
I use capture NX-D crop tool as my teleconverter.
(Tho it is a surprisingly nice bit of glass I am frantically saving and selling off gear to fund a Nikkor AF 300 F4 and 1.4 TC then I will be out doing some serious hunting)
I use capture NX-D crop tool as my teleconverter.
(Tho it is a surprisingly nice bit of glass I am frantically saving and selling off gear to fund a Nikkor AF 300 F4 and 1.4 TC then I will be out doing some serious hunting)
I max extend zoom my 70-300 AF VR to 280mm, my copy is soft IMHO at 300.
I use capture NX-D crop tool as my teleconverter.
(Tho it is a surprisingly nice bit of glass I am frantically saving and selling off gear to fund a Nikkor AF 300 F4 and 1.4 TC then I will be out doing some serious hunting)
My non VR 70-300 is pretty bad after 250mm, in fact 70-200mm is good range.