I need help....extension tubes

[Ella1267]

I currently have a Nikon D5000 and soon will be getting the Nikon D7000. I am trying to figure out what kind of extension tubes that will let me auto focus my lens. I am new to this and there are so many I am confused about. I found some that are AF mounts....my camera is a DX mount. Please help.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by Ella1267

I currently have a Nikon D5000 and soon will be getting the Nikon D7000. I am trying to figure out what kind of extension tubes that will let me auto focus my lens. I am new to this and there are so many I am confused about. I found some that are AF mounts....my camera is a DX mount. Please help.

None of them will, AFAIK.

[inkista]

Huh? The Kenkos product page says they will, and I'd assume any lenses that transfer the lens/body contact information will allow AF as well, as long as the lens can autofocus on the body.

But autofocus isn't nearly as important as aperture control. With extension tubes on the lens, you're more likely to be focusing the combination by adjusting subject distance. It's not like you have a lot of framing leeway, since the tubes will only let your lens focus at specific distances.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by inkista

since the tubes will only let your lens focus at specific distances.

Hence my comment that you wouldnt really be able to AF. I suppose you could, but it's not very useful.

[Glenn72]

I purchased the Meike Extension Tubes a short while ago and paid the extra premium to benefit from the Autofocus.
From my experience using these extension tubes with my Canon 450d with 50mm F1.8 lens the AF is almost worthless as it almost never locks on.
I then tried using my Canon 55-250mm lens and it was just as bad. Granted neither of these lenses are fabulous but its not worth the extra money to get AF that I never use.
I find in doing Macro with extension tubes that the distance to the object is the most important factor as you have to get extremely close in order to see anything clearly.
I also find that lots of light helps as well as shooting from a tripod with a large aperature f18 for a long period of time (30 seconds) makes some very sharp pictures.
A few examples of what I have done are here:

Macros - a set on Flickr

The only thing useful about the AF extension tubes is that it retains the EXIF data but the AF is almost worthless and doesn't justify paying the extra $$$ in my opinion over some plain or plastic metal tubes.