hswader Loc: Bedford, PA

Ranked, I just bought the spacers mentioned. On e- bay, they cost me around $8.00 and change. Also have some close-up filters. I have tried both , but I think I like the spaces better. If you'd like, I can post several pics that I just took yesterday using same. BTW, I am using the 35- 80mm lens on a Canon EOS T-3. I'll check back on this post later, OK?

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

Ramled, it sounds like you're describing extension tubes. Perhaps they're also called spacers, although I've never heard them so described.

The best extension tubes have built-in circuitry and mechanical coupling to allow the camera's autofocus and metering to be used. Autofocus is sometimes not useful for macro, since macro DOF is so limited, though it sometimes can be helpful. Metering is definitely highly useful.

Both Canon and third parties make linked extension tubes. I use a set of Kenko tubes, and have been very satisfied with them. Kenko tubes are much less expensive than Canon's and provide the same functionality. Amazon is offering a 3-tube set for $132. Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Kenko-Auto-Extension-Canon-Mount/dp/B000U8Y88M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440077857&sr=8-1&keywords=kenko+extension+tubes

Don, the 2nd son Loc: Crowded Florida

I have these attachments and have had excellent results, I use the 500D and the 250D, the 500D gets most use. I also have the Canon 85mm f/1.8 with extension tube also attach 58mm 240D (1970's version made for Canon video camera.) These are "my favorite things."

(Download)

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

Ronald - is that you? I am assuming he means: Do your research.

Don, the 2nd son Loc: Crowded Florida

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

You mean Close-Up filters. Yes, they can work well if used properly.

Another UHH'er implied Extension Tubes. These give better results and a flatter field but more expensive "true" macro but at a higher price. They fit between the camera and lens. I own several sets.

For the best macro, as you seem to know or can guess, a prime macro lens is the best but expensive. Yes, you can combine use of a macro lens with extension tubes for huge magnifications. You might try to find a used if not vintage manual prime macro lens for your camera. The minimum is usually the "normal" focal length for your camera format, 35mm for Crop Factor, 50mm for Full Frame. But you would likely be better off finding a longer focal length macro lens, say 100mm, 105mm, 150mm, 200mm. You then have more working distance from your subject. With a 35mm or 50mm you might be only half an inch from a small flower or insect. And I mean a prime lens not a "macro" Zoom. I have several macro lenses, 35mm, 50mm, and 100mm.

Contentious point, I personally see no point or use of Autofocus when shooting macro or extreme close-up. Unless you are actually blind. When I am lazy or not very serious about a shot I may shoot a close-up, not macro of say a large flower with autofocus. I really only use AF for wildlife or sports, but that's me.

thephotoman Loc: Rochester, NY

The Canon filters mentioned i, a previous response will work on any lens with the matching thread side.

DVJ

I have 2 of these diopter closeup lenses (72 and 77) and use them a lot on my Nikon. The extension tubes are OK, but you do lose f/stops with them -- and many lenses are not as good at close distances. Nikon used to make 50 and 62 diopter lenses and may still be available on ebay.

chapjohn Loc: Tigard, Oregon

I would suggest that you stay away from the "close up" filter things that screw on the front of your lens. Look at "Extention Tubes."

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

In thinking more about your question, perhaps it would help you to be more specific as to why you want an inexpensive macro capability. What do you plan to photograph? Are you planning to photograph coins or stamps? Small items for sale on ebay? Flowers? Butterflies and other cautious creatures? Bees, ants, and other not-so cautious creatures? Do want to take pictures of insects so close that you can see their compound eyes? Are the photos for scientific purposes, to hang on your wall, or just to see what you can achieve?

For some of these goals, inexpensive diopter close-up filters would be ok. You could get a set of several for less than $25. The next step up would be a good set of extension tubes. The next step, cost and quality-wise is a ~50mm macro lens. Longer macro lenses cost more, but allow you to get the shot much farther from the prey. For extreme macro shots, there are other solutions not recommended for someone just getting started.

So, equipment choice is driven in part by your goals. If you're mostly interested in just getting your feet wet in this area, get a set of diopter filters. If that stirs your passion, maybe you'll want to pursue more advanced gear subsequently.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Those are close-up lenses, attach to the front of your lens just like a filter and the cheap sets typically are utter crap. Don't waste your money. The image quality they produce will be very disappointing.

