Fotga Extension tubes for Fuji-X- mini review

Hi all,

I had heard that people were getting the Fotga macro extension tubes and I thought it would be great to have a set. So I ordered through Amazon, and not the usual Ebay. I have to say that is was most definitely the slowest thing from China that I have ever received. It must have swam the Pacific, or floated across. It took almost a month. As a contrast, I ordered some spare rear lens caps and body caps, they arrived in 6 days.

So I got them finally, inside the small box was a 10mm and a 16mm extension tube. They had the electrical connectors that would allow the lens to communicate with the camera, which to me was a bonus. It would mean that they could autofocus. They were kind of tight to get apart and very tight to fit on the lens and even tighter to get on the body of my X-Pro1. I was using my 60mm macro as the initial test lens. Yes they would autofocus and they nicely added some magnification with only about 1 stop loss of light. And being extension tubes you also get a narrower dof due to the effective f-stop getting smaller in diameter by being further away from the sensor.

I took them on and off a few times, and stacked them and even though it was a very tight fit, I got setup to shoot some test shot. I was going to shoot an orchid that I have had for awhile, I set everything to manual and using a tripod positioned the camera as close as possible set the minimum focus distance on the camera. This is the first shot, and basically straight out of camera, no adjustments in Lightroom, just exported. Here is the basic shot, 60mm no extension tube.

No tube just 60mm macro

And a shot focused with the camera as close as possible and focused on the center of the flower, using the 10mm extension:

60mm macro + 10 mm tube

And then with the 16mm extension tube, again as close as I could focus:

60mm macro +  16mm tube

i was then going to stack the 16mm and 10mm, which I did and got it back on the camera and the camera would not start up. It had before with the extension tubes stacked. So I removed the extension tubes and inspected them. I found that the reason they were tight, is that they are projecting too deeply into the camera and scraping along the contacts in the camera body. There was a deep gouge on the extension tubes where it was hitting the X-Pro camera body and as you rotated it it scraped along the contacts on the extension tubes. You can see the line going between the electrical contacts. I was quite anxious and inspected the body for damage and there does not appear to be any damage and it works just fine with my lenses on the camera without the tubes. So I dodged a bullet so to speak. Here is a picture of the bottoms of the two extension tubes, notice the gouge near the electrical contacts. The 16mm tube is on the right and is the worst one.

extension tubes showing damage at electrical contacts from too tight a fit

So I have contacted Amazon, they have punted and said it is a Fotga problem and they have to approve the return, which has me a bit miffed. I have yet to hear anything from them. I will let you know what they say.

The bottom line is that I would not recommend these at all, or I would inspect them closely but ordering from China is always problematic especially regarding return. Buyer beware their quality control may be lacking.

Alan

That's a real shame because the images are lovely. Thanks for being guinea-pig.

shame

Thank you very,very much for the detailed info! Sorry for this situation.

and attention at the FOTASY, it seems IMO a rebranded FOTGA product.

http://www.amazon.com/Fotasy-Extension-Fujfifilm-Camera-X-Pro1/dp/B00DFPOV3Y

Well just an update, after multiple communications with them, first they wanted me to change my neutral feedback no mention of the problem, then they wanted me to ship it back to them for 1/4 to 1/2 the price of the tubes, I would gladly send them back but they needed to pay for it. I then filed a claim with Amazon, they are now refunding the money and they have been removed from the Amazon site. I would be very weary of the Fotasy rebranded ones as well, the review on Amazon for them also states the "tight fit" so I suspect it is a design issue.

Alan

I dont recommend to purchase this one

The extension tube destroyed the contact pins of my X-Pro 1. I had to send the cam to Fuji and got an invoise about 630,- € for that service.

It's a late reply but the troublesome extention tubes are still around.

I didn't have the problem that they where scraping against my camera but they are so loose that the camera keep loosing its connection with the lens.

So they won't destroy the camera but they don't work either.

Sadly enough, I have one more ** fail ** report to add...

On my set (tested with X-Pro1 and X-E1 bodies, and 18, 35, 60 and 18-55 lenses):

• I could not get any lens to mount onto the 16mm ring (mount locks up well before normal position)
• I could mount a lens on the 10mm ring, but it will not operate (camera does not start up properly, focus motor runs crazy)

I did attempt to fasten and/or loosening the screws (as suggested elsewhere), with a little but not enough improvement on the 16mm ring, and no luck at all with the 10mm ring.

The eBay shop was understanding and quick to offer mediating with the manufacturer, but that whole process would be cumbersome, and the inevitable shipping fees back and forth would come close to the product's price, so I swallowed my bill (and my pride).

Conclusion: don't try the Fotga rings at home!

Makes me sad. I really would like functioning extension tubes.

I don't have the extension tubes, but I purchased two adapters from Fotga for Minolta lenses. One does not focus to infinity and both are almost impossible to mount on the lenses and the camera. I have been avoiding Fotga since then.

My apologies for resurrecting an old thread . Any recommendations for non Fuji extension tubes or should I only consider Fuji?

third son wrote:

My apologies for resurrecting an old thread . Any recommendations for non Fuji extension tubes or should I only consider Fuji?

I would buy them from B&H. If there is a problem B&H will make it right. Amazon is not always the best way to buy as the OP found out.

Close up tubes

Crashton wrote:

third son wrote:

My apologies for resurrecting an old thread . Any recommendations for non Fuji extension tubes or should I only consider Fuji?

I would buy them from B&H. If there is a problem B&H will make it right. Amazon is not always the best way to buy as the OP found out.

Close up tubes

I buy quite a bit from B and H . Just wondering about fit and finish plus connectivity .