Kenko Extension Tubes: A Confirmation

I originally posted this on the Macro Talk subforum, but felt that it would be more appropriate here.

As a confirmation prior to purchase, are these the correct (& most current) Kenko extension tubes for the Canon EF 100mm 1:2.8 lens?

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com/c/produc..._Tube​_Set.html

Also, any suggestions on a source for a better price than the common $179?

Thank you kindly.

Those are the ones I have, which work fine with both the EF 100mm and the EF-S 60mm.

Personally, I don't generally trust places that have prices much lower than B&H, Adorama, and Amazon. Other reputable discounters tend to have very similar prices to these three.

Here is a shot with the 36mm tube from that set and the Canon 100mm L macro:

kitjv wrote in post #12979720
I originally posted this on the Macro Talk subforum, but felt that it would be more appropriate here.

As a confirmation prior to purchase, are these the correct (& most current) Kenko extension tubes for the Canon EF 100mm 1:2.8 lens?

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com/c/produc..._Tube​_Set.html

Also, any suggestions on a source for a better price than the common $179?

Thank you kindly.

I got them for $165 shipped from theimagineworld on ebay. Amazingly, they arrived a day later! (must be said that I live only about 60 miles away from their warehouse though)

shop around you can find cheaper. Look for used. There is no glass just plastic. I bough them in the past and didnt like it then returned it to the store.

Freaky... I was just looking at those on Amazon and B&H 30 mins ago!

I assume I've got this correct: will work with EF and EFs lenses, and still allow AF as long as enough light and using aperatures 5.6 or faster.

I would like to throw one or two on my 50 1.8 to get a little closer, not necessarily macro, but still have AF ability (my other hand will be holding a flash so I can't manually focus)

I think they (the DG set) will work with EF-S, but never tried myself.

They'll still allow AF, but the range of focus will be very minimal and you'd be better off doing what most people would do for macro (even when using a macro lens) - set the focus manually and simply shift your body back and forth to focus.

I purchased my set from the below reputable trustworthy folks. Often wondered why folks paid 30 to 40 bucks more and even around $140 for a used set.

http://www.ebay.com …enses&hash=item​2a101de756

Regards, Ron

Silverfox1 wrote in post #12980801
I purchased my set from the below reputable trustworthy folks. Often wondered why folks paid 30 to 40 bucks more and even around $140 for a used set.

http://www.ebay.com …enses&hash=item​2a101de756

Regards, Ron

In my case, because the shipping times listed were rather variable from 1-6 weeks and summer is short up here and I had a good bug shooting opportunity the next weekend so a little more was worth it to not miss perhaps half the season and the very heart of it and for sure that weekend trip

wombatHorror wrote in post #12982621
In my case, because the shipping times listed were rather variable from 1-6 weeks and summer is short up here and I had a good bug shooting opportunity the next weekend so a little more was worth it to not miss perhaps half the season and the very heart of it and for sure that weekend trip

Took less then 10 business days to get here in Texas. The above mentioned e-bay vendors sites clearly states 5 to 10 business days when shipping to the U.S.

Thanks, guys. Yeah, international shipping can be interesting. When I ordered an iPad2, it shipped from Hong Kong by way of Anchorage. I received it here in Oregon in 3 days.

kitjv wrote in post #12984649
Thanks, guys. Yeah, international shipping can be interesting. When I ordered an iPad2, it shipped from Hong Kong by way of Anchorage. I received it here in Oregon in 3 days.

Yes but that is from Apple, they are held high on the shippers priority so items ship MUCH faster than just personal shipments!

Checked for used one here. I got mine for $130 shipped. They were pretty much brand new. No signs to usage on the ones I got. But I see them around the $100 price.

RHChan84 wrote in post #12985911
Checked for used one here. I got mine for $130 shipped. They were pretty much brand new. No signs to usage on the ones I got. But I see them around the $100 price.

Use any of them with your 50 1.8 yet?

If shopping used, the original Kenko tube set marked just "CA/AF" will not accept EF-S lenses (but will work just fine with all EF lenses and all third party lenses in Canon mount).

The later Kenko marked "DG" and "CA/AF" will accept both EF and EF-S lenses.

I've noticed some illustrations on websites show the older, non EF-S compatible model, but are listed as the newer "DG" version. Probably they just never updated the photo. But I'd suggest clarifying with the seller before buying, just to be certain to get what you want.

Zeikos also offers a set of tubes that's got full electronic contacts... Usually about $100 US or less... sometime relabelled and sold under Adorama (ProOptic), Vivitar (sometimes ridiculously overpriced), Jessops, and some other brands. All the same thing though... Three tubes, slightly different lengths (13mm, 21mm, 31mm) than the Kenko but look to be just fine. I have not been able to determine for certain if these are both EF and EF-S mount compatible. I'd like to try these sometime and compare to the Canon and Kenko tubes I use now.

Canon only sells individual tubes: 25mm and 12mm. If you want to use them with an EF-S lens, you need to get the Mark "II" version.

Kenko also sells individual 25mm and 12mm. It's pretty hard to tell apart the Canon and the Kenko. They appear identical except for some cosmetics and the logos on them.

As a rule, the sets of three are a better value than the individual tubes. You have to buy a set to get a 36mm and 20mm. You need to buy individual tubes to get a 25mm. The Zeikos have unusual, but not all that different lengths.

With a set of three, you get a total of seven possible amounts of extension using them singly or together.

There are cheaper extension tubes... Sometimes much, much cheaper. I call these "dumb" tubes... They don't have the electronic lens to camera contacts to support auto focus and aperture control. Loss of AF isn't a big deal when shooting macro... But loss of aperture control is. There is a work-around method of stopping the lens down, but it's fussy and slow, involves removing the tube(s) and lens, reinstalling the lens, stopping down with DOF preview, removing the lens, reinstalling the tube(s) and then the lens. Sounds like a real pain in the arse to me! No thanks!

BrickR wrote in post #12986017
Use any of them with your 50 1.8 yet?

Yup. It took some good pics but I'd rather my 18-135 since I always step down to f11 and I'd rather used the zoom then adjust the tripod. Just slightly lazy lol.