At a recent workshop I was exposed to some macro photo techniques that has prompted me to dip my toes into the macro world as a compliment to landscape photography. I am looking for input on which is the better route to go: extension tubes or purchasing (used) a dedicated macro lens.
In favor of the extension tubes is their attractive cost along with the fact that I can easily carry them in my pack and always have them with me. I assume that they will work fine with my Sony 24-105 F4?
In favor of the dedicated macro lens (Sony FE 90 F.8) is its ease of use and likely (?) better image quality. I am probably fine with the cost of a used macro lens but question how frequently I will carry it along with my 16-35, 24-105 and my 100-400.
Any thoughts or suggestions on how to explore the world of macro photography from an equipment perspective?
Hi Pat, I am sure you’ll get a lot of great opinions here. The answer may depend on the type of macro work you’re interested in doing.
For me, I have had both. A macro lens is more versatile, because you can focus close as well as out to infinity. So it can double as a semi longish landscape lens. Extension tubes on the other hand change the optics of the lens, by setting it further from the sensor. The result is that you can focus more closely, but you lose the ability to focus out to infinity. And depending on how much extension you use, your area of focus can be quite small.
The tubes should work with the 24-105 (better at the 105 end). But they would really work nicely on the 100-400. You can use the zoom in addition to the focus to change your focus point and in some cases the size of your closeup subject.
My current kit is a Fujifilm medium format one and I used to have the Fuji 120mm macro. I eventually sold it and now use a 250mm lens with two extension tubes for my macro work. I should say that my macro work is pretty much flowers (Iris, Dahlias, Tulips) so I don’t need a lot of versatility.
Anyway, one person’s opinion. Best of luck in whichever direction you end up going.
Well I think it comes down to a couple of things - do you want to do real macro or just close ups? Some wide-angle/short telephoto lenses can focus remarkably close and will do for some subjects. If you want to get 1:1, you’ll be best served with a true macro lens. I have used extension tubes with macro lenses to get even closer. It’s fascinating and addicting. Another consideration is how much macro photography do you see yourself doing? If you’re not sure, extension tubes might be the way to go provided they give you full connectivity with your camera so you can do nifty things like focus bracketing (if your camera does it) for focus stacking.
How about renting the lens you want to buy? That might help you with how big/heavy it is and whether you want to lug it around.
Another idea is to use your long telephoto as a macro. I’ve done that (if you search tiger beetle here on NPN, you’ll find an example). Yes you will need to have some distance, but it can work really well for close up work.
David and Kristen thanks for your very valuable feedback. As to the type I see myself initially interested in flowers/plant life and abstracts especially water related abstracts. I am probably not interested in insects at this point.
Then I think working with what you have and maybe adding a tube or two will give you a lot of what you want. I shoot flower and mushroom close ups with three lenses - my 12-35mm f/2.8, my 35-100mm f/2.8 and my 45mm f/2.8. I am a micro four thirds shooter so bear that in mind for the focal lengths. The last lens is my macro, but the other two are nice for including leaves and other environmental elements into the shot. I spend a lot of time with my camera on the ground, or nearly so. A tripod that goes flat is nice, and if that’s not low enough, I have a ziplock bag with some packages of barley inside it. I’ve used that for years and years and it’s great.
Pat, I’m coming in late it seems. It sounds like you have received some excellent advice already, and not sure I really have any to add. I particularly like shooting tiny insects, so for me a macro lens was a necessity. I do use the tubes on occasion as well. They sound like for what you plan to shoot, a pretty good and relatively cheap way to go. I haven’t used the Sony, so can’t address your questions about the lens for it.
Wishing you the best in your search for the right equipment. Looking forward to your macro photos with whatever you obtain (lens or tubes).
Hi Pat - I’ve been considering getting a macro lens to go with my a7r3. I have Sony’s 30mm macro lens and it works fine and is really nice and light. The downsides are (1) that it’s for their crop sensor bodies so I lose some file size and (2) you have to get really close to your subject which doesn’t work for critters (they get scared off) and lighting (when you’re so close the natural light is blocked, and I don’t have accessory lighting).
I just rented the 90 2.8 that you mentioned and I’ll post a report when I’ve had a chance to use it.
