Andy
I am just as gullible as you, and couldn't resist buying one of these sets
On ebay. I bought the Extension Tube K set, which is A compatible to stop
down the aperture
But no auto-focus compatibility
So far I don't regret it, but they are clearly less practical than a good
macro. Just before I read your pdml email this morning, I was outside
relaxing in the morning california sunshine. I spied heavy dew on the leaves
behind me and used them to take a few photos.
My biggest learning by trial and error has been that of DOF. Clearly this is
one way to really understand how to use and control DOF and the necessity to
take one's time in composition and think carefully in your mind's eye where
to stand vs natural light to get the right image content.
The guy I bought them from advised me to see "...the ultimate book for macro
photography is John Shaw's Closeups in Nature. It's a great read and has
wonderful photos too.." I have yet to purchase it, but he's probably right.
I bought a small tripod which is absolutely essential for work with them in
all cases.
Also I picked up tips from folks much more experienced than I on this and
other pdml's. Tips such as using cardboard to shield the subject from winds
and draughts, crucial given the highly restrictive DOF.
I saw Rod's reply to you, and thought it might be useful to give you my
experience, which as he says is probably lens dependant.
For f stops I have found that I loose 0.6EV sequentially with each unit,
used mostly with my SMC-n 50mm, 1:1.7. Just to remind myself of this, I
re-tested again today. @ ISO 200, I focused at f16, 1/125mm on a neutral
subject in full sun. I then inserted ET K tube 1, lost 0.6EV, and
subsequently lost 0.6EV for ETK tube 2, and 1 full stop when I added ETK
tube 3 which is the longest. How much you loose will depend on which
sequence you use these in, you doint have to use them in this sequence of
course.
I use a PZ-1P and an older Kodak Dc280 digital. Clearly the capacity to
"mess" with glass and accessories is missing from the fixed, snapshot
digital, but the capacity to make mistakes and throw them away is attractive
with digital, and I miss it. So I'm really anxious to see prices come into
my range before I'll switch to SLR digital.
In between times, the PZ-1P is a wonderful instrument, solid and big enough
even when fixing the extension tubes with a long telephoto or my Tamron
28-300mm zoom. It makes for a long lever in front of the camera, but the
PZ-1P is a hefty build so I don't have any issues, and a tripod is required
of course.
Welcome to macro photos, see some of my work in my portfolio on photo.net,
not sure exactly
How to direct you.
Cheers
Ian
Date: Sat, 3 Jan 2004 21:12:22 +0800
From: "Andy Chang" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Extension tube K
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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charset="us-ascii"
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Hi guys,
A belated Happy holiday to you all!!!
I have just acquired a Pentax Extension Tube set K. I had no idea what
it does first but after looking at Boz's web site, I have some idea how
it works. It was a bargain and I couldn't resist bidding for it.
According to Boz's site, it is a manual extension tube set and I guess
the differences between the Auto set and the manual set is about the A
position on the A and later lenses.
If you remember, I have asked about losing F stops using teleconverter.
I'm just wondering if it also applies on the extension tubes. By adding
extension tubes behind the lens, do I have to adjust the exposure
accordingly?
Thanks
Andy
