Photographer, videographer and all-around curious chap Max Adams (@max_madeit) has released several Instagram Reels of a jaw-dropping macro setup involving multiple extension tubes, teleconverters and a 400mm super-telephoto lens.
The setup is so long that it requires two tripods just to hold the whole thing aloft!
In the video (above), he breaks down the components: a Sony A1 Mark II, the Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 L IS USM, a 2x teleconverter, a 1.4x teleconverter, and no less than 7 extension tubes, before photographing a tiny flower.
The problem is that the 400mm minimum focusing distance means that the subject has to be set back about 10 feet in order to focus.
Max rectifies this situation in another video (above) by swapping out the 400mm optic for a 100mm f/2.8 macro lens. This time, the subject (a grain of rice) is positioned just six inches from the front element.
The result is an extreme close-up of the grain’s surface; so large is the grain of rice, it’s obviously beyond 1:1 macro.
What I did find rather hilarious was some of the comments. In the very first video showing the setup, one commenter wrote: “Perfect for street photography,” and another said: “Nice for handheld stacks”. Yeah, right!
Still, as amazing (and ridiculous) as using seven extension tubes may be, the record remains held by YouTuber Nicolas Grant who stacked an even more ludicrous twenty of them together.
If anyone is feeling bold, and feels like surfing the Black Friday camera deals for cheap tubes, there's bound to be a Guinness World Record in this somewhere…
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