Extention Tubes

Hi Guys,
Having read a few of the other forun topics dealing with Extention Tubes' I've recently acquired a set of Pentax extention tubes to fit my K10D' but I think I missed the point a bit somewhere ie -

-- Can I practically use the 18-55 lens that came with the camera
-- How do I adjust the aperture or am I stuck with f32
-- I don't think I can - so do I need another lens

In which case it will be a while before I can reasonably afford a proper macro lens, even ebay offers are outside my current scope.

Any comments would be welcomed

What kind of extension tubes have you got as there are several kinds. You really want 'auto tubes' with the electrical contacts that 'talk' to the camera so you can change the aperture on your lens.
If you do not have a set like that you will need a PK M or A lens (usually 28mm, 50mm or 135mm) or any other lens that has an aperture ring to change the aperture value.
Remember that no matter what you will loose the auto focus and will need to focus manually.
I would start of with a 50mm 2.0 PK lens as they are cheap on feeBay. Next you have to set in your settings to allow (permit) the use of an aperture ring (if you do not do that you will find the camera will not shoot).
Hope that helps you to get you started.

Thanks guys for your comments
The Tubes are not auto but they are Pentax PK in a nice leather case. I didn't realise at the time that auto versions were available [new thought - are auto bellows available? - I would prefer this option].

So in practical terms I'm back to buying another lens or an auto set of tubes (I've priced up some Kenko auto tubes at >£140 but the shop doesn't think there is a Pentax version (they sell only N.../C... gear)).

I do have a 70/300 Sigma DG which has manual aperture option and have discovered today that the tubes work fine with this lens, but I had hoped the 18-55 would work at the time I bought the tubes.
Thanks again
Bernard

There are 'auto bellows' but I'm not sure if there are any with the electrical contacts. (My Panagor set being a cheap example)
Auto in this case being that they pass through the aperture control levers of the M & K series lenses.

With the extension tubes it might be worth considering M42 & reversing adapters, to increase further the range of budget primes to select from. Even the cheapest (~£2)adapters should be OK for macro, but any lens you use will want an aperture ring.
(It is actually possible to tape/wedge the aperture lever on the back of the lens to adjust the aperture without an aperture ring but it's not worth the effort!)

AFAIK no-one makes Pentax extension tubes with the contacts anymore. Had my set stolen over 3 years ago and didn't replace them immediately (unfortunately in hindsight as there were still some around at the time).

I use a cheap basic set and an old K mount 50mm lens with aperture ring -less than £50 total IIRC

Andy

A few months ago there was a Polish company named Kubisek selling new Pentax-fit extension tubes, with contacts, on ebay for something like £80 or £100 (sorry, can't remember the exact price). I think Kubisek were the manufacturers, but not sure about that.

Can't see any on ebay now, but perhaps you could find a (Polish?) online shop selling them.

nice F35-70 for sale on here that would do the job nicely

You seem to get the tubes still here. Just select Pentax. But I am not sure if you are prepared to pay £160 for the set?
I was lucky to be quick enough to get a set from here in the classifieds but since that time I have not seen an advert for them.
You have to be very quick to get a similar pair and I still be grateful to 'davex' for the deal.

If you buy extension tubes with the aperture contacts make sure there's electrical contact between the body of the lens and the body of the camera, as this completes the circuit.

I bought some off Ebay last year abd they had black anodised bodies. I had to sand off some of the anodising in order to get them to work.

Thanks guys,
It does look as if the "right" gear is currently outside of my budget but I've have another idea ----- I have a M42 to PK adapter which I bought to enable me to use my old 500mm mirror lens on my camera (its fixed aperture and manual focus so not a lot lost there.
If I take that off of the mirror lens and then use an old 55mm manual lens from my 1960's S1a (the camera was sold many years ago to buy a Minolta X300) but I kept the lens.
At least I'll be no worse off, except I could have used a set of 42mm extention tube that I already had. Whats the adage " a fool &........."
regards all
Bernard

Hi Steve,
I'll look out for some Jessops Tubes, as I commented earlier I didn't realise that auto tubes were available and bought some which were PK fitting.
I've been out into the garden this morning with my Sigma 70/300 in macro mode with the PK tubes fitted and despite the draughty conditions managed to capture a few that I was happy with (for example, see this weeks competition entry)
I set the antishake for 800mm (much bigger than I actually have, but I was shooting hand held, just to experiment) I must admit that I am most impressed with the anti-shake performance considering that 20 years ago 200-300mm with tubes would probably have demanded a tripod and better than 1/250s
Bernard

Hi Steve,
Forgot to mention -
The link you gave - Wow- Those are something to aspire to.
I must admit I've tried over many years to take creepy crawley pictures but they don't stay still long enough for my liking.
Probably like most of us we get some we like but those are stunning.
I've yet to try out image stacking and have got as far as downloading CombineZM, then I got sidetracked (yet again)
Bernard

Yup these are the one's I had to clean off the anodising to get an electrical contact.

If you find a cheap PK-A fit teleconverter then you can convert that into an extension tube very simply. I unscrewed the glass from a Jessops one which was terrible as an optical device but makes an excellent extension tube!