Macro Lens On A Budget: 3 Options Under $20

[@MarcoRosales]

Yeah... I don’t like my rear element exposed either 😜

[@PJCC_BAISH]

Fotodiox RB2A is the answer.. It covers the back element+u can control the aperture+u can fit a close up lens filters.

[@iliketoast7804]

Ha ha funny.

[@myleswillis]

You beat me by 2 years.

[@stever1514]

yeah if you put another reverse adaptor on the back of the lens then you can put a uv filter screwed on to the new front. great video, caleb

[@mpgilbertusa]

Thanks. Nice review. There’s nothing like macro photography to reveal just how much dust there is in the world. It’s a never ending battle for studio photographers.

[@JaySilva88]

In Macro photography light is king. If you can light the subject and up the fstop a little, it's going to be easier to have the subject in focus.

[@TTURBOVOLVO]

I want to see the extention tube combined with the close up filter! 😁

[@Theserranov]

I dont even have a dslr but your videos are top notch quality, always a pleasure to watch them.

[@MrCROBosanceros]

There are also variable telescopic tubes like Pentax helicoid extension tube or Olympus OM Telescopic Auto Tube 65-116. I use Pentax helicoid extension tube (together with regular extension tubes),to get 2X magnification with Rodenstock Apo-Rodagon-D 2X 1:4.5 f=75mm and Nikon D610. I use M42 to Nikon F adapters) Helicoid tube acts as fine focusing mechanism.German company Zork makes brand helicoid extension tubes.

[@NeilFarrimond]

I have the tubes on my GH5 and it works with all my lenses and speed booster.

[@TommyCallaway]

Yeah, I would use the macro filters too, way easy to use

[@void3923]

dude this is amazing, im going to buy myself some of those macro tubes. absolutely amazing video

[@ricflomusic]

Just the video I needed! Can’t wait to get a macro tube and try this. Thank you!

[@ihrkanntmichma9454]

There are some rather cheap tilt adapters on ebay etc. They are a bit fiddly to use but they offer you to get some control over the fov in your macro shots. Definitely worth a look!

[@Clebrush2]

Awesome video... introducing the new Bob Ross voice of photography. Great comparisons and your breakdowns were quite informative too.

[@MattMurnan]

Great stuff, thank you! I'm not sure if someone else mentioned in the comments below, but another pro for the tubes that wasn't mentioned is the fact that the tubes can be used on all your lenses with the same mount, no matter what size of front element thread. For me that feels like it puts it above the rest of the options because I have a ton of lenses with different front element sizes.

[@MoeZainal]

What would happen when you add a macro tube to a macro lens 🤔 super macro lens?

[@musguelha14]

Yes, more magnification. Macro photogs do it all the time.

[@MrCROBosanceros]

If you use extension tube,you will be able to get more magnification from the same lens.

[@MoeZainal]

Thank you guys!

[@MrPhins]

Absolutely. I used to use macro tubes on my Nikon 105mm f2.8 Macro and the results were just spectacular.

[@dslrvideoshooter]

Great question! I’ll have to try this but I’m sure it would work!

[@MrMiner2229]

Thanks for this video Caleb :) Have just bought an electronic lens tube for $26!

[@antattackBAM]

Love your videos. Very helpful!

[@chrisklugh]

Also, what would the effect be if you used both the extension tubes AND the close up filters?

[@charlescarabott7692]

You get bigger micro I guess but the filters will have some artifact effect which might ruin your photos. But since they are so cheap its worth experimenting

[@AllThingsFilm1]

Thanks to your video, I bought close up filters for two of my lenses. Maybe I'll catch you at NAB. Cheers.

[@jimmyhinAK]

I think if i use the reversal ring option i would use a cheap manual vintage lens so if i screw it up I won’t have wasted a ton of money.

