question about Macro Extension Tube 2:1

[jfproul]

Can someone on this board can explain to me what this extention will do if
i put one on my E-510 and a 35mm macro lens ? i don't understand their explaination
on olympus web site ... i am too new to slr to catch it


thanks

 

[gary-ramey]

I'm in the same boat but have been researching 2 lenses in the last few weeks. Basically it just moves the lens further away from the sensor. You can only manually focus with it unless you have the 50mm lens. Even then you can only AF to a certain degree and then have to MF.

*When using the ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 50mm f2.0 Macro lens, use manual focus at 0.8 to 0.98X

So unless you buy a port with a manual focus gear, the extender is pretty much useless underwater. Your best bet is the more expensive 1.4X teleconverter or a simple wet diopter.

 

[Fotoz4FX]

Sorry ce4jesus but you are recommending something that doesn't do what an extender does.

a 1.4x teleconverter turns the lens into a sort of telescoping monocular rather than the microscope an extension tube creates.

So if you want to know what your extension tube will do, let me try explaining this to you in easy terms.

Naturally, the extension tube will put space between your lens and your camera. There is a give and take to doing this (there always is in photography). What you gain in your ability to get closer and more intricate images suffers in both reduced depth of field and loss of light.

Since you do have the ability to see your point of focus by virtue of your TTL SLR equipment the fact that you need to manually focus the lens should not be of issue unless your underwater case does not allow for it. Predetermining focus distance still, is not an issue because you can move in or out to find that desirable focal point.

What you will not have (and ce4jesus does suggest this point) is the camera's ability to determine your proper exposure for you because you don't have the electronic communication between your lens and camera unless your Olympus doesn't require that marriage between lens and body as most cameras do.

Since it's a Digital, who cares?... you can recompose and shoot again with the corrected setting if you have time to do so.

You didn't give critical information about your extension tube... i.e. it's physical length but the further it moves your lens away from your sensor, the longer your shutter speed will need to be to get enough light to properly expose your image (or a wider aperture will be needed - again reducing your depth of focus). Remember that give and take? The advantage of the extension tube will be that your lens can take closer images (camera to subject is closer) - the disadvantage is that your camera gets closer to your subject... marine life takes issue with being cornered.

Get my drift?

If you have questions about photography, please feel free to email me personally at fotoz4fx@yahoo.com or foto_fx@onemodelplace.com

 

[AbyssalPlains]

I'm by no means an expert in this, so take my advice with a grain of salt. But when I researched which macro lens to buy, I remember that the 35mm has a very close focusing distance. All the extension tube does is allow you to get even closer. In theory, this makes sense because you increase the image size on your sensor, by means of getting closer. Extension tubes, in contrast to teleconverters, do NOT increase magnification per se. They just allow you to get closer. Now, from what I've read, the 35mm has ALREADY such a close focusing distance, that you would have to virtually ram your lens port into the critter to benefit from the added magnification. This may work for non-skittish objects such as flowers, but it doesn't sound like a good idea to me for underwater use. Like many others on this board, I find the 50mm Macro lens the ideal lens for uw macro. I use it with an add-on wet lens ("woody's diopter" from reefphoto.com) if I want to increase the magnification a bit. IMHO, this combo is the most suitable option for UW macro.

 

[AbyssalPlains]

What you will not have (and ce4jesus does suggest this point) is the camera's ability to determine your proper exposure for you because you don't have the electronic communication between your lens and camera unless your Olympus doesn't require that marriage between lens and body as most cameras do.

Since it's a Digital, who cares?... you can recompose and shoot again with the corrected setting if you have time to do so.

I second these points. The one thing I would not be concerned about is the communication between lens and camera. I've only very recently dared to take metering into my own hands and completely stopped using any mode but manual. I was pretty skeptical at first, but after a short period of trial and error and practice, I must say that my pics have improved 300 percent at the very least! This holds true even more for underwater. I started using TTL and Aperture or shutter priority. No more. I do everything manually now and I love it!

 

[PHIL RUDIN]

JF,

I have both the Olympus 35 mm and 50 mm macro lenses along with the extension tube and 1.4X & 2x tele converters.

With the 35 mm at life size you have very little space between the lens and the subject at 1:1 (E.G. with the lens fully extended). In a housing behind a macro port the distance is even less and with some ports you will be focused inside the port at 1:1.
This means that it is very difficult to aim the strobe light for macro between the port glass and the subject. Adding the extension tube makes the distance even smaller and is a waist of your time for U/W photography. Even on land is is Hard to use and gives a very shallow depth of field.

With the tele converter the subject size is reduced and the distance to the subject is increased by 1.4 and 2x depending on the tele converter.

The first image shows a bill inside a 35 mm slide mount.

The second image shows the bill at 1:1 life size (based on the 4/3 image sensor size).

The third is the 35 mm lens at 1:1 with the extension tube.

The forth is at 1:1 with the 1.4 tele converter which amounts to 1.4:1.

Phil Rudin

 

[jfproul]

thanks ! got it now ...


jf

 

[gary-ramey]

Sorry ce4jesus but you are recommending something that doesn't do what an extender does.

I never implied that it did. However I did make the assumption that the question surrounded Olympus Cameras taking macro photos underwater. In that regard, my response was spot-on.

What you will not have (and ce4jesus does suggest this point) is the camera's ability to determine your proper exposure for you because you don't have the electronic communication between your lens and camera unless your Olympus doesn't require that marriage between lens and body as most cameras do.

Olympus Macro Extenders have all the embedded electronics for autofocus for only the 50mm lens. Other lenses would need to be manually focused. This is somewhat problematic as there aren't many manual focus rings for the Olympus Lenses and the only one I know of is for the 50mm not the 35mm.

So if you want to know what your extension tube will do, let me try explaining this to you in easy terms.

I almost stopped reading your post after this comment. You would do yourself, and those you address, a favor by not insulting their intellect right off the bat.


....and thanks Phil,:14:
you are the foremost authority on the Olympus setups.