An extension tube is a hollow tube that fits between your lens and the body of your camera. An extension tube is used to alter the MFD (minimum focus distance) of the attached lens. They allow you to focus on subjects that are closer to the camera and achieve greater magnification.
Images in this post use a 50mm lens with a 12mm extension tube.
Gabby up close by
Paul Sager, on Flickr
The Canon FD 50mm f/1.2L lens used in these images dates from 1980. The lens is manual focus, from back when everything was manual focus in 1980. The FD 50L had a reputation (then) for being the “most advanced 50mm lens” of its time, mainly due to the aspherical design that kept the size and weight WAY down for the f/1.2 aperture size.
The lens has a MFD of 0.5 meter or about 20 inches. Twenty inches already is a relatively short / close minimum focus distance. Adding a 12mm extension tube adjusts the lens such that it won't focus at all until you're about 10 inches or closer from the subject.
Gabby up close Shot wide open at the minimum 20 inches, the f/1.2 aperture is razor thin. Adding the extension tube further changes the lens properties as the f-number 'aperture' is a ratio of the focal length to effective aperture diameter. Moving the 50mm lens another 12mm from the sensor via the extension tube makes the depth of field even 'thinner' for the same aperture setting on the lens. At f/5.6, the sharp depth of field is just wide enough to cover Gabby's eye in profile, below.
Gabby up close Canon was one of the pioneers of "super-speed" lenses. In the 1960s and 70s, quality films were still fairly slow speed, so super fast lenses served a very tangible purpose. To shoot a 100, 64, or even 25 ISO film in anything but the brightest light requires lenses that dip below f/2. Canon made several of these ultra fast lenses for the FD system, including the initial L-series releases in 1979-81 of the FD 24mm f/1.4L, FD 50mm f/1.2L, and FD 85mm f/1.2L lenses.
Gabby up close These images are sized to fill your wide-screen display. Try using <F11> to maximize your browser window for the full effect. If the images overshoot your display, such as a laptop, just click on the image or the URL link and they'll resize to your screen from the host Flickr site. You can click a bit further into the image details on the Flickr page, if desired. EXIF data is available from the host Flickr pages as well. On the Flickr site, use your <L>key for Large and the <F11> for the full-screen.
Great portraits, Paul.
--Bob
Thanks.
(I miss our two cats. We should have called one Mr. Majestic as he was so nice and laid-back.)
JJS
Loc: SE Michigan & SW Florida
CHG_CANON wrote:
An extension tube is a hollow tube that fits between your lens and the body of your camera. An extension tube is used to alter the MFD (minimum focus distance) of the attached lens. They allow you to focus on subjects that are closer to the camera and achieve greater magnification.
Images in this post use a 50mm lens with a 12mm extension tube.
Gabby up close by
Paul Sager, on Flickr
The Canon FD 50mm f/1.2L lens used in these images dates from 1980. The lens is manual focus, from back when everything was manual focus in 1980. The FD 50L had a reputation (then) for being the “most advanced 50mm lens” of its time, mainly due to the aspherical design that kept the size and weight WAY down for the f/1.2 aperture size.
The lens has a MFD of 0.5 meter or about 20 inches. Twenty inches already is a relatively short / close minimum focus distance. Adding a 12mm extension tube adjusts the lens such that it won't focus at all until you're about 10 inches or closer from the subject.
Gabby up close Shot wide open at the minimum 20 inches, the f/1.2 aperture is razor thin. Adding the extension tube further changes the lens properties as the f-number 'aperture' is a ratio of the focal length to effective aperture diameter. Moving the 50mm lens another 12mm from the sensor via the extension tube makes the depth of field even 'thinner' for the same aperture setting on the lens. At f/5.6, the sharp depth of field is just wide enough to cover Gabby's eye in profile, below.
Gabby up close Canon was one of the pioneers of "super-speed" lenses. In the 1960s and 70s, quality films were still fairly slow speed, so super fast lenses served a very tangible purpose. To shoot a 100, 64, or even 25 ISO film in anything but the brightest light requires lenses that dip below f/2. Canon made several of these ultra fast lenses for the FD system, include the initial L-series releases in 1979-81 of the FD 24mm f/1.4L, FD 50mm f/1.2L, and FD 85mm f/1.2L lenses.
Gabby up close These images are sized to fill your wide-screen display. Try using <F11> to maximize your browser window for the full effect. If the images overshoot your display, such as a laptop, just click on the image or the URL link and they'll resize to your screen from the host Flickr site. You can click a bit further into the image details on the Flickr page, if desired. EXIF data is available from the host Flickr pages as well. On the Flickr site, use your <L>key for Large and the <F11> for the full-screen.
An extension tube is a hollow tube that fits betwe... (
show quote)
Great shots Paul! Makes me miss my cats. Question...will a ef mount extension tube work with a rf-ef adapter?
Thank you Bob, Bill, JJS! I've had cats for most of my life up until about 10 years ago. The PAWS organization and the local NBC channel have regular programs emphasizing older animals, so I went online and selected Gabby back over the holidays.
JJS wrote:
Great shots Paul! Makes me miss my cats. Question...will a ef mount extension tube work with a rf-ef adapter?
Thank you JJS! The EF extension tubes should work fine between the EF lens and the EF-RF adapter. Canon hasn't yet announced any RF specific extension tubes, but third-party options do exist for the RF mount.
olemikey
Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida
CHG_CANON wrote:
An extension tube is a hollow tube that fits between your lens and the body of your camera. An extension tube is used to alter the MFD (minimum focus distance) of the attached lens. They allow you to focus on subjects that are closer to the camera and achieve greater magnification.