[@pinkiepie46]

It's so helpful thanks

[@captureallen8632]

I recently purchased the reverse lens adaptor but it doesn't work on my Canon M50. It does work on my rebel t6. I have the extension tube as well, I like them. Can't wait to get a proper macro lens.

[@MuwexTech]

Think it was me asking video about macro lenses, thanks! :)

[@KramerOKeefeProductions]

This was really helpful, thank you!

[@SonoftheLivingGod7]

Would the Macro Extension Tubes fit on a lumix g7?

[@WellBasicallyClub]

You just saved me a lot of money, thank you!!

[@JC-fj7oo]

This was a great informative video. Thank you

[@philscomputerlab]

I was wondering about something like this. Option 2 is what will work best for me. I use the KiT lens from the D3300, and it seems they have a lens set for that one :)

[@Boutit031]

Great vid thanks.

[@icejnco]

Great video! Straight to the point. Question: what's the difference between the 3 on light loss? And does that affect DOF when shooting macro?

[@FlyingMilton]

Also, anyone reading this (who reads the comments?) please avoid Insignia extension tubes from Best Buy. The insides are a glossy plastic that bounce light and will cause flares on your sensor, making your shots almost completely unusable.

[@photojoseph]

Awesome. People are going to start thinking that youtubers dip into the same pool of ideas… I’m doing a live video on macro tubes tomorrow! 😂 Also, hope see you at NAB! (Hey shameless ask here, but Caleb if you have the time it’d be killer to have you join me at my meetup www.photojoseph.com/NAB for details!)

[@Nqrgaard]

PhotoJoseph haha same for me. The tubes should have arrived in November, but never came so I ordered a new set I February so I hope it will arrive soon so I can make my KZbin video on this subject for my GH5

[@dslrvideoshooter]

PhotoJoseph ha! That happens to me all the time. Someone else uploads similar content right before I do. I don’t think I’ll be able to make the meetup :-( but I’ll hopefully see you on the show floor?

[@photojoseph]

DSLR Video Shooter I’ll be looking for ya!

[@photojoseph]

DSLR Video Shooter My video is up now… check it out if you have a moment! I referenced this vid too… enjoy! kzbin.info/www/bejne/fX-al4aXfth_n68

[@eusufzai]

Please review Zhongyi Mitakon 20 f/2 4.5x Super Macro Lens in future.

[@anaghnair]

Amazing video man ....Keep working like this 👍👍👍🔥🔥👌📷

[@ahmedalij1988]

Can I use ring flash when using close up filters????

[@JohnzieKim]

Very helpful man. Thanks

[@johnathanproctor9606]

Super helpful. I needed options for taking photos of miniatures, and this totally answered my questions!

[@hiden1980]

Johnathan Proctor have you used any of these ?

[@ShahzaibDamnCruze]

#very #nice

[@AjarnSpencer]

I got even closer and clearer photos with an iPhone SE and Ölloclip or Moment 12x Macro Lens Which allows you to place the camera 2 cm to 1 cm away from the object you are photographing, instead of having to stand a foot away or so and zoom in. No zooming is necessary. It's like an eye loupe placed over the front of your lens. Super macro photography and it's the size of a five cent piece

[@orangejuli07]

Don't forget about those vintage ultra-bulky macro bellows lol

[@johannes914]

Yes they are like the macro ring but you can adjut very easely. I like that option.

[@dslrvideoshooter]

Very true!

[@peterjf7723]

@@dslrvideoshooter You can get good results using macro bellows with an enlarger lens. I use that setup for digitising old negatives.

[@DavidTelesPortugal]

I cant get those soligor 28-70 lens from your stream for less than 50$ in Europe. Waiting for a 50mm 1.8 hexanon

[@FireStudiosUK]

Can the macro filters be used with stepping rings? I.e. if I buy a 77mm diameter for my largest lens will they still function with stepping rings to my 56mm diameter?

