Customer Reviews

Opteka Auto Focus DG Macro Extension Tube Set for Canon EOS Digital SLR Cameras

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I first purchased the Kenko's because I was afraid of the Opteka being cheap, but they aren't. The Opteka's are great! They are actually heavier than the Kenkos, also can be used with AF lenses and work exactly the same. They are tighter to twist on and off which I like because that means they aren't loose and your focus won't suffer from holding it. There are a few differences though and one is that the Opteka ring sizes are 12mm, 21mm, 31mm and the Kenko is a 12 mm, 20 mm, and 36 mm. So you loose just a little bit in the big rings distance but honestly its not that much and not worth an extra hundred bucks. The other difference is that the release buttons are small metal pieces that weren't as easy as the Kenkos to use.

These do work with autofocus, not perfect but they do. The Kenkos had the same issue, I think its just that your so close up and have to make sure depending on what lens your using that your far enough away. I wanted to be closer than you actually needed to be. I used my 55-250 lens and at 250 I needed to be about 2 or more feet away for optimum focusing while still getting a super close up macro shot using the 30mm. This will be good when i'm outdoors and want to photograph bugs and don't want to get too close or scare them away. I highly recommend these over the Kenko's not because they are bad in any way but because of the price.

Pros:
Price!! They are half the price of the Kenko's
Quality/build very good
Tight fittings
Photo results just as good as the Kenko's

Cons:
Release levers aren't as easy as the Kenkos but definitely not an issue (more of a style preference)
Rings sizes are smaller Opteka is 12m, 21mm, 31mm and Kenko is a 12 mm, 20 mm, and 36 mm (again not a deal breaker)

I just received mine and THEY WORK! The AF does not really work that well and the instructions that came with the tubes were useless and far too technical. I recommend googling "how to use extension tubes" like I did to get the capabilities you need as there are some great sites out there that give detailed explanations.

These work great in manual mode and "sometimes" work in AF. I have not yet had a chance to fully test out the capabilities of the tubes, so I may need to get some practice in BUT the few test shots I took with my nift fifty came out great. Some with maual and some with AF when it worked. I hear of people reporting the same problems with the "Double Priced" Kenko tubes.

Build quality was better than expected with a combination of metal and plastic and they feel quite heavy. I cannot seem to get all three tubes stacked on top of each other working with my 50mm lens but thats not a huge problem. They worked great with 2 tubes stacked.

I recommend these if you want something cheaper than the Kenko Tubes but with the same quality. I would have given these 5 stars if I didn't have the AF issues.

My camera is the Rebel T1i.

"EDIT"

I wanted to come back and report further on these tubes. The AF issues I was having was on my 50/1.8(nifty fifty) lens. I have now tried these tubes on my 18-55 IS, Tamron 18-270 and 75-300 and the AF feature works great! The 50/1.8 AF also works fine when you have enough light. So I truly believe these are a great deal when compared to "other" more expensive tubes...

Hey, there extension tubes! Not much to them, but they do work with the camera system which is all that matters!

I normally focus manually in macro mode, but they do work with the AF system.

I'd buy them again.

These seem to be well made extension tubes. With all three stacked behind my lens, they still allowed the autofocus to function (albeit slowly). You lose a few stops of lens speed with these attached, so unless you are using your flash as an autofocus assist beam you will notice considerable slowing of the focusing.

But, since most extreme macro work is focused manually (I use live view on my Rebel XS) the only real need for electrical contacts is for aperture control, and that works perfectly, stopping down the lens to your chosen setting for the shot.

I like that the rings have metal connections rather than plastic. They feel solidly built. They attach to the camera and lens firmly.

Using a 28-80 kit lens that came with my old Rebel 2000 film camera, I was able to focus so close that I focused on dust on the UV protector filter I had on the end of the lens.

I took a photo of my wife's wedding ring and was able to fill the entire field of view with the ring. I have been using very long exposures with the smallest aperture in order to get the greatest depth of field, but even then it is pretty shallow with all three tubes stacked together.

