A Study of Whether Extension Tubes Can Substitute for Macro Photography

Abstract

In macro-photography, some object or being is captured with life size (1:1) magnification. By using a macro lens and full frame camera, an accurate and perfect macro photograph can be captured. However, photographers find macro lenses to be expensive and difficult to afford. This has led to amateur and professional photographers to move away from macro photography. Hence, this study was carried out to find whether the extension tube is a better alternative for taking macro photographs. To examine this, several macro photographs were captured using both the macro lens and an extension tube in under similar conditions. Then the quality of the captured photographs was compared and it was revealed that the photographs that were captured by using an extension tube has produced results that are identical to the photographs, which were captured using a macro, lens. However, there were some differences such as lesser light, lack of sharpness and color reproducing. When zoom lenses were with an extension tube to take macro photographs, such effects were visible more. There are a lot of advantages of using an extension tube for macro photography: saving money, ease of use, not requiring much training from a teacher, and the ability to be used with any kind of lens the photographer already has etc. This study suggests that photographers who are unable to afford the expensive price of macro lenses can substitute them with extension tubes. Amateurs can also use extension tubes to gain experience before using macro lenses.