Images in this post use a 50mm lens with a 12mm extension tube.
Gabby up close by
Paul Sager, on Flickr
The Canon FD 50mm f/1.2L lens used in these images dates from 1980. The lens is manual focus, from back when everything was manual focus in 1980. The FD 50L had a reputation (then) for being the “most advanced 50mm lens” of its time, mainly due to the aspherical design that kept the size and weight WAY down for the f/1.2 aperture size.
The lens has a MFD of 0.5 meter or about 20 inches. Twenty inches already is a relatively short / close minimum focus distance. Adding a 12mm extension tube adjusts the lens such that it won't focus at all until you're about 10 inches or closer from the subject.
Gabby up close Shot wide open at the minimum 20 inches, the f/1.2 aperture is razor thin. Adding the extension tube further changes the lens properties as the f-number 'aperture' is a ratio of the focal length to effective aperture diameter. Moving the 50mm lens another 12mm from the sensor via the extension tube makes the depth of field even 'thinner' for the same aperture setting on the lens. At f/5.6, the sharp depth of field is just wide enough to cover Gabby's eye in profile, below.
Gabby up close Canon was one of the pioneers of "super-speed" lenses. In the 1960s and 70s, quality films were still fairly slow speed, so super fast lenses served a very tangible purpose. To shoot a 100, 64, or even 25 ISO film in anything but the brightest light requires lenses that dip below f/2. Canon made several of these ultra fast lenses for the FD system, including the initial L-series releases in 1979-81 of the FD 24mm f/1.4L, FD 50mm f/1.2L, and FD 85mm f/1.2L lenses.
Gabby up close These images are sized to fill your wide-screen display. Try using <F11> to maximize your browser window for the full effect. If the images overshoot your display, such as a laptop, just click on the image or the URL link and they'll resize to your screen from the host Flickr site. You can click a bit further into the image details on the Flickr page, if desired. EXIF data is available from the host Flickr pages as well. On the Flickr site, use your <L>key for Large and the <F11> for the full-screen.
An extension tube is a hollow tube that fits betwe... (
show quote)
Excellent Paul! The clarity is amazing. The eyes are so clear and deep. Very nice - Jim
JJS
Loc: SE Michigan & SW Florida
CHG_CANON wrote:
Thank you JJS! The EF extension tubes should work fine between the EF lens and the EF-RF adapter. Canon hasn't yet announced any RF specific extension tubes, but third-party options do exist for the RF mount.
Thanks. I think I'll give it a try. Enjoy Gabby!
Jeff
Everything about Gabby says “love me, please❤️". As I mentioned before, I never really thought of using tubes for other than macro but I definitely plan to try using them for other close up applications. Thank you for the teaching.
Thank you olemikey, junglejim1949, Carol! I have both the EF and FD versions of the 50mm f/1.2 lens. They behave differently where you can be a bit further back with the 12mm tube on the EF version. The FD / Sony combo was a laugh on the results and how close I needed to get.
I really like the eye detail, Paul! It is a real shame that you do not like your new cat. (LOL)
CHG_CANON wrote:
An extension tube is a hollow tube that fits between your lens and the body of your camera. An extension tube is used to alter the MFD (minimum focus distance) of the attached lens. They allow you to focus on subjects that are closer to the camera and achieve greater magnification.
Images in this post use a 50mm lens with a 12mm extension tube.
Gabby up close by
Paul Sager, on Flickr
The Canon FD 50mm f/1.2L lens used in these images dates from 1980. The lens is manual focus, from back when everything was manual focus in 1980. The FD 50L had a reputation (then) for being the “most advanced 50mm lens” of its time, mainly due to the aspherical design that kept the size and weight WAY down for the f/1.2 aperture size.
The lens has a MFD of 0.5 meter or about 20 inches. Twenty inches already is a relatively short / close minimum focus distance. Adding a 12mm extension tube adjusts the lens such that it won't focus at all until you're about 10 inches or closer from the subject.
Gabby up close Shot wide open at the minimum 20 inches, the f/1.2 aperture is razor thin. Adding the extension tube further changes the lens properties as the f-number 'aperture' is a ratio of the focal length to effective aperture diameter. Moving the 50mm lens another 12mm from the sensor via the extension tube makes the depth of field even 'thinner' for the same aperture setting on the lens. At f/5.6, the sharp depth of field is just wide enough to cover Gabby's eye in profile, below.
Gabby up close Canon was one of the pioneers of "super-speed" lenses. In the 1960s and 70s, quality films were still fairly slow speed, so super fast lenses served a very tangible purpose. To shoot a 100, 64, or even 25 ISO film in anything but the brightest light requires lenses that dip below f/2. Canon made several of these ultra fast lenses for the FD system, including the initial L-series releases in 1979-81 of the FD 24mm f/1.4L, FD 50mm f/1.2L, and FD 85mm f/1.2L lenses.
Gabby up close These images are sized to fill your wide-screen display. Try using <F11> to maximize your browser window for the full effect. If the images overshoot your display, such as a laptop, just click on the image or the URL link and they'll resize to your screen from the host Flickr site. You can click a bit further into the image details on the Flickr page, if desired. EXIF data is available from the host Flickr pages as well. On the Flickr site, use your <L>key for Large and the <F11> for the full-screen.
An extension tube is a hollow tube that fits betwe... (
show quote)
Gabby is quite the model. Excellent portraits Paul.
Wow! those are some cat shots!
That Gabby is one patient cat. Nice shots, Paul.
Stan
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