There are similar multi-element close-up "diopters" such as the Canon 250D and 500D that work similarly but are much, much better quality. These are sort of like "reading classes for your lens" and run $75 to $150 apiece, depending upon the size you need (i.e., your lens' filter thread size). The Canon 250D is the stronger of the two and is designed for lenses up to 135mm. The 500D is designed for lenses from 70mm on up. Besides the Canon, there are quality Nikon and other diopters.

The problem with quality diopters is that they are relatively expensive and can only be used with certain lenses. Image quality can be compromised, too, even with better quality optics in the expensive ones.

Another method is the macro extension tubes mentioned earlier in an earlier response. These are sold individually and in sets and are installed behind your lens (between it and the camera) to cause the lens to focus closer (but not to infinity, while the extension is installed). Canon themselves sell high quality, individual tubes in two sizes: 12mm and 25mm. They are fairly expensive (about $90 and $130) compared to others.

The Kenko set of tubes is high quality and has become much more affordable (now about $130, was $200 a year ago... included 12mm, 20mm and 36mm tubes). Opteka offers a similar set that's pretty good, slightly lower quality, for around $80. That appears to sell under a couple other brand names (Vello?). Zeikos offers a set that's fair quality (rather plasticky) and has unusual sizes (13mm, 21mm and 31mm) for a bit less money (about $65-75). These also sell under a bunch of other brand names (Vivitar, Dot Line, Cowboy Studio, and many more). There's an even more economical version of the Ziekos with plastic bayonet mounts, costing around $50... might be okay for very occasional use.

Extension tubes have no optics... just air inside. So they cannot "harm" image quality with cheap glass. Some lenses tend to vignette and many non-macro lenses are a bit soft toward the corners when made to focus closer than they were designed to do. But image quality is pretty good and the tubes are universally usable on any lens you might have. You just need more extension with longer focal lengths, less with shorter. (There is a limit... too short a focal length leaves you no working distance between the front of the lens and your subject.)

You also will find even cheaper tube sets... under $25 and even sometimes under $15 or under $10. I don't recommend those for use with modern, electronically controlled lenses. There is no autofocus and, more importantly, no direct way to control the lens aperture with these "cheap, but dumb" tubes! They are fine, but fully manual control if using a vintage lens adapted to Canon.

A true macro lens is one that can focus to at least 1:2 (half life size) on it's own. Many can do full 1:1 (life size, meaning that you can photograph a subject roughly 15mm x 22mm with your camera). True macro lenses are fastest and easiest to use, plus are designed for close focusing, so typically will give the best image quality (sharp from corner to corner with minimal vignetting). There are a lot of macro lenses to choose among... for general purpose macro outdoors, I recommend a lens in the 60mm to 105mm focal length range. This gives you adequate working distance for most subjects, without being so long that it's difficult to handhold your shots. In this range there currently are:

Canon EF-S 60/2.8 USM Macro (crop only)
Tamron 60mm f2.0 Di II Macro/Portrait (crop only)
Sigma 70mm f2.8 DG Macro
Tamron 90mm f2.8 Di Macro
Tamron 90mm f2.8 Di VC USD Macro
Tokina 100mm f2.8 AT-X Macro
Canon 100mm f2.8 USM Macro
Canon 100mm f2.8L IS USM Macro
Zeiss 100mm f2.0 ZE Makro
Sigma 105mm f2.8 DG OS HSM Macro

There also are some pretty darned good discontinued models and possibly millions of excellent vintage macro lenses that can easily be adapted for use (manual aperture and manual focus only) on Canon cameras. Nikon, Pentax, Olympus and several other manufacturers' vintage lenses are easily adapted to use on Canon EOS cameras, if interested.

Personally I use the Tamron SP 60/2.0 (for it's compact size, large aperture); a vintage Tamron SP 90mm Macro; and the Canon 100/2.8 USM (the cheaper non-IS, non-L version... it's versatile and full featured, and can be fitted with a tripod ring).

I also use the Canon 180/3.5L USM Macro, Canon TS-E 45mm Tilt-Shift for a lot of close-up work (and will eventually be getting a TS-E 90mm); and the Canon MP-E 65mm (an extra high magnification, manual focus macro lens). These are all rather specialized to I didn't include them in the above list.

I also have Canon 12mm (two) and 25mm extension tubes, the Kenko tube set, and Canon 500D close-up lens in 77mm size. I've got some other macro gear, but these are the main items.

