Extension tube for a Bigma

canon400d

Can anyone give me some advice on an extension tube for a Sigma 50-500mm lens and what benefit I would find in laymans terms. I wish we had the same light as you over the Pond.
Kind Regards
Bob
Dumfries & Galloway
Scotland

BigAl

Why would you want to use an extension tube with a Bigma? The only reason for an extension tube would be to reduce the minimum focussing distance - the Bigma already has a pretty short minimum focussing distance - 1m at the short end and 3m at the long end.

z_28

canon400d wrote:

Can anyone give me some advice on an extension tube for a Sigma 50-500mm lens and what benefit I would find in laymans terms. I wish we had the same light as you over the Pond.
Kind Regards
Bob
Dumfries & Galloway
Scotland

Extension tube for 500mm lens ???
Is it a joke or tricky question ?

claudermilk

Exdtension tubes are for adapting normal lenses to be used as macro lenses. You toss out infinity focus in favor of very close up focus. The Bigma probably isn't the best choice for the task.

canon400d

claudermilk wrote:

Exdtension tubes are for adapting normal lenses to be used as macro lenses. You toss out infinity focus in favor of very close up focus. The Bigma probably isn't the best choice for the task.

Thanks ever so much Chris,
How the hell do I get out of this one. OMG as you know I am learning and someone said to me why I didn't get an extension tube for my Bigma. I don't thik he was much brighter than me. Anyhow, I now know what extension tubes are for.
I have spent a hell of a lot on this game so I am determined to stick it out as I went yesterday and bought a Canon 40D and a 17-85mm lens. I don'y know what on earth I am gonna do with my 400D as it is only 3 months old and I will never use it again after using the 40D. I will probably thow it into the Charity shop and someone will get some use out of it.
Cheers and thanks for all your sound advice
Bob
Scotland

gtc

extender vs extension
he probably meant an extender,a canon proprietry term for a teleconverter which increases focal length.

canon400d wrote:

Thanks ever so much Chris,
How the hell do I get out of this one. OMG as you know I am learning and someone said to me why I didn't get an extension tube for my Bigma. I don't thik he was much brighter than me. Anyhow, I now know what extension tubes are for.



I have spent a hell of a lot on this game so I am determined to stick it out as I went yesterday and bought a Canon 40D and a 17-85mm lens. I don'y know what on earth I am gonna do with my 400D as it is only 3 months old and I will never use it again after using the 40D. I will probably thow it into the Charity shop and someone will get some use out of it.
Cheers and thanks for all your sound advice
Bob
Scotland

hgernhardtjr

gtc wrote:

he probably meant an extender,a canon proprietry term for a teleconverter which increases focal length.

I tend to agree ... and if he did, from personal experience I can say that the Sigma 2x TC for the Bigma works, but ..........

Shots require a LOT of light, significant attention to MANUAL sharp focusing through a dimmed viewfinder, and rather soft resulting images to say the least. The 1.4 is a little better. By itself the Bigma is quite nice, and while the TCs work the job of focusing becomes onerous and a tripod becomes virtually mandatory.

claudermilk

Considering my experience with a 1.4 TC on a Canon 70-200, I wouldn't expect much out of a Bigma on a TC. Not much better idea than an extension tube.

As for what to do with the extensions tube, Bob, you might try it out on the 17-85. It's worth a try. I intend to get the Kenko extension tube set to use on my 24-70 to dabble in macro photography.

A 40D already? Moving quick, eh? I'd put a hold on the G.A.S. and really learn how to use what you have before expanding the kit more. You're still asking a lot of fairly basic questions--which is good--so IMHO practice with what you have right now will serve you better than trying to buy an instant solution.

canon400d

claudermilk wrote:

Considering my experience with a 1.4 TC on a Canon 70-200, I wouldn't expect much out of a Bigma on a TC. Not much better idea than an extension tube.

As for what to do with the extensions tube, Bob, you might try it out on the 17-85. It's worth a try. I intend to get the Kenko extension tube set to use on my 24-70 to dabble in macro photography.

A 40D already? Moving quick, eh? I'd put a hold on the G.A.S. and really learn how to use what you have before expanding the kit more. You're still asking a lot of fairly basic questions--which is good--so IMHO practice with what you have right now will serve you better than trying to buy an instant solution.

Thanks Chris for the sound advice. I have taken my foot off the accelerator. I will look at the Kenko extension tube. By the way I have a 60mm Macro lens as you can see on my profile. I think it was an extender I was after for the Bigma to get better close ups.
Thanks again Chris
Bob

claudermilk

No problem. I hate to see people spend megabucks on all kinds of gear and not allow themselves time to learn to use the gear properly. Using myself as an example: I spent a year with just my 20D and 50/1.8. I know that camera backwards & forwards; example: I shot a dance show this weekend & was forced to run the camera in complete darkness between pieces. I was easily able to swap and format CF cards just by feel not to mention getting it ready for the next piece.

So, you have several good lenses and a couple of good bodies. There's plenty to keep you busy for a while to acquire that kind of expertise on the current gear.