• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer

T.A. Vieira Photography

Las Vegas Portrait, Beauty, Boudoir and Cultural Photography

  • The Book Store
  • The Print Shop
    • Limited Editions
    • #PDX Urban Landscapes
    • Beautiful Decay
  • Galleries
    • Vegas Noir
    • Urban Landscapes / Street
    • Beauty / Intimate Portraiture
    • The Guys
    • HeadShots
  • Blog
  • Video
  • About
  • Contact
    • Get in Touch!
    • Photo Shoot Info
    • Photo Shoot Deposit
    • Standard Model Release
  • 0 items

Fuji MCEX-11 Macro Extension Tube

January 8, 2016 by Ted

mcex-11

I bought the Fuji XF 56mm f1.2 lens a little while ago primarily to do portraiture and boudoir work. It’s a beautiful lens that can produce some pretty amazing shots.

The minimum focal distance for this lens is somewhere around 2.3 feet and one thing that I kind wished I could do with this lens is get a bit closer to the subject sometimes. I decided to try the MCEX-11 with that lens to see if that might help me accomplish what I was looking to do, to be able to get that closer now and then. 

An imporant thing to be aware of if you’re considering this accessory…

You Can’t Just Shoot Normally With The MCEX-11 On Your Lens

Turns out that it might make me have to move in a little too close for the kind of shots I wanted to get. One thing I didn’t realize before I bought the extension tube was that it didn’t just allow you to move in closer, but it would also only focus within a certain range of distance from the subject. If you move in too close it can’t focus, but also if you move back to far it also won’t focus, and that range isn’t all that big. Using the extension tube on your lens keeps you within just a few inches of distance from your subject that you can work in, and the wider the lens, the closer you need to get to the subject.

cowboy-56-f4-iso400-60thsec
56mm at f4, ISO 400, 1/60th sec

I’ll Still Keep It for Macro Work

I’ll still give it a try on a photo shoot and see how useful it is. When I do that I’ll share the results. For now though I’m thinking I’ll probably just end up using it for macro work – which is still a good thing.

Using the MCEX-11 on Different Lenses

I used it with a few different lenses to see what would work the best. I started with the XF 56 f1.2 lens, then also tried it on both versions of Fuji’s 35mm lenses, then even tried it on the 23mm but I had to get so close to the subject that lighting the image became more challenging. I didn’t even try to go below that focal length.

While it’s still very useful with the 35mm lenses, the longer focal length you use, the more flexibility you have, especially with lighting.

Side note: as much as I love shooting with the 35 f2 version of that lens I have to be honest and say that really getting these close shots showed me that the original 1.4 version was actually sharper. That being said, sharpness isn’t everything to me and I still prefer the f2 version for everyday shooting. It’s plenty sharp!

Here are a few images I shot. I’ve included the exif data.

56mm at f16, ISO 200, 1/8th sec
56mm at f16, ISO 200, 1/8th sec
35mm f1.4 version at f16, ISO 200, 1/15th sec
35mm f1.4 version at f16, ISO 200, 1/15th sec
35mm f2 version at f16, ISO 200, 1/15th sec
35mm f2 version at f16, ISO 200, 1/15th sec
23mm at f16, ISO 200, 1/15th sec
23mm at f16, ISO 200, 1/15th sec – you can see here that using the same lighting setup I wasn’t able to really light the whole coin well.

 

 

Category: GearTag: Extension Tube, Fuji 56mm F1.2 R, Fuji XF 23 f1.4, Fuji XF 35mm f1.4, Fuji XF 35mm f2.0 R WR, Fujifilm, Fujifilm X-T1, macro, MCEX-11

About Ted

Passionate about photography. Obsessed with black & white. Love film. Always looking for the story in a photograph.

Previous Post:Fuji XF 35mm f1.4 vs XF 35mm f2
Next Post:Fujifilm MCEX-11 Macro Extension Tube – Part 2

Let’s work together

If you’d like to do a photo shoot, reach out if you’d be interested in collaborating. If you’ll look through my site you’ll see I have a definite style. If this inspires you, and you would like to create photographs in this style, definitely connect.

Get in Touch

Social

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Mail

Search

Podcast

Sign Up

I’ve decided to cut way back on posting to social media platforms. (trying to, at least) So if you like the kind of stuff I post, Subscribe to the site and you’ll find out when I post and we can stay connected and engage here. Thanks!

Copyright © 2023 · T.A. Vieira Photography · All Rights Reserved

Return to top