Can extension tubes make an APS-C lens cover full frame?

Asked 5/22/2015

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If I use an APS-C A-mount lens on a full-frame camera, the camera crops because the lens projects a smaller image circle. Could adding extension tubes move the lens far enough from the sensor to enlarge the image circle and cover the full frame sensor, even if that means losing infinity focus? I'm wondering whether this is a practical way to reuse older APS-C lenses on full-frame E-mount bodies.

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

11y ago

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Yes... kind of. You'll be projecting the image to a larger size.

If you move the lens out by a 1/3 of focus distance using extensions, shouldn't you gain the full frame image? With possible loss of infinity focus?

Putting 35mm of extension on a 100mm lens or 10mm of extension on a 30mm lens isn't just a "you can't focus at infinity" but takes you well into the range of "you can't focus on anything from one foot to infinity" range.

You will also lose some light. fe = fa * (1 + m) gets us to effective aperture is equal to the actual aperture (lets say f/2.8) * one plus the magnification ratio. The magnification ratio, as described will be 1/3. This gives us fe = 2.8 * 4/3 = 3.7. So, you're going to lose about a stop of light in this too. If your lens is an f/5.6 rather than an f/2.8, many autofocus systems will fail to work at when additional light is lost.

This may be an acceptableish solution for if you wanted to do macrophotography without buying new glass, but this setup won't be useful for much of anything else.

Furthermore, it should be pointed out that the edge of the image is where the most aberrations are. Using extension tubes or similar on a full frame lens on a full frame system helps reduce the aberrations in the glass by utilizing the best part of the lens. Its not perfect, but it helps.

Using an APS-C lens for macro would enlarge the aberrations and still have the edge of the image circle in the frame. This may result in unacceptable edge image quality.

Originally by user13451. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user13451

11y ago

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Not in any practical way. Extension tubes can enlarge the projected image circle, but the amount of extension needed to make an APS-C lens cover full frame is large enough that the lens becomes usable only at macro or very close-focus distances. You would lose infinity focus and likely most normal shooting distances as well.

You also lose light with extension, so the effective aperture becomes smaller, making the lens slower.

A rough way to think about it is that APS-C covers about two-thirds of full frame in linear dimensions, so you’d need a substantial increase in image size. That can mean extension on the order of about half the focal length, depending on the lens. For many lenses, that pushes focus into close-up-only territory.

So: yes in theory, but not as a practical workaround for general photography. If your goal is to use APS-C lenses on full frame without crop mode, a teleconverter is the more realistic option mentioned by users, though it also has tradeoffs such as added magnification and light loss.

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11y ago

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