Extension Tube EF12 Discussion



EF12 on 24-70 zoom
 EF12 on 24-70 zoom lens

 EF12 on 16-35 zoom




The Extension Tube is a really fun and inexpensive accessory to purchase.  It extends give or extends your lenses ability to take Macros.  Depending on the focal length of the lens you attach it to, and the distance between the object and the lens you will get different magnification factors.

The  photos above are three examples of macro photos taken with the EF12,  The two small flower photos are actually the same type of flower.  The image on the left was shot with the EF12 attached to the 24-70mm zoom.  This gave an approximate 1:1 image.  The 24-70 actually has close focus (macro) capabilities on it's own and the EF12 was probably not necessary in this situation, but it is always fun to use, just in case you want further magnification.

The orange flower is an example of this.  This was also taken with the EF12 attached to the 24-70mm zoom, but this time I was much closer to the flower and it produced a 1:2 magnification of this flower.  In actuality the orange flower was about half the size as it appears in the photo above.

The small flower photo on the right is the same type of flower as  the one on left.  This time I used the EF12 in conjunction with the 16-24mm zoom.  This allowed me to get much closer to the flower and get a much greater magnification as well.  This image is a 1:4 magnification of the flowers actual size.

You can also use the EF12 with the 70-200mm zoom, but this gets quite cumbersome since that lens is pretty large and heavy.  Also, you don't get much magnification, so I have found no reason to use this combination.

If you enjoy macro photography, I highly recommend adding an extender to your accessories.  You can get other extenders that give you even greater magnification.  All the extender actually does is increase the space between your lens and the camera body.  It is actually just a spacer.  It contains no glass.  The larger the space, the greater the magnification.  These accessories only run around $70.  I think they are the best value for the fun you get out of them.

I must add that all of my images have gone through Photoshop.  I crop, sharpen, employ noise reduction techniques, adjust contrast, saturation, and sometimes tone on most of my photos.  Out of the camera the images don't look as good, but in my opinion this is the great benefit of the digital world.  I believe that you should take all of your favorite images and mess with them in Photoshop.  But remember, in photography your photos will only be as good as your weakest piece of equipment.  If I was shooting with a lesser camera and with inexpensive lenses I would not have been able to achieve the quality of photos shown above, even with the help of Photoshop.



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Photos by Rob Bukar