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04/14/2004 10:57:33 AM · #1 |
Following on from Corwyn's post, I am considering buying either a Canon 1.4x or 2x extender II for my Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS zoom and I would be very keen to hear from others with experience of this kit, especially with regard to image quality.
I plan to use the zoom mainly for nature photography and my initial idea is to go for the 1.4x, and later buy a 400mm zoom, rather than going for the 2x, but I am open to suggestion!
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04/14/2004 11:02:17 AM · #2 |
In my experience the 70-200 f/2.8L IS does very well with the EF 1.4x II converter and it does ok with the EF 2x II converter. You should hardly be able to tell the difference in image quality on a 1.6x crop body when using the 1.4x converter. If you want to do an occasional 400mm shot the 2x converter might work nicely for you, but if you would like to use it all the time you would be much better off buying a real 400mm lens like the 100-400 IS or the 400mm f/5.6L.
Greg
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04/14/2004 11:07:24 AM · #3 |
I've got the 1.4x extender and I'm quite happy with it. It's ok to go from F/2.8 to F/4.0 but with the 2x extender you go to F/5.6 and I think that is to much. I mostly use my extender with my Canon 70-200 F/2.8 IS lense shooting soccer matches. I tried the 2x extender and I didn't like it. And if you are going to buy a 400mm lense i recommend the 1.4x extender.
Here is an example I shot with F/4.0:
Iceland vs. Germany
Here is an example I shot with F/5.6:
FH vs Throttur |
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04/14/2004 11:37:57 AM · #4 |
| Thank you both for the advice...and nice shots Arni. I think the 1.4x is the right choice. |
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04/14/2004 11:42:31 AM · #5 |
I sold my Canon Extender 1.4X II today. I got $250 US for it.
I took over 250 pictures with it and none of them were usable for prints.
I used it on a 100 - 400L IS lens, without the extender the lens takes beautiful pics. I think it is the best copy of the lens I have ever seen (even at full out).
I was very disappointed in it.
This is all just my humble opinion.
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04/14/2004 11:55:45 AM · #6 |
| Sorry I forgot to mention that Gordon gave me a link in my last Extender discussion about making the lens autofocus and it did