Nikon T-series close up lenses

ChrisR · Post by **ChrisR** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 1:38 am

I can't find any sources for these. Have they "gone"?
I know they don't take you into very small territory but I used single element close up lenses on telephoto lenses years ago, which were just about OK. I assume the doublet ones would be a worthwhile improvement.

The s/h vendors don't seem to have the T-series either.

edit - I found just two 62mm on ebay , item 400040458215
5T 62mm $129
400040464795 6T, $139

On a 70 - 200 ish zoom would I be better off in terms of IQ using say Kenko's auto tubes?
I realise zooming would probably shift the focus.

info: http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/68725

lauriek · Post by **lauriek** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 6:05 am

Yeah I think Nikon stopped making these a couple of years ago. I wondered if the value of mine might go up over time!

(I've got a 5T and a 6T with 62mm threads)

The Canon 500D is another option, and Raynox also make some good doublet diopters.

On a longish tele-zoom you would be marginally better off in IQ terms using tubes, but a diopter will likely give more magnification. (You need a lot of tubes to get any real magnification with a long lens, 70mm of extension for 1:1 at 70mm focal length, 200mm of extension for 1:1 at 200mm). Increasing the amount of glass generally decreases the quality, so although these are _good_ diopters, they will marginally affect quality where a tube will not (unless you push diffraction limits).

However a diopter will give you more magnification on a longer lens whereas tubes give more magnification with shorter lenses...

Good diopters are certainly worth having in the bag if you have a good long tele, but personally I generally prefer tubes.

JGVilla · Post by **JGVilla** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 7:48 am

That is correct. Nikon does not support their extension tubes any longer (for quite a long time),
and they stopped making the 3T, 4T, 5T and 6T achromats 2 years ago.
(at that time I got a 6T from Nikon for €68.00, so they definitely go up in price; hard to find on ebay)
However Nikon still suppports their teleconvertors (TC-14Eii, TC-17E11 and TC-20Eii) for use on their latest models of macro lenses.
It is explicitly mentioned in my 105mm f/2.8 VR macro lens manual.
I would not use the TC-20 but with the TC17-Eii maximum magnification is 1.7x.
Oh, and these teleconvertors do fit on the new macro lenses.

DaveW · Post by **DaveW** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 5:22 am

Think it was around 2006 when Nikon stopped producing them. Here are details of the lenses:-

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/ha ... ndex3a.htm

Do try EBAY though since I obtained my 6T from the USA through EBAY as they sell on US EBAY for a lot less than on UK EBAY, so even with postage from USA to UK it was still cheaper. I also got my full set of Nikon extension tubes one by one off EBAY from the UK, USA and Germany!

You can do a search on EBAY and if it comes up blank record that search and EBAY will automatically send you an alerting e-mail if anybody posts one for sale later.

DaveW

mgoodm3 · Post by **mgoodm3** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 9:15 am

For adding a small amount of magnification, a good add-on macro is better than an extension tube.

You will see virtually no loss in quality with a good add-on macro while an extension tube will always decrease the quality to a certain extent.

ChrisR · Post by **ChrisR** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 11:32 am

I haven't seen many on ebay. $129 seems a lot for a 62mm 6T , though it is a 345mm f5.6 Nikkor!

Now, with a fat long bellows.........

Ebay is of course splattered with things like Chinese close-up lenses. Do any of the cheap ones come into the "any good" category?

lauriek · Post by **lauriek** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:09 pm

ChrisR wrote: Ebay is of course splattered with things like Chinese close-up lenses. Do any of the cheap ones come into the "any good" category?

Alas no. Good doublets simply aren't cheap... Sigma did a 58mm one which you can sometimes pick up cheap second hand, the Raynox's are worth looking at...

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 2:14 pm

Hhmmm...

"Increasing the amount of glass generally decreases the quality, so although these are _good_ diopters, they will marginally affect quality where a tube will not (unless you push diffraction limits)."

"For adding a small amount of magnification, a good add-on macro is better than an extension tube."

I've had good and not-so-good results both ways. The problem with tubes is that they take the main lens outside its design space, which causes aberrations to appear. Add-on lenses leave the main lens inside its design space, but add their own aberrations.

The result, I think, depends on which way the balance goes for the particular lenses in hand.

--Rik