FOR7 wrote in article <19971001080901.EAA26797@ladder01.news.aol.com>...

> >As it was just mentioned by somebody - there is no universal
> >answer to what is better. One needs to compare
> >all the parameters - advantages and disadvantages.

> One thing though that is not debatable is the fact that extension tubes do not
> degrade image quality whereas closeup lenses can.

Um, I was probably "that somebody", and the reason I pointed out that
results are unpredictable is for just this reason: some lenses do perform
badly on tubes... (I can name several otherwise excellent lenses that
are poor on tubes, if you are interested...;-).
Hope This Helps
David Ruether - http://www.fcinet.com/ruether