[@אלוןאנגל-ה9ש]

I want to try and tell my 10 to 18 STM Lambs for crop sensor cameras to a macro lens I tried and helding it I got a little interesting results now interests lie looking for a wait till this very wide angle lens to the macro lens but I can't seem to find t-adapter I don't think they makes any adapters for this specific lens anybody has a solution for me I'm trying to stick to my lenses and not stop the shrine purchase a lot more of them I have the Nifty Fifty the 10 to 18 and the sigma 18 to 35

[@BaxTechYT]

I know I’m 3 years late to the party, but I thank you for this video! You saved me from having to buy a macro lens for my M50🤣

[@AjalaKingsGreenstream]

Bless you for this video

[@chadwin]

Nice!! I love that you did 3 macro options side by side. I just uploaded a review of the reverse lens mount, then ran across this today 😂

[@glap8694]

Great info, id love some help. So ive never been into photography, but i have a tonnn of pets, small ones too. The smallest ones i have are Thai Micro Crabs. Each crab at LARGEST is 0.4 inches (1cm or less). This means my camera would have to accurately photo a 1cm crab, and its arms. Also it has "pom poms" on each claw, which are hairs that catch algae, itd neat to see those very well too. I also have crested geckos, fish, snails, other larger crabs, bugs, inverts, coral, anenomes, etc. So, all i really know is the info i got from you and a few other videos. I have a budget of around $500, im willing to go a bit higher but id much prefer not to. Can you please help me pick out a great choice of camera for taking photos of the .4 inch crabs? It doesnt need to be a big kit, nor have a ton of tripods or anything. The ability to take videos would be a HUGE bonus, but isnt 100% necessary. Doesnt need to be huge, id prefer smaller. SD, USB, or bluetooth, doesnt matter for me which way it stores. Sorry for the long question, but itd be a Giant help to me if you could point me in the right direction!

[@PaulDGreen]

Thanks for the great video. Very helpful! 👏👏

[@JimiCanRead]

Thank you... just bought a £15 extension tube instead of a (probably mediocre) macro lens for 10x that

[@tomislavmiletic_]

Used "real" 3rd party macro lens is a good option. I have my Tamron 90mm f2,5 SP macro (manual focus!) for 2 decades now, bought him used for peanuts even back then, used that lens thru 4 different camera systems and it still rocks...

[@blendering3D]

This morning I had to take macro pictures of someone's eyes for medical revision and I couldn't get close enough, so I bumped the contrast and sharpness on pic style, then I croppped.... very close. And though it worked I got curious about some macro options, Imma go for the macro tubes

[@victororo462]

AWESOME! Spring is on the way! Here Comes The Bugs! Thanks alot!!

[@joe2nice]

Dude i fucking love you lol I didn’t even know you could do this 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃

[@jonjackson8811]

Awesome video.

[@daneord1]

Will the tubes work with a kit lens or do you need a prime lens?

[@hiden1980]

daneord1 works with kit lens, I use tube with 18-55mm kit lens

[@stevemockoviak8384]

I use the close up filters on my smaller sensor Canon PowerShot G12. I tried them on my Nikon D3100, but to be honest the image quality on the smaller sensor camera came out better than the DSLR. What I found is that I needed to use no more than a +4 filter, and to have the G12 zoomed in at least halfway to avoid the out of focus fringe areas. That yielded some very nice results for me. With the D3100, I always had to crop the image if I used the close up filters since the larger sensor uses more of the surface area of the lens. I tried the reverse adapter and even though it worked very well in the store, I'm mostly in areas with a high probability of getting dirt in the rear element of the lens. That became a non option for me. I like and appreciate the way you did this video, it was very informative and useful. P.S. I do believe you lose about a stop of light with the close up filters, so the more light on the subject, the better the image will come out.

[@EntropyAcolyte]

Thank you for this! I recently got extension tubes for my G7 but found them inconvenient because i had to take the lens off, I just bought the close up filters

[@hiden1980]

Frank The Bunny but with filters you won’t that that much closeup what you get with tube/reverse lens ring.

