Here is my take.

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My guess would be a handle that you could attach to a Pyrex baking dish to remove it from a hot oven.

This is also what I now use with a 300/2.8 and sometimes a 2X converter. I find it works great.

Actually I am a US resident and that is exactly the same link I was about to send before I saw that I was beaten to it. Yes, only Canon and Nikon cameras are supported and then not all of them nor all of their lenses. You also need a relatively modern smart phone to run the app. I would have bought one a couple of years ago but I had an old iPhone that was needed to be upgraded before I could use the tube. So far I am very happy with the tube and the experience with Helicon and it's people. The whole process of ordering, downloading software, shipping, etc. was flawless and easy to use. The tube works exactly as advertised. My only complaint is that the mount between the tube and the lens has some play in it; not enough apparently to effect image quality but annoying.

I judged it by looking through the viewfinder.

I just got a Helicon FB tube. For those of you not familiar with it, it is a 12 mm extension tube that includes electronics that shift the focus with each shot in a sequence. The image below is a stack of 62 images shot with a Canon 5Div and a Canon 100/2.8L macro lens. I set the drive to continuous, focused on the closest point and held the shutter release down until the furthest point was in focus. The image stacked in Helicon Focus and a few global exposure and contrast adjustment were done in Lightroom. There are a few odd artifacts but overall I think it worked quite well.

Focus stacked image

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One slice from about 2/3 into the stack

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I agree. What I liked about the second was the splash of color in the scarf (and I rarely like color in street photography) and the branch on the left that mimics her hands.

This went on for quite awhile.

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It looks round on my monitor. Check to see that Windows is set to 1680 x 1050, as I believe that is the resolution of your monitor.

# 11

Yes, for all those people who stand with their feet at a 45 degree angle outward from straight forward.

# 4

7

I had version I of the lens for years and loved it. About 1.5 years ago I upgraded to version II and find it to be significantly better. As for sharpness only my 100/2.8L macro and 300/2.8L IS II are sharper (out of 10 lenses, five of which are L series). For close focusing only my 100/2.8L macro does better. Only the 300/2.8L focuses much faster. It works well with the 1.4X III teleconverter, although I lose most of the focus points. It is big and heavy, but not too bad in either case; much smaller than the 300/2.8. In all it is one of my favorite lenses; the only one I use more is the 24-105L.

I prefer the first one. I feel a dynamic balance in it and can "see" the sun setting. In the second I see a static balance that to me feels rigid. The third just has too much sky and to little water for my tastes.