From the people who brought us the fun Toy Lens from SLR Magic , here comes another very handy and interesting accessory that Micro 4/3 users will love. This new extension tube from SLR Magic made me go ‘Huh? a lens mount adapter?’ when I first saw it. Unlike those extension tubes I used before (on DSLR), this one is compact and …. hey … why is there a ring (the one closest to the cam body) that you can turn? We’ll look at that later on in this ‘first look’ entry.
For those who has not used extension tubes before … or do not know what they are for … here are some info I plucked off the web …
An extension tube is an accessory for cameras with interchangeable lenses, used primarily for macro photography. The tube contains no optical elements; its sole purpose is to move the lens farther from the image plane. The farther away the lens is, the closer the focus, the greater the magnification, and also the greater the loss of light (requiring a longer exposure time). Lenses classically focus closer than infinity by moving all optical elements farther from the film or sensor; an extension tube simply imposes this movement.
The extension tube feels real solid! I was very excited because I love shooting closeups (though I’ve ‘retired’ from shooting insect macros for years already) and this one … coupled with the Toy Lens is going to bring me lots of joy!
Remember the ring on the extension tube I mentioned earlier? The extension tube extends (a little) when you turn it fully. When fully extended … you can focus closer to the subject and thus get a bigger magnification. Cool ain’t it?
Image below is when the tube is fully extended. In the past, the extension tubes I used came in different lengths and thus I had to switch between them to get the working distance I want. This one some how ‘automates’ it! Coolness! Do correct me if I am wrong … because I’ve only used a set of Kenko extension tubes in the past.
Enough of all that jazz. Let’s get to the exciting part … how close can you go? You can actually go as close as about 2cm from the subject. Sorry I didn’t really pay attention to the exact distance last night. Hahaha! Anyway … I’ll let the photos do the ‘explaination’ …
Image (above) taken with the extension tube fully extended.
Image (above) without the extension tube extended.
Image (above) taken with just the Toy Lens. That’s the closes you can get to the subject without the extension tube.
Pretty neat ain’t it? Now we can put the Toy Lens to more creative use … getting close to every single thing we see. I’m even considering trying to shoot some insect macros with it … but that will have to wait til I find the time to do so in the weekends.
Here are some test shots I took last night …
Looking thru Diana Multi Pinhole Operator’s viewfinder.
That’s all for the ‘first look’ entry. More photos coming up after the weekends. 😀 I’m sure some of you are wondering … ‘where can we get one?’, ‘how much is it?’, ‘does it work with other Micro 4/3 lenses?’ … right?
Well … you can get it from SLR Magic by emailing support@slrmagic.com because there are limited units available now. Price is US$99.
As for the last question … the answer is ‘yes’. The extension tube works with any other M4/3 lenses too.