So, there are lots of ways to "do macro" or at least "close-up" shooting. There is no doubt that a modern, true macro lens is the fastest, easiest and most enjoyable way to shoot high quality macro images. The Canon 100/2.8 I use is hard to beat and probably my most used. It is one of very few lens around this focal length that can be fitted with a tripod mounting ring (an optional accessory). It has USM and a focus limiter to help with focus speed (macro lenses can be very slow auto focusing, needing to emphasize accuracy over speed), which may be as much or more of a benefit when using it for non-macro purposes. It also is an "IF" or "internal focusing lens", meaning it doesn't grow in length when focused closer. Some macro lenses do... in some cases a lot! The MP-E 65mm more than doubles in length. On the above list, I know for certain the Canon and Tamron 60mm lenses and the two Canon 100mm are all "IF" lenses. Check on any of the others that might interest you. A lens that extends when focused cuts into working distance between the front of the lens and the subject, so an IF lens can be helpful.

To give you some idea of pricing...

Canon EF 100/2.8 USM (non-L/IS) sells new for about $530 from reputable stores (after a $70 instant rebate... this price doesn't include the lens hood or tripod mounting ring).

Tamron SP 60/2.0 Di II currently sells for $524 new (incl. lens hood... I got mine for $400 on sale).

Canon EF-S 60/2.8 USM sells for around $470 new (lens hood sold separately).

Tokina 100/2.8 AT-X is one of the most affordable, currently costing $380 new (incl. lens hood).

You also might look at used... Heck, I bought my vintage Tamron 90mm macro for $20 and spent another $40 adapting it for use on Canon (it's a 1:2 lens, but I got the 1:1 adapter with it and use it with extension tubes at times). I don't think this is bad, for a $60 lens...


Have fun shopping!

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

I'd love to see the images!

Those really cheap "dumb" tubes have no electronic connections to support autofocus. That's not too big a deal because it's often easier to manual focus macro shots, anyway.

The bigger problem is that due to the lack of electronic contacts there's no direct way to control the aperture of a modern, electronic lens. So you're stuck shooting at wide open aperture all the time! That means minimal depth of field, although with macro you're often stopping down and struggling to find adequate DoF.

Actually, there is a way to stop the lens down, but it's a real pain in the arse (involves using the depth of field preview and removing, reinstalling the lens and tubes several times... any time you need to change the aperture.

These cheap tubes work okay with vintage lenses that have a manual aperture control ring (your viewfinder will be dark after stopping down, making manual focusing more challenging)... but they're not much fun to use with modern lenses.

I highly recommend you AT LEAST spend $45 or $50 for the "economy" plasticky tube set with electronic contacts. Much, much more fun to shoot with! The $65-75 tubes are better (metal bayonet mounts). And the $130 Kenko set is the best quality (along with the more expensive Canon individual tubes).

Yes, there is some "light fall-off" with extension tubes. The more extension, the more fall-off will occur (light loses strength exponentially, with distance). But in most uses it's really not all that much and your camera's metering system can automatically compensate for it.

When moving a lens farther from the camera to make it focus closer, the "effective aperture" also changes: partly fall-off, partly an optical effect. One of the most extreme examples is the Canon MP-E 65mm lens, which starts at 1:1 and goes to an ultra high 5:1 magnification. It's smallest selectable aperture is f16... at 1:1. By the time you focus the lens to it's max 5:1, the lens extends so much that the effective aperture has changed to something like f96. Note: the effective aperture doesn't occur with IF or "internal focusing" lenses that don't change length.... another reason IF lenses are nice!

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

I forgot one thing...

If looking at macro extension tubes of any type, if you want to use them with an EF-S lens, be sure they're compatible. Many were made in EF mount. Only more recent ones also accommodate EF-S.

Canon "Mark II" tubes are compatible. The older versions not.

Kenko's marked "CA/AFs" are, while those marked "CA/AF" are not.

They are relatively new, so AFAIK all the Opteka are fully compatible with both EF and EF-S.

There were Ziekos (Vivitar, Dot Line, etc.) made in the past that were EF only. Recent ones are compatible with both.

Those really cheap tubes without electronic contacts? I have no idea.

carl hervol Loc: jacksonville florida

Try ebay

carl hervol Loc: jacksonville florida

Try ebay