Thanks for your input…its my understanding that the Sony 90mm is pretty much the standard from which the others are compared. Thus I will appreciate learning of your experiences. That being said, I did do a quick image comparison, not macro, between the 90mm and my 24-105 in the store and while the 90mm is sharper, I didn’t see all that much difference between the two lenses…which is pretty amazing considering I was comparing a prime to a zoom.
Not to make this even more confusing, but you could also consider a close-up filter if you want a bit more flexibility with the setup you have. Close up filters work the best with telephoto lenses and you can get quite the magnification with the 100-400, whereas the extension tubes will work better with the 24-105, but give you less magnification.
Just to give you an idea, I was just experimenting on our bees. This is at 500mm with the NiSi close up filter, nothing exciting but it shows how close you can get.
The only downfall is they’re a bit heavy compared to most extension tubes, so when I want to go lightweight I’ll just bring the 70-200 with Vello extension tubes which are very light. The Fotodiox tubes are very nice, but incredibly heavy.
Hi David…belated thanks for providing this very helpful information. I opted to go with a set of extension tubes just to get my feet wet. However I did find the information on the close-up lens very interesting. A close-up lens wasn’t even on my radar…so thanks.
Teleconverters can give you a slight bump in magnification and are perfect for use with long lenses and big bugs. Extension tubes will bring in your focusing distance slightly and have a limited impact when used with long telephoto lenses. Some of the close-up lenses are quite good with very little degradation in image quality. One interesting thing to consider is that some wide angle lenses can focus very close to a subject while keeping background features in focus too. This way provides an interesting take on environmental shots that include small critters or flowers…Jim
I’ve worked extensively with all three suggestions above.
With close-up lenses, you lose resolution around the edges that becomes especially noticeable when you go to small f-stops. The effect also gets worse as you push for more magnification.
With extension tubes, the amount of magnification gain depends on the ratio of the extension length to the focal length. For example: adding a 36 mm extension tube to a 180 mm lens means that you increased your magnification by 20%, (36/180), while adding that same 36mm to a 100 mm lens gives you a 36% increase.
The main advantage of a prime macro lens is its ability to get you to 1:1 or even 2:1 magnification. You cannot get that close to that with a high quality shot using any of the other approaches. What that means is that much of your initial decision depends on how much magnification you want. If you are unlikely to want more than 1:2 (or 1/2 life size) than either a close-up filter or extension tubes will work well. It’s pretty standard that if you really like macro then you will eventually want a dedicated macro prime, but lots of folks like some close-up work but not dedicated macro.
You can combine a tele extender with extension tubes, but to get the most magnification you need to put the extension tube(s) between the main lens and the tele extender. If you put the extender first, then the tube(s) are extending a much longer lens (as in the previous example).
At “normal” viewing sizes, it’s not surprising that you don’t see any difference between a macro prime and a high quality zoom. You’ll only see differences in you look carefully from up close at a very large print or at high magnification (1:1) on a computer screen. It’s worth remembering that specialized optical hardware can find differences that the human eye cannot.
Hi, Pat. I was introduced to the world of macro photography during the start of the pandemic years. At first, I used extension tubes. They were great for me to get my feet wet and see if I enjoyed macro photography. Then, I purchased Nisi filters after attending a macro photography workshop. Although they work well, as stated here, they are a bit heavy. You also have to be careful about dropping them or when you attach the filter to your lens. I have found that with a Nisi filter, manual focusing is always better than autofocus. Depending on what your macro interest is, this could be an issue. For example, I couldn’t see myself using a Nisi filter to photograph bees, stationary or in flight. Finally, as my macro interest grew, it was time to purchase a dedicated macro lens. Although I use Sony cameras and love Sony lenses, I have found excellent results with alternate brands. The Sigma 105mm 1:2.8 DG DN Macro lens is great. Sigma lenses have the added benefit of producing amazing bokeh, too. That’s my current macro lens.
I have been using a macro lens with a Nikon Z6 and doing focus stacking. Does anyone know if the automatic focus stacking will work with extension tubes?
I only have experience with Canon but in general, it should work just fine. Might have to adjust the step length in-camera to compensate for the increased magnification and you need to get extension tubes with a full set of electrical contacts (often called automatic extension tubes).
