Hi everybody, New to the forum, and relatively new to using what I consider to be decent camera gear, even if my setup is slightly older than the latest and greatest available.... Basically, I have recently aquired a EOS 7D, with EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens. As I'm working on a tight budget, I can't afford the eye watering prices for some lenses. I have got a EF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 iii lens ordered. Just yesterday my father was kind enough to send me a Canon EF Mark iii 1.4x extender, which he hasn't used in a long time. Due to my lack of knowledge, it wasn't until I had both extender and my lens together, that I discovered the 2 are not compatible..... After some research, I have found that a Canon 12mm extension tube will will work as a spacer to make everything compatible. So after all that, my question is this... Will it make much of a difference to my shots either close up, or far away, if I were to buy the 12mm extender as a spacer, OR, does the 12mm undo all the work that the 1.4x extender is designed to do? My plan is to do close up shots, and at somepoint, night sky shots - both at opposite ends of the spectrum...... As I say, my knowledge is at a minimum, so go easy on me please haha
Welcome to the forum, Dave. Most of us are in the same boat A lot use old film lenses with cheap Chinese adapter to fit the lenses to our more modern cameras. With the camera set in aperture priority or manual. Doing everything manually is a pain at first but you will find you will become a more confident photographer. If you need advice this is the place to be.
Thanks for the warm welcome Craig. The first thing I did was swich straight to manual mode, I am getting the hang of it slowly but surely.... I think......
HI Dave, Both an extension tube and a tele-converter will increase subject size, and both can help reduce focusing distance. Teleconverters are a better choice for long lenses, example turning 200mm into 280mm effectively. TC can also focus at infinity, not extension tubes. Extension tubes can be used/stacked to increase distance between the lens and sensor, you can look up the equation online but for example a 25mm tube will give a 50mm lens about .65 magnification. It works well on short focal ranges as a cheap alternative to a macro. Neither is a replacement. I haven't myself paired up the two but your 12mm will likely have little effect on you telephoto lenses especially with a teleconverter on it, I would advise trial and error on that and see how close you can get your shots.
Thanks Johnsey, Just hoping somebody might have similar to my setup re: lens, and converter + tube, to see if theres any noticeable difference before I fork out the money for the 12mm tube
I would see if you can find an old manual extension tube cheap to test first(~$15-20). The newer electronic ones cost enough that I personally would invest it towards a lens suited to what you want to shoot. Ie a macro fo close ups, or an ultra wide fast lens for night sky like my manual rokinon 14mm.