I tried a 75-300 zoom with these and I was able to focus about 2 feet away from the subject. (Which is far better than the lens' usual minimum focusing distance).

The 7 different lengths you can achieve with these three rings will give a lot of versatility.

Why spend more for Kenko tubes or an expensive bellows that doesn't allow for auto aperture? Save your money for an internal focusing lens to hang on the end of these rings that can support a ring flash. Many Canon lenses have rotating and extending front elements that make mounting a ring flash trickier.

The tubes do what they need to do for macro work, and the autofocus and aperature electrical connections work fine. The issue is that one of the tubes in the set has a mounting ring thread thickness error that makes it VERY hard to screw into the camera. So much torque that it makes you worry about the lens mount in the camera when you are screwing it in. The other two tubes in the set are fine though, so hopefully this isn't a common problem.

I'm using these with an EOS 5D and a Canon 24-105L lens. So far I have very little to complain about with these tubes. They fit on very snug and feel solid. They allow automatic focus and aperture settings just fine. If you have a quality lens with a good autofocus (like all canon L series) I suspect the focus problems other people have with extension tubes will likely go away.

The only complaint I have is I cannot stack all three together and maintain a good electric signal from the body to lens. I assume this is because of how much longer the circuit is, and I don't expect the contacts/wiring to be gold at this price. Regardless, stacking the two larger tubes brings my focusing distance to a few millimeters in front of my lens, so I'm not concerned about stacking a third tube.

If you're just getting into macro photography and have some quality glass this is an obvious choice. Why spend $1,000 on a quality macro lens before you know you're going to get a lot of use out of it.

I found this one after looking at and almost buying the Kenko rings for about double the price. Then I asked myself if there is no glass what could the difference be? They both pass through the signals for auto focus. My only complaint is that the first couple times it seemed awkward putting the rings on. But after I figured out how they connect differently then everything was fine. I love these rings and am glad I made the purchase at the price I almost paid.

I ordered these and got them very fast, the service was excellent and they are very helpful if you have any concerns or questions. This was ideal for someone like me who couldn't justify spending around 900 dollars for a dedicated macro lens. Very good product I highly recommend it just be aware of the very shallow depth of field.

Like most every considering extension tubes I was looking for a low cost alternative for macro photography. Being a budget hobbyist in photography I make no effort to collect on my investments at the next photo shot it would make it easier to justify expert type equipment if I did. (Insert cheapskate phrase here...) That being said the Opteka extension tubes have both impressed and exceeded my expectations. I have finally found a udr for my 18-55mm kit lens which came with my T1i there's a tube on there all the time. My macro photography is of aquarium fish and plants for blogs and forums, this was a great alternative to a $500+ Macro lens. I hope to add a couple of pics so you see for yourself.

Others have gone into the quality and functionality of the tubes I feel they are easy to use. For the price I think they are well made I wasn't expecting them to be built like a tank.

I wanted to dabble with some macro photography without or before spending big bucks on an expensive macro lens. The quality of these macro extension tubes is quite good. They fit snug on the camera and the lens side and they have all the electrical connections for communicating aperture back to the camera.

As it turns out, I was able to borrow a Canon 100mm f2.8 real macro as well. I took some test shots with the rings on my 50mm prime and also my 55-250 zoom. Even though the zoom is a kit lens, it produced some really nice macro shots with the ring(s). The rings have no glass, so the optical quality of the lens you use them with is preserved. You are just able to focus very close (depending on how many rings you use). I was quite impressed with the shots and for my purposes they compared favorably with those from the Canon macro. The BIG difference is two-fold. You can not focus to infinity, or very far away at all for that matter, with the rings attached to a standard lens. The macro will focus to infinity. Secondly, and related to that, the process of getting your subject in focus can be a little more challenging with the rings. But if you are patient you can produce excellent macro shots with these.

I just purchased the Nikon version for a friend.