I’ve been enjoying the very useful range of Tamron’s new lens (their first release for the micro four-thirds format). With a compact sensor size, the effective focal range is 28-300mm, which covers a great deal of ground for all-around nature photography.

Olympus PEN E-PL2 micro-four thirds camera, Tamron 14-150mm all-in-one zoom lens, Meike P-AF3B extension tubes, Olympus MAL-1 macro lights.

I had found an $23.50 eBay open box special for extension tubes that would mount to my Olympus PEN E-PL2 body (or any m4/3 body for that matter). The Meike Macro DG Extension Tube Set MK-P-AF3B fits between my PEN camera and any lens with the 4/3 mount whilst retaining full control of autofocus and aperture controls. I believe the Meike brand is an import and re-branded as Neewer when sold directly in the USA.

As you can see in my above Instagram photo, along with the extension tubes and Tamron’s 14-150mm lens, I also have Olympus’s MAL-1 flexible macro light arms mounted for the ability to illuminate subjects very close to the lens.

This photo will give you a better idea of the size of the small frog I was photographing.

Below is an uncropped resultant photo from my PEN camera of the juvenile Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus). By adding extension tubes to an already close-focusing and high quality lens I now have the ability to fill the frame with subjects not much bigger than a Lego.

A young diminutive amphibian of damp forests.