darkmanCANADA Loc: Calgary, AB Canada

Vello or Kenko? What do you guys use or recommend? I am using a Nikon d7000.

olcoach Loc: Oregon

I have the Vello and it works really well for me. I don't know the Kenco but I know the Vello is a good product.

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

I recently bought a set of Agfa AF tubes and they work REALLY well. I used them on a D7000 with a Nikon 85mm Macro lens and had FULL and accurate autofocus with them. Only $50 from Samys Camera

Photographer Jim Loc: Rio Vista, CA

I have the Kenko tubes. They work fine and have met my needs.

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

Not all tube sets are the same. My Kenko auto-tube set is 12-mm, 20-mm, & 36-mm.

I have read good reports about Vello auto-tubes. The Agfa auto-tube set mentioned by Carter bears researching.

Bugfan Loc: Toronto, Canada

I have used Kenko tubes for about ten years now. They work fine. But there has been an issue.

I found with my first set that suddenly the electrical connections failed between the camera and the lens. Eventually I tracked it down to my 20 mm tube, for some reason or other it was not providing the connection.

I wrote Kenko about the problem and nothing happened. Then long after I forgot about the incident I suddenly got a reply, about a year later. I wrote back and have never received another reply. Their technical support sucks. Don't even think of getting any help from them.

I also couldn't replace the 20 mm tube, it's a whole set of three or nothing so I got another set to get that size back. That was about seven years ago. The original two and the new set have worked perfectly in all of that time. So I think I may have just had a bad sample in the first set.

The only other complaint I've tended to have is feel. I use Nikon and when you twist on a lens you have a satisfying feeling of a very secure snug fit between the lens and the camera body. I don't get that feeling with the tubes. Oh, they mount securely and maintain a reliable secure grip but it just doesn't have the same secure feel you get from a lens.

I also find that they are not as solid as needed when you're using a long and/or heavy lens. I generally have to support the lens and the camera to ensure that the tube combination in use is not distorted in any way. With individual tubes that's not an issue particularly but when you're using all three between a long lens and the body that can become a concern. However with a bit of practice you can manage relatively well.

Since they are very reliable technical support generally isn't needed. I opted for another set of the same brand because the original two of three worked out well enough and it's hard for me to find any other brand at the moment. But if you feel you may need tech support, Kenko would not be the recommended brand.

cthahn

How about Nikon? They make tubers, although more expensive,
they are probably the best.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

A suggestion: I have read replies that mention a person who wrote a previous response, but when I look back, I cannot see that comment. Then I realize that the person used the poster's real name, rather than his screen name.

Many of us know that MT Shooter's name is Carter, but looking for a comment by Carter would be fruitless. Of course, in this case, "Agfa" makes the reference clear. Using the screen name would make it easier to understand posts.

Bugfan Loc: Toronto, Canada

Yes the Nikon tubes are better than the Kenko and if Canon still has tubes they too are probably better than the Kenko ones as well.

The problem though is that both makers don't provide a set of three as far as I know, they sell them individually and that gets too expensive.

They're also not really designed for macro as a set either. They're more intended to solve specific problems. For example Nikon has a tube that goes on the back of their bellows so that the digital SLRs can clear the bottom rail. It's an extension tube and it does help you magnify but it's primary purpose has always been to provide that clearance.

It's also not necessary to have absolute quality. I'm sure you also don't drive a Bently or a Rolls Royce. All that's important is that you know the weaknesses of a technology and figure out a way to work around it.

Extension tubes are not lenses so as long as they hold your lens firmly and as long as they make electrical contact that's all that's needed. If there's a bit of sag it's easy enough to compensate for it.

I often use a bellows with tubes at both ends and a 200 mm macro lens and a Nikon D800 with the grip along with three flash heads on the front of the lens. When all of that is fully extended you have a hell of a lot of weight and things can be a bit unsteady. But even in that extreme case I am still able to compensate and get crisp lovely macro images.

I should add too by the way, another way to do macro is to use close up lenses. They're about the same price as the tubes with none of the mechanical problems. But with them you may not always get a sharp image. Basically there's no free lunch.

JR1 Loc: Tavistock, Devon, UK

Nikon, pre owned

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

For years, I looked down my nose at 'add-on' lenses. Then a few avid photographers on the UHH Macro Forum (http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/s-102-1.html ) started posting quite nice images, using a Raynox DCR-250 lens (+8 diopter) on their standard macro lenses.

I just received my Raynox DCR-150 (+4.8 diopter), and started documenting its FoV as attached on my Nikkor 105G macro lens: http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-141632-1.html