[@mattcero1]

DUDE! FUCKIN! A! I've been shopping all weekend for used deals on Macro lenses and stumbled across this. I'M THERE MAN! Amazon, here I come for the Macro tubes!

[@Timcanhandlebar]

Would the tubes work on a Canon T3? If so, what lenses?

[@domdru2967]

Ebay auction. Bought an old 40-80mm PENTAX macro lens for £1.87 + £2.90 shipping. Came a little moldy, but works a charm after cleaning it. Beat that

[@the-entertainment477]

I have GH5 & Metabones speedbooster XL (EF-MFT). So if I bought the "Fotodiox Macro Extension Tube EOS EF/EF-S". Is it works fine with metabones & GH5 or not? Is it give me that macro look or I lose the details?

[@marywhore1]

Question, can someone get these extreme close-ups by 3 feet away?

[@misteragb7558]

You can combine option 1 and 3, option 1 can be done with a cheap vintage lense if you worry about your rear element.

[@taylor1038]

Literally just ordered a MFT extension tube to do some quick and dirty macro. I'm glad this video confirms my purchase wasn't a bad one.

[@MorpheusMushin]

Excellent sir! Straight, thorough, and to the point.

[@blackbonexxx]

although i love the macro tubes you forgot to mention they make you loose a lot of light. like the extension you had there probably lost you 2 stops of light. :p just something to keep in mind. nice flash is also recommended for macro

[@vegardpedersen]

Can I get great macro shots with my GH5 + metabones speedbooster ultra+ sigma 18-35?

[@chrisklugh]

I would like to know that too!

[@dslrvideoshooter]

Yep! Works fine be might give you some flares depending on your lighting.

[@zonhisham]

I shoot macros with a 1:1 macro lens. Can this dedicated macro lens be used with extension tubes? TIA.

[@AS-jj3ho]

SO incredibly helpful, thank you☺️☺️

[@kevywilliams3304]

You’re going to add that much filter glass… don’t bother doing macro . Never be tack sharp .

[@kunalgandhi6694]

can I please have the Close Up Filters link again. Thank you.

[@Paolo_Pino]

For me shooting macro less "time consuming" was opting for helicoid adapters. They act as normal adapters, but when I want to get closer I only have to rotate the adapter to move the lens forward and achieve a macro or near macro shot. If you buy more than one you can stack them (some M42 to M42 are of different lengths and are adaptable with either m39 lenses from one side and to different cameras with some inexpensive _slim_ adapters).There are also helicoids for Leica M lenses, but I think some mounts are not available. I don't know if there is a helicoid adapter for old Oly Pen-F for example, nor for Minolta MD... By the way they are a little bit over 20$, I bought a M42 that extends from about 27mm (the normal lenght of an m42 mount for Sony E cameras) to 52mm for about 35€. I can get very close shots.

[@TonyRush21]

Great info.

[@ntranbarger960]

What camera were you shooting the macro shots with? Was it the 6D pictured in the video?

[@jurgis6231]

when you're so lazy, that you say just switching macro tubes is too hard for you.......??...?!?!?!?!??????

[@khalilkafieh8099]

Lol it could be a hassle fiddling with tubes when ur trying to get one shot 😅 meanwhile you're losing light and you could drop a lens pros and cons yknow

[@EposVox]

That feel when I have had virtually this exact same video planned since 2016 and just never acted on it. GG Good stuff!

[@mattcero1]

The main pro not mentioned here with the macro tubes is that you can use your entire lens collection with them. It's that and the image quality that lead me to my purchase of the tubes. You can only use your lenses that fit the other options and in most cases, not all of your lenses.

[@billrosmus6734]

Anyone who really wants to do macros will buy a real macro lens and guess what, they have to stop turn off the camera and change the lens!

