On April fools day Kenko decided to make a serious and non-joke announcement 🙂
They just released the new E-mount extension tubes with full autofocus and electronic aperture control. That’s the official press release:
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Kenko Tokina USA, Inc. is proud to announce the availability of the new Kenko AF Extension Tube Set for Micro 4/3rds and Sony E mount. The tube set consists of a 10mm and 16mm extension tubes that can be used individually or together4.
The Kenko extension tubes have all the contacts and circuitry to maintain communication between the camera body and the lens. AF (within the limited macro range) and auto exposure are maintained with these extension tubes1.
Extension tubes are designed to enable a lens to focus closer than its normal set minimum focusing distance. Getting closer has the effect of magnifying your subject (making it appear larger in the viewfinder and in your pictures). They are exceptionally useful for macro photography, enabling you to convert almost any lens into a macro lens at a fraction of the cost while maintaining its original optical quality.
The DG extension tubes have no optics. They are mounted in between the camera body and lens to create more distance between the lens and film plane. By moving the lens father away from the sensor in the camera, the lens is forced to focus much closer than normal. The greater the length of the extension tube, the closer the lens can focus.
Specifications:
Aperture Coupling: Electronic
Included Sizes: 10MM and 16MM
Mount Availability: Micro 4/3rds mount for Olympus and Panasonic Sony E mount for NEX system
Warranty: 1 year limited warranty
Notes:
1. Depending on available light and due to a very shallow depth of field manual focusing may be required if the lens AF will not lock focus.
2. Focal length of the lens should be longer than the focal length of the tube for proper operation.
3. Also, Kenko recommends using a tripod for sharper results during macro photography.
4. Stacking is not possible with the Panasonic 45MM Macro and PZ 45-175MM lenses. However all Panasonic and Olympus lenses work with either the 10mm or 16mm separately. If an error message is displayed when trying to use the tubes together on one of these lenses or any other please use one or the other extension tube separately.
Kenko Tokina USA, Inc. is the exclusive U. S. distributor for Tokina lenses, Hoya filters, Kenko photo accessories and SLIK camera support systems. Kenko Tokina USA provides marketing, sales, distribution, and technical/consumer service and support. Kenko Tokina is located in the original Surf City USA, Huntington Beach, CA and on the Web at www.Kenkotokinausa.com.
27 Responses
Extension tubes are an economical way to get reasonably good macro with minimal expense.
They are of course not nearly as good as a real macro prime lens.
Why is there not any available 60 or 90 or 100mm macro for e mount.
It seems like they would be usefull and popular.
Well I was about to buy a dedicated macro lens, but I think I’ll hold off a little longer 😉
The reason macro prines are better is that they are optimized for best performance in the closer focusing range, And they are easie to use.
Extension tubes are a very useful item for any camera system.
The reason macro prines are better is that they are optimized for best performance in the closer focusing range, And they are easie to use.
Extension tubes are a very useful item for any camera system.
Happy April’s Fool!
Ouch! $150 US on e-bay for the pair.
Nex erection hahaha
If you are willing to use your extension tubes in manual mode, you can get 3 extension tubes for as little as $7.00 US on e-bay. Is the automation worth $145 if you will probably need to focus in manual mode anyway?
And what about aperture control?
^^ +1
I don’t care too much for AF but aperture control is very important. Any NEX lens will be shot wide open only if used with manual ETs.
It is not. By default aperture is closed. To set an aperture, mount lens on body, set aperture and remove lens without turning off camera.
You probably care about manual focus, do you? Native e-mount and MFT lenses are focus by wire and require electricity and proper signals just to be able to manual focus.
This is old news… they already had e mount extension with full af and aperture control months back… you can Google it
Very common before the macro lenses arrived many years ago. The problem is you often get “too close”. Get a lens instead!
I had been using these for quite sometime. This is an April fool joke! I would appreciate if kenko make an electronic Amount to Emount adapter. If you check YouTube this had been posted for almost a year. 17 sept 2012 somebody already post on Youtube.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=umz91Bit6Ho
I meant half a year… But this product is really good! : )
How does quality compare to a close-up filter?
The build quality is a few orders better than the lens mounts in a NEX cam (including the 7).
None of the E mount lenses are worth the bother to use with a close up filter. However, *any* E mount lens with a close up and or with an extension tube is BETTER than the E 30/3.5 macro. Pick your poison! 🙂
Okay, so you made your point that NEX and E mount is crap. Do you also have something to say about my question?
Or for the same price you could just buy a manual macro lens… you know.. with aperture control.
these tubes allow you to focus closer, does it do anything to the focal length at all?
An extension tube doesn’t change the focal length.
Compared to a close-up lens, it loses more light. As you move the main lens further away from the sensor, the image gets dimmer.
There are a few acromatic (2 or 3 element) close up lenses availabl that perform a lot better than single elements and do not reduce the light. Extension tubes are better and macro lenses are better yet.
Heres a macro tip. Instead of focusing the camera which can be difficult, prefocus for the magnification you eant and move the entire camera in and out to focus.
This works well with all 3 macro methods.
I have used the the Kenko tube with my A77 for some time. They are great, all the EXIF data is filled out correctly. AF does work, but I rarely use that with macro shots. I’ve used the tubes with the Sigma 70-200 lens several times. It’s a great combination to take on a hike or trip since it gives you the ability to shoot telephoto wildlife, and also a macro shot if you come across one. All without carrying around 2 or 3 heavy lenses all day.
A tube probably does reduce the light a bit, though I’ve not noticed it. Since the electronics are there the camera will still meter and focus properly.
I saw these rings in a shop two days ago!! How is this new??
Ha! I bought these for my 5N nearly a year ago. Not sure how these are different. They do not look it to me, other than maybe adding a 4/3 version.
Strange April Fools joke. Have these tubes for a little while now and they work great om the Sigma 30mm. Focussing is pretty tricky with both rings attached, but at near 1:1 macro you can get some great close ups.