Fun With Macro…
Passion Flower
Photoasy Extension Tube Set
I was invited to visit Moore Farms in Lake City South Carolina last week to evaluate them as a workshop location for future workshops. They have developed a great botanical garden destination that has more plant potential than most other places that I have visited!
For the visit I decided to take along my Fuji X Pro 1, Fuji X100s, Fuji 18-55 and the Fuji 55-200mm lens. I also picked up the new Photoasy Extension Tube Set which has a 10mm tube and a 16mm tube with the communications connections so that the camera can still talk to the lens! This was ONLY available on Ebay but recently Amazon Prime has started offering this great set!
Fuji 55-200mm
The ENTIRE time I was shooting the X Pro 1 it had the Fuji 55-200mm lens installed with the 16mm extension tube. I shot on the tripod the entire time with a remote shutter release. A lot of my shooting with in high sunlight (sometime you cannot help this) and I forgot to bring along a translucent panel to modify the light to a more gentle form. All of these things aside the camera/lens/tube combination worked great! I am VERY pleased with the results (please view the Passion Flower above!). I used an aperture of f/5.6 or f/8 (subject dependent) the entire time and usually had the lens set between 180mm to 200mm.
Because the 55-200mm lens is so long and does NOT offer a lens foot to better balance the camera/lens on the tripod you need a really stable tripod/ball head to keep the entire system stable. I am using a large carbon fibre Feisol tripod with the Really Right Stuff BH-55 ball head which is as steady as you can get!
The images generated are very pleasing and sharp all the way out to the edges. The colors are very well saturated and there is no smearing at all!
The extension tubes are made of plastic with metal mounting rings and the connections match up perfectly. I found that the 16mm tube was enough for the style of shooting that I was doing on this day (1:2 to 1:4 image ratio closeups) but I did purchase 2 complete sets of tubes to get closer if necessary.
Here are some of the images generated. All of the EXIF and GPS data are included.
Purple Cotton Flower
Trumpet Pitcher Plant (carnivorous) and Anole
Caterpillar on Purple Cotton
This is a great rig for shooting macro/closeup. The addition of the extension tube set is really a God send!
Mark Hilliard Atelier's Blog 
Stunning images
Thanks David!
Excellent Mark,
Another use for my 55-200
I’ll get out the extension tubes
Have not used them in a long while
Yes John, this setup works very well!
Very Nice!! I’ve been reading a few bad stories about this set up on Fuji Xforum, Good to see it working for you!
Thanks, yes it has worked quite well to date.
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Hello Mark, where can I buy this rings?
regards, peter
Peter, at Amazon :
http://www.amazon.com/Fotasy-Extension-Fujfifilm-Camera-X-Pro1/dp/B00DFPOV3Y/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=3ZDD66OCH6GM&coliid=I198UHJCBWK57Z
These look like the rebranded versions of the ones from Fotga. I had bad experience the contacts extended too deep into the camera body and got gouged by the pins and were going to damage the camera, so if they fit tight and take effort to rotate then look for the damage in the contact areas. I have a mini review up on the Fuji-X Forum.
Apsphoto, I have both sets and have had no issues with either being too tight and causing connection scratching or issues. Perhaps the first batch was simply made out of tolerance? Here is the direct link to the set on Amazon. I would not be at all surprised that they are rebranded as you suggest!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DFPOV3Y/ref=s9_wish_gw_d2_g421_ir05?ie=UTF8&colid=3ZDD66OCH6GM&coliid=I198UHJCBWK57Z&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0D0P84MKBKNG2EBWC3VK&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1389517282&pf_rd_i=507846
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Is this the same (fotasy extention tubes), this is the closest that I could find on Amazon? Thanks
Andrew, yes, here is the direct link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DFPOV3Y/ref=s9_wish_gw_d2_g421_ir05?ie=UTF8&colid=3ZDD66OCH6GM&coliid=I198UHJCBWK57Z&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0D0P84MKBKNG2EBWC3VK&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1389517282&pf_rd_i=507846
Nice shots ! Do you think 1:2 to 1:4 image ratio closeups would be enough to “scan” slides ? I have a lot of them to convert.
Yes, this would work fine. You need to get a slide copy adapter for the end of the lens.
Back when I shot film, I did a lot of macro work. Tubes are nice but what I used to great effect was a bellows and focus rails. Now THAT would be nice!
Good to know ! thanks 🙂
Reblogged this on H.Grö Studio.
Hi Mark,
I am new to the Fuji X-E world.
What is your sense of how these extension tubes might work with the Fuji 60 mm lens? I own this lens and find that I cannot get close enough to my subjects.