[@cognitivebend]

So gooood ! answered all my questions that I was trying to find out about the macro market. Thanks a ton man, always grab bytes from your videos

[@ChubbyPotato]

Extension tubes with Reverse Mount.... Always......A mini Microscope!!

[@AndrewPRoberts]

Fantastic video! Hey, I would love to see the close up filter on the lens attached to the macro tubes. Just curious.

[@DeepshikhaSharma17]

nice!

[@MoonSongVideo]

How would these work with a Metabones adapter on a GH5?

[@blueghost8057]

Do you have to use 70mm? Can I mount these filters on a 35mm?

[@kendallbarthelmy2881]

What about video? Are any of these options good for video?

[@ViktorGabyshev]

I'm sorry! Do you really mount OM lens on FF Canon body? How about risk of mirror damage? Could it collide with rear end of the lens? Thank you!

[@rustybricks2950]

Incredibly useful, well constructed video. I'll be picking some of these up to do miniature photography!

[@LavenderHazelwood]

this was great. thanks!

Thank you. Very helpfull.

[@rpdigital17]

Man, you just saved me money and I purchased Laowa 60mm macro lens and extension tubes with contacts (using with 35mm f/1.8). Your videos are the best!

[@vaderchief]

the reverse ring doesn't seem like a bad idea for a throw away lens, like an old kit lens or something. but the macro tubes seems like the best option. the macro filters just seem kind of gimmicky imo

[@MarkBenge]

really usefull info i was mulling over buying a full lense

[@Nqrgaard]

Haha nice video! I already have that reverse and ordered a electronic tube set which should have arrived in November but never came so another is on its way and I hope that I receive it soon. I am just waiting for this tube so I also could make a KZbin video about this subject. I’m using it on my GH5

[@jordannoll6830]

Great video, thanks. Did you ever try magnifying lens attachment on end of extension tube? Two of the options together? I just got my extension tube, haven't tried it yet. Took a bunch of photos with magnifying lens attachment x10, not bad.

[@monikar2785]

I just found your video snd first I like the voice...not too fast and calming down voice (If I may say) and I can understand all your explained us...thanks for the 3 Tips...really useful for me a new macro-freaks...😍👍🏻👍🏻 many thanks

[@florecitadelcampo13]

Can I use the macro lenses for canon m50?

[@TeaJayPhotography]

I use a set of macro rings with electronic contacts and since alle three rings have mounts on each side, attaching and removing is really fast.

[@PhotographyIn123]

Awesome. I just did a few macro videos this past week as well. One on camera extension tubes (like you did - in fact I'm giving one away for commenters this month), and the other was a hack to get any lens, with no new equipment, to be macro (good for trying out for those new to macro). Thanks for sharing the other two options. Great to see the comparisons. Solid video. Well done! Terrance

[@ourevergreenhome]

This is SO helpful, thanks for sharing and God bless you!

[@joeybailey9628]

is x 10 magnification too excessive ?

[@souravbose2721]

Brilliant comparison - tremendously informative for a novice like me wanting to get into the macro world!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!😀😀😀

[@sergeantcrow]

Another option I stumbled on... Due to 'register' or ' flange focal distance' differences leading to some makes of lenses mounted on a different make camera using a cheap adapter ring will not allow focus to infinity, or worse, only focus to a few feet... I found that using a vintage Pentax 50mm f2 - P/K Mount on Nikon I could only focus very close up.. 1 or 2 inches.. like Macro. Also while on this subject M42 on Nikon is quite usable yet will not yield focus to infinity, but will on Eos... Nikon, M42 T2, , and OM vintage mount will work to infinity on Eos too.. but it may interest some of you to know when the rear element on a Super Takumar 55mm f2 M42 mount is carefully wound out (lock with a little drop of glue..) that excellent affordable lens will focus to infinity...

[@dylanwilliams515]

What about reverse coupled lenses? It’s 11$ Canadian on amazon, gives a much easier magnification calculation, maybe slight image quality loss and light loss, still much easier and cheaper than extension tubes