Inexpensive Close-Up Photography: extension tubes

Drop falling from an icicle, shot using a 7mm extension tube
Dripping Icicle on Flickr by Archaeofrog

A third way to achieve macro or close-up photography results is with an extension tube. Extension tubes are hollow tubes that come in many sizes and screw on between your camera and your lens. This allows you to more closely focus on objects as well as for them to appear much larger in your photographs.  You can read my full guest post about extension tubes and their use on Photokonnexion.com.

There are two main types of extension tubes: those that maintain the electrical connections with your camera body and those that do not. Both types of extension tubes are available on Amazon. I used the generic Fotodiox set of three tubes pictured below for all shots in the article.

Click here or on the image above to search for extension tubes.

Part 1 in the series about Inexpensive Close-Up Photography is about close-up lenses.

Part 2 in the series about Inexpensive Close-Up Photography is about reverse rings.
Part 4 in the series about Inexpensive Close-Up Photography details tips and tricks for the best results.