For photo amateurs who crave macro shots but do not have enough money for a tele-lens, there is an interesting alternative - the so-called "extenders" of a standard lens. Being one of these amateurs, I want to share my impressions of the purchase of this feature, two Kenko filters in addition, as well as the experience of my first order on ebay.

Purchase and parcel

After buying the Nikon D3100 , like any new photo novice who gets a mirror toy, I started getting pimples from each photo, from watching entertaining video viewers on YouTube, from learning HDRI and ... from macro photography. The final restless desire to try the “macro wonders” came after watching a stunning and impressive YouTube video from the famous photographer Brian Peterson: Cooking Oil Close-Up Photography . It was then, based on his advice, and it was decided to buy Kenko Extension Tubes. And the lack of this feature in Kiev online stores finally led to "buy something on ebay", which I have long wanted.

On the advice of friends, the only thing I paid attention to when choosing a seller, except for the price, of course, was only one factor: how many of these goods have already been successfully delivered by the seller.
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In addition, I immediately decided to buy myself two filters, from the same Kenko. The seller calculated the cost of delivery as $ 13 for the first item + $ 10 for each subsequent item. To my surprise, in one short correspondence I managed to persuade the seller to send everything for $ 13 and in one box - because the filters are small, - I said, - and sensible logic triumphed.

I was also not too lazy to ask about the quality of the packaging, and asked to use the most usual and cheap postal shipment. The seller convinced me that the packaging would be very protective, the price was undervalued by more than two to avoid the duty, and no Fedex or DHL.

The result is excellent:
* Package arrived from Hong Kong in 13 days
* the package is really protective
* total declared value of $ 72 against real ~ $ 210
* working tracking by parcel number, both on the sites of Hong Kong and our Ukrposhta.

So, the box is really solid:


Inside the foam rubber, and all goods are carefully packed in the same oilcloth with pimples:

First meeting

A couple of pictures after unpacking. Kenko Extension Tubes consist of three parts, extending the lens by 12, 20 and 36 mm. respectively. They can be combined as you like. Attached is an instruction explaining the connection with the lens, and containing a table of magnification values ​​for different combinations of these three parts.

Instructions in readable quality here .

Lens filters - each in its own box:


And this photo, says my girlfriend, is very similar to the advertising of powder:

Experiments: Extension Tubes

So, at the maximum approximation WITHOUT extension cords and the minimum possible distance with the ability to focus, the antiperspirant jar looks like this:


With 12mm extension cable:

(focus 55 + 12mm, iso100, 1/60 s, f / 5.6)

With two extenders: 12mm + 20mm:

(focus 55 + 20 + 12mm, iso100, 1/30 s, f / 5.6)

With all extenders: 12mm + 20mm + 36mm:

(focus 55 + 36 + 20 + 12mm, iso100, 1/4 s, f / 9, tripod)

Maximum elongation - more examples

The same leaf, but with the focus on the leaf itself, and on its hairs:

Minimum elongation

After a couple of dozens of photographs, I made a preliminary conclusion: for a photograph of objects visible to the human eye (like a leaflet or a strawberry), a minimal extension cord is sufficient. For photos of the same structure, backgrounds, etc. - Useful maximum extension cord. Here is an example of a photograph of a dried leaf with a minimal extension that turned out unexpectedly beautiful, much more beautiful than all the living:

Experiments: neutral filter

Neutral filter should not affect color reproduction and distort objects. His only goal is to reduce the amount of light coming into the lens. This will make it possible to increase the shutter speed (how long the lens is open) and can be useful both for tricks with “twisting” the image, and for capturing movement, such as water, in bright daylight. That is why one of the films that I ordered in addition is neutral. As an example, here and so you can twist a brick wall (scrolling through the lens and zoom during a half-second photograph):

Experiments: UV filter

UV-filter promises to remove the haze and other "clutter" when photographing landscapes in open areas. Unfortunately, the following two photos from the balcony seem to show no difference (on the left without a filter):

Conclusion

Kenko Extension Tubes seem to have opened up the horizons of unexplored macro beauty for me. However, this is not a Telezumovsky lens, which approximates. When lengthening the lens in this way, without lenses - it is necessary to move closer to the subject. At maximum elongation, I was able to focus only one or two centimeters from the subject. However, the price is several times less than a telephoto lens. Well, for starters - I'm happy!