How to Use Extension Tubes to Shoot Macro

Last Updated: May 6, 2021

For extreme closeup photos, you need to shoot macro. You have the option to buy a macro lens for your SLR camera, but extension tubes are an inexpensive way to do it, with great results!

Steps

1
Gather the camera and one or more extension tubes. An extension tube creates more distance between your lens and the image plane in the camera, which will let you get closer to a smaller subject and thereby fill more of the image frame with a sharply focused subject. A "macro shot" is defined when an image is bigger than the original subject is.
2
Attach the extension tube to the camera body, then attach the lens to the tube. You may instead attach the tube to the lens before attaching the joined components to the body.

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3
Set up the shot you intend to shoot.
4
Steady the camera with a tripod.
5
Turn the camera's exposure dial to the "manual" setting. Semi-automatic exposure programs (such as aperture priority) may not work well. The extension tube can affect the exposure sensor.
6
Focus your shot by looking through the viewfinder and rotating the focus ring at the same time. Macro photographs have much less depth of field (near-to-far range of sharpness) than non-macro images.

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Community Q&A

Question

When I take a photo using extension tubes, the thing I'm trying to photograph is so dark that I can hardly see it. I have a Sony Alpha A200 and am new to photography. What settings do I need to use to make the subject visible?

Community Answer

You'll need to use one or a combination of these methods, each has a trade off. 1) Increase the aperture of your lens by setting it to a lower f/stop such as 4.5, 3.2, or 2.8. Doing this will also reduce your depth of field and make focusing your subject more critical. 2) Increase your ISO to 800 or more so your camera is more sensitive to light. This will also increase the grain in your photos, but the effect could be minimal depending on how much you enlarge or crop the photo. 3) Decrease your shutter speed to 1/250, 1/125, 1/60 or less. Once you get below 1/60 you will likely need a tripod to avoid camera shake which would result in blurred pictures.

Warnings

The point of using an extension tube is to allow a lens to focus on a subject that is closer than "normal." Therefore, you will not be able to focus the lens at "infinity" (i.e., on a distant object) while the extension tube is attached.

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You will also have extremely limited depth of field.

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Things You'll Need

Source of light (for example, daylight, lamplight, macro ring light)
Extension tube(s)
Lens
Tripod
Cable release (or use the self-timer), to minimize the effect of camera movement