Life-Size Extender & all ef mount lenses

[jdnan]

I recently read a thread in another forum that stated that the Canon Life-Size extender EF, even though canon says it only works on the 50mm f2.5 macro, actually works quite well on all canon lenses. I found one, brand new on ebay for $160, so I thought I would buy & experiment & sell it if I didn't like it. Here are initial results using both the 100mm non-l macor & a Sigma 24-70 f2.8 HSM. Camera distance to the subject was consistent with & w/o the extender for each lens. Lighting & composition would be much better on an actual shoot, but I just wanted to put these together for a quick compare. All comments are welcome, not interested in critique on lighting, since I just popped a flash on & took some quick snaps.

#1: 100mm, no extender


#2: 100mm, w/ extender


#3: 24-70, 70mm, no extender


#4
24-70, 70mm, w/ extender

[jdnan]

Because of minimum focusing distance, I had to raise the tripod about a foot w/o the extender, so magnification isn't quite as much as it appears, but it is important that the extender reduces minimum focusing distance.

#5, 70-200mm, 200mm no extender


#6, 70-200mm, 200mm w/ extender


The signficance here to me is that this turns a 100mm macro into about 140-150mm, still with the excellent sharpness, & gives you an extender that will work on any ef mount lens to use as either a "macro in a pinch" or just provide extra reach. One thing to note, with the life-size extender, AF becomes almost useless, especially in low light, so it really only makes sense to use it in MF mode.