I suppose you could say I wasted $18.30 because what I gained really does not improve my photos nearly as much as buying better coins would but I had to try it. I bought a second set of automatic Canon mount extension tubes. Used on my 24x36mm sensor Canon 5D mkII and Canon 100mm macro lens, the total of six tubes (two sets of three) allows filling the frame with a subject about 8x12mm. The closest I have is this 8x10mm 0.34g coin. Previously I could shoot with just one set of tubes or even just with the bare lens which stops at 1:1 (therefore 24x36mm). I can not show the full size image because of limits on Coin Talk and the tiny reduction here (1620x1080 pixels reduced from 8387x5591) shows no quality upgrade from the cropped ones. There might be a difference if I made a really big print but just how many 20x30" prints of 8x10mm coins do I need? Not enough to pay off the $18.30 toy but we don't buy this stuff for financial gain. The image below is a merge of one horizontal of the obverse and a vertical of the reverse and enough blank black to fill the gaps. The lens is past its best at this magnification. Canon makes a lens for this sort of work but my having trouble justifying the $18.30 makes a $1049 lens out of the question. Those who do not already have a set of tubes might want to consider them. My old set is Kenko which is made better than the new eBay specials (there are several brands - I selected the ones which included a tripod socket on the tubes). The Kenko have lasted for years; the new ones???? CILICIA. Tarsos. Time of Pharnabazos and Datames (Circa 380-360 BC). Hemiobol. Obv: Female head facing slightly left. Rev: Diademed bust of Aphrodite right.
Those images are impressive! I sometimes really mourn the fact that I don't count photography amongst my interests.
Mentor => those are amazingly sweet OP-photos!! Ummm, why did you say that your new purchase wasn't worth it? ... were you merely fishing for coin photo compliments? (ya big lug)
Incredible details, even when enlarged. Very nice. Credit should belong to the photographer, as well as the equipment.
Extension tubes are camera accessories placed between the lens and body that allow focus at a close distance for macro photographs. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Macro-AF-Au...983553?hash=item3ccd55b381:g:rTkAAOxyTjNSpvCz To fill my frame with and 8mm coin, I needed two sets. I believe the purchase of a second set was overkill since cropping the image made with just one set was also good. Sorry I was unable to make this clear.
I use a Canon 40d digital SLR with a kit lens for my coin photography. The kit lens has a macro ring for macro focus adjustment. I've considered buying a dedicated macro lens, but never thought the $1,000 cost would improve my photos that much. I wonder if the tubes would be a good intermediate step. Do they allow the camera to communicate with the lens for auto focus, etc?
Yes, IF and only if you get the ones with electric contacts. These show in the above photo as eight brass colored dots. Usually any set selling over $12 or so has them and any set under $10 does not but look for words like automatic o auto focus in the description. Success of auto focus can suffer if you get too close so you may have to switch to manual with some lenses but you still retain the auto diaphram function which is very, very convenient. Kit lenses for Canon 40d require EF-S tubes but almost all made are EF-S now. Some ten year old tube models were EF only and would not use EF-S lenses. Your kit and camera with the three tubes linked above would fill the frame with a coin about 3/8" diameter or larger. For most coins you will not need all three tubes that come in the set but there are obols that need shooting. Working distance will be about 2" which is why we often suggest using a longer lens if you have one.