Or might you have other suggestions for this lens?
I also own a Canon EF 100 mm macro lens, which I love and would not be adverse to using on the Fuji if there is an adapter that you could recommend. (The wider internet is full of conflicting advice on these.)
In short, I want to use the macro set up that provides the best image quality (I print large).
Thank you for any thoughts you might have on this.
Talia, the 60mm only goes down to about 1:3 for macro work. The tubes will force it down to 1:1 or better! You will get the best image quality by using tubes over a diopter filter on the end of the lens, but by using a diopter filter you will not take an exposure hit like you do with tubes. I keep both in my camera bag and will use 1 or both of them depending upon the subject. I actually have 2 sets of tubes which gives me a lot of latitude when shooting macro with any of my lenses! I even have a set of Leica M tubes for when I use my 75mm f/1.8 M mount lens for macro!
If you are going to shoot macro with the 60mm then limit yourself to shooting with ambient light as the lens has a problem with a central hot spot when the flash reflects back into it!
The trouble with ALL short focal length macro lenses is…they are too short. You end up too close to the subject, blocking your own light. MUCH better to use the longest macro you can. The working distance helps, your body heat and motion doesn’t disturb the subject (think dewy spider webs at dawn) and the longer lens makes control of the soft background possible.
As a Camera Specialty store chain regional manager and 20 years as a Fuji Professional Technical Rep, no pro nature guys nor did I ever use a short Macro.
While everything you have stated here is quite true most of the time, there are indeed times when you can work with a shorter macro lens especially when doing product photography. My won work really is centered on a 75mm or 90mm lens, but I am shopping for a longer Leica R macro lens. Thank you for taking the time to comment, everything helps!!
Thank you very much for this helpful information, Mark.
You are very welcome.
Hi Mark,
What would be the advantage of these autofocus Fotasy extension tubes vs. non-autofocus extension tubes like the Fotodiox you can also find in Amazon? Are you really using autofocus when taking macro photos? My intention would be using the extension tubes together with the Fujinon 60mm. Thanks!
Without the autofocus tubes you cannot control the aperture!!
The only time I use autofocus is when I am chasing butterflies.
wondering how the canon 500d would work on the 55-200 for macro?
With step up rings it would be amazing.
I used Canon 500D on Fuji 55-200 lens and it works great. Because optical quality of close up lenses degrades toward the edges (yes, even for Canon 500D two element filter), I bought a 77mm 500d (the largest available) and used it with Heliopan step up ring to mount on 55-200. This way the lens “sees” through the higher quality part of the close up filter (not toward the edges). Even autofocus is quick.
It’s the best available on the long zoom. I’ve been using mine since the Ext Tube set I bought (Fotasy) was horrible in fit.
The early extension tubes were reported to be quite bad. I was lucky and got good copies! Both tubes and a closeup diopter lens are important tools to have!
Hi! Have you used with 18-55? How close can take pictures with it? Are there photos? Thank you!
Yes, it is a very nice lens and my main walk around lens…
I mean 18-55 + macro extension tube 🙂 Sorry I’m not very good at english.
OK, no I have not used extension tubes on the 18-55. BUT, I have on the 60mm and it works great. I would think the zoom will be just a nice!
Don’t use it with the 18-55. You’ll be too close to your subject. Always use long telephotos for macro work.
Thomas, as bo3bg says, for macro work, the shorter the lens is in MM then the closer the objective (end of the lens) is to your subject and as stated your lens can actually scare your subject or impact it in other ways. I like 75mm to 90mm lenses for macro work. The big name camera companies often sell longer macro lenses as well!
the fotasy tubes get terrible reviews on amazon….Dr Drey’s suggestion for the canon 500d 77mm for the 55-200 sounds like the best idea here??
I use both. I have had great results with the extension tubes!
Hello Mark, and other interested people
I bought in China a set from the brand Pixco and it came from the company Lengril.
Looking good (I think like all the other brands) but the 10mm works fine and the mounting goes very smooth but the 16, the point where it “clicks” was so wide that you goed turn the lens about 2 mm in cw and ccw. Screen was switching on and off so I’ve asked the company to send me a new one, But that was impossible.
So Fotga, Fotassy, Pixco all the same rubbish and we have to waite until there is a company who produce good ones.
regards, peter
Peter, sorry to hear about the issues! I have had no issues with my Fotga tubes at all.
Are there any extension macro tubes for other Fuji lenses?
Yes, there are 2 from China that you can purchase on Amazon.com. Just search for Fuji extension tubes. They have gotten a lot of bad press but they have worked very well for me!
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