What extension tubes are available for Pentax, and do I need electronic ones?
Asked 4/21/2011
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2 answers
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I'm shopping for extension tubes for a Pentax K-mount camera and want to understand the practical differences between basic mechanical tubes and electronic tubes.
What Pentax or third-party options exist for K mount? Are there reputable brands to look for?
In real use, how much difference is there between cheap "dumb" tubes and electronic tubes with contacts? Do electronic tubes preserve metering, aperture control, EXIF, or autofocus, and does that depend on the lens being used?
For macro work specifically, are electronic tubes worth buying, or is it usually better to use manual tubes or save up for a dedicated macro lens?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
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Pentax does make their own extension tubes, but they are not AF-capable. You can get a set of tubes (12, 19 and 26mm) or separate 50mm and 100mm tubes that are auto-aperture, as well as a helicoid (adjustable) 26-46mm tube that requires setting the aperture manually on the lens. If you want extension tubes strictly for shooting macro (and want to stick to the Pentax brand name), then the Extension Tube Set K will get you where you want to go.
Since the KA mount is compatible with the old K mount, there is a large catalog of "dumb" tubes out there to choose from, some selling for under ten bucks brand-new.
There is at least one reputable third-party manufacturer, Kenko, offering autofocus-capable tubes for the Pentax mount. If you just want a tube to get a little closer than the close-focus limit of one or more of your lenses, then it's worthwhile getting tubes with AF coupling. You'll lose infinity focus with the tube mounted, of course, and you may find that some lenses are very badly behaved inside their design limit, but when a tube and lens combination works well, it is a glorious thing indeed.
Originally by user2719. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user2719
15y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
For Pentax K mount, you’ll find both Pentax-branded manual/auto-aperture extension tubes and third-party options. Pentax made tube sets and a useful helical extension tube; Kenko is a commonly cited reputable third-party maker for electronic/AF-capable tubes.
Key point: extension tubes contain no optics, so image quality differences between cheap and expensive tubes are generally not optical. The real differences are build quality and whether they preserve electronic communication.
For macro, autofocus is usually of limited value because depth of field is extremely thin and focus is often adjusted by moving the camera/subject. What matters more is aperture control. With many modern lenses, electronic contacts are helpful because they let you control aperture from the camera and may also retain lens data in EXIF.
If you use older lenses with aperture rings, cheap manual tubes can work very well. If you use newer lenses without aperture rings, electronic tubes are much more convenient.
So: buy dumb tubes for low-cost macro with manual-capable lenses; buy electronic tubes if you need camera-controlled aperture and lens communication. If you want the simplest, best long-term macro solution, a dedicated macro lens is still the more complete option.
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