Kenko/Vivtar/Phottix Extension tubes - Pros and Cons?

A

aZuMi

Senior Member
Just wondering if anyone uses this and what are the benefits and cons for using this? I've heard it from a friend who says it'll help minimize the focusing distance, but are there any major drawbacks?

Thanks in advance.
 
P

pedroj

Senior Member
I have some of them

They can be a little difficult to focus...Some of these are capable of auto focus some aren't...
Cheap alternative to buying a macro lens..
 
A

aZuMi

Senior Member
Yea, I'm thinking of getting a cheaper one (Phottix) since I heard it works well and is tighter compared to Kenko.

However, is there a drawback in optics?
Will it be harder to focus? (I heard it won't focus to infinity if you have these and will have to manually focus sometimes)
Is there a delay in AF if this is attached?

I plan on using this on some macro (not a whole lot) and also because I hate the fact that my 80-200mm 2.8 has a minimum focusing distance of almost 2 meters :(
 
Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
aZuMi said:
Yea, I'm thinking of getting a cheaper one (Phottix) since I heard it works well and is tighter compared to Kenko.

However, is there a drawback in optics?
Will it be harder to focus? (I heard it won't focus to infinity if you have these and will have to manually focus sometimes)
Is there a delay in AF if this is attached?

I plan on using this on some macro (not a whole lot) and also because I hate the fact that my 80-200mm 2.8 has a minimum focusing distance of almost 2 meters :(
Click to expand...

The drawback is that you will loose light (the longer the extension tube the more light you loose) so your 2.8 lens might become 4 even if it still reads 2.8 in the camera there will be less light getting to the sensor.
You will NEVER be able to focus at infinity using any brand extension tube. Optically, there is no lens in the extension tube so it shouldn't be a problem, but… I've notice that some lenses seems to work better with them than others. Maybe it has to do with the original quality of the lenses?
 
A

aZuMi

Senior Member
Marcel said:
The drawback is that you will loose light (the longer the extension tube the more light you loose) so your 2.8 lens might become 4 even if it still reads 2.8 in the camera there will be less light getting to the sensor.
You will NEVER be able to focus at infinity using any brand extension tube. Optically, there is no lens in the extension tube so it shouldn't be a problem, but… I've notice that some lenses seems to work better with them than others. Maybe it has to do with the original quality of the lenses?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info Marcel and pedroj. The loss in light shouldn't be that big of an issue, but I'm more excited with the type of macro shots I can do with it :)
 
Top