Extensions!

[Phoenix_Jackson]

I friend gave me an extension tube recently and I was excited to use it... even though I really don't know it's use.

Using a 50mm lens, the first time I saw through it, I went, "Holy ___ it's a macro... I think!"
I'm not bothered with manual mode. I'm not so bothered with manual focus and how sensitive such a close shot is (it's annoying but nothing good will come out of complaining about it). But I just wonder about the how the focal point seem to be linear instead of coming from a single point. Is this how extension tubes work?

Anyway, I just accepted is as it is and tried to work with it. Got a bottle of some liquid to try and I'm fascinated with the things I can see when up-close. In this image, though, I find it hard to determine whether those are bad bokeh or simply how it is being bubbles out of focus.

But is this image worth a macro? I know technically it's not a macro but is it good enough as it is? Should I have set that linear in-focus part somewhere else?



Canon EOS 60D with Canon 50mm 1.8
Exposure: 1/160 sec
Focal Length: 50mm
ISO: 400
Exposure Bias: EV 0
Flash: On (but I think it didn't give anything since the extension tube and the lens covered the subject)
Drive: 2s timer
No tripod. Just set on table.
Extra: A LED flashlight.


I'm going to read more about macro now. But without a proper macro lens, I think an extension tube alone will make things really challenging.

Thank you for taking your time on this.

[winegeek]

I'm no expert, by any stretch of the imagination, so please take what I say with a grain of salt. First, I'm not exactly sure what you were going for here. Were you just trying to get an interesting picture of bubbles? Second, I do not have a macro lens, so I too use extension tubes. In playing around with them for a while, I have found that using a prime lens is going to make this sort of photography very challenging for you. Try using a decent zoom lens. This will allow you to have the lens do the work that you were doing by moving closer or further from your subject.

If you need to use a prime lens, I definitely suggest using a tripod, and preferably a remote to minimize camera shake. Also, depending on how close you are trying to get to the subject, an inexpensive LED ring for the end of your lens will offer a way to illuminate your subject. Granted, it is, more or less, going to be a direct light source, but you can always pop the ring off of the lens to move it around the subject until you get the lighting you're looking for.

I hope that you find some of this to be useful. I love this sort of stuff.

Cheers,

Matt

[Phoenix_Jackson]

Wow! I was afraid this have gone abandoned. I was wondering if it was the questions I asked or the picture displayed that got me no answers. Thanks for the input.

I was just amazed how close I can get to the subject with an extension tube. So yeah, I tried getting the colors and shapes (just very basic stuff) out of a bottle of LCD cleaner. I never got myself properly introduced to macro photography but I was too excited to use the tube without research. So I just winged it.

I didn't know a zoom lens would serve better on this. Now that's something to keep in mind. I'll be reading more into this before trying a second go. This is refreshing.

Again, thank you for taking your time on this.