What are extension tubes??? How do they work??? Are they worth investing in??? Now that is a bunch of questions. I saw mention of these in another forum for doing marco's and would like to know what anyone has to say about them

Hi Suzi,
Glad you asked that question. I'm sure there are others that want to know about them.
Extension tubes fit between the camera body and your prime lens. In film days the prime lens would be your 50mm f/whatever normal lens. On a DSLR you could use a 28mm or 30mm lens.
Why do we use them? The tubes put the back of the lens further away from the sensor plane. This causes you to loose infinity focus BUT it lets you get way close to your subject for close-up macro work.
The tubes come in various lengths and they can even be automated so all the bells and whistles still work. Others are straight manual....you focus,you set the aperture. I hope this helps.
Chas
P.S. If you're in to macro, they're worth having. IMHO

You say just prime lens, will they also work on say a 28/105 zoom or not? What is the best to buy for a canon? and what to look for as in a fully automated? LOL, alot more questions. I also have a 60mm marco lense, what would be the best for that. I would want all the bells and whistles.

Extension tubes will work on any lens. Getting the lens manufacturer's set will make sure auto focus/exposure still work. A lot of people use them to get their longer lenses to focus closer.

Keep in mind that if there are any minute flaws in the lens,those flaws will be magnified also. Never really tried a zoom with tubes. When I owned tubes,I didn't own a zoom lens. Your 60mm macro lens just might work fine.
Chas

Thanks, Chas. I am going to look into them.

Suzi - I just read something yesterday about Lensbabies....you might want to look at those.

Susan:
if you are going to invest on tubes make sure you are a macro freak. Otherwise you will have those collecting those in no time at all. Your best bet is to borrow one and try it, then deside if you really want to buy it or not. I had a set of tubes with my Rollei and I never used them. With my Nikons I had Bellows and they were sold on their box. These kind of things if you don't make a living taking macro pictures become white elefants. Today if i was going to do macro i buy a 105 mm Micro NIkkor nothing else. Now that's me and everybody is different. Just my 2 centavos on the subject amiga.

Suzi, I'll add emphasis to what friend Don said,

Long ago, in my film days, a friend gave me a bellows that fit my Canon SLR to use for a day. I think it cost twice as much as my most expensive lens; maybe three times as much! I spent the day taking pictures of tiny, tiny bugs on flowers and returned it with thanks. It was fun to use - for the day - but unless you really have a need to take those kinds of pictures, I can't imagine spending the money for one.

Not sure, I think tubes are less expensive than bellows. Whichever you get, I just don't think you will use it that much.

I bought a 70-300mm lens last summer. I was buying it for "the reach" and didn't even realize it had a macro switch until the salesman pointed it out to me. The few times I want to take a "macro shot", that works just fine -- and avoids having to buy a special purpose, one-use piece of equipment.

Rusty

Alright you two, you have just about talked me out of buying one. But alot of good info has been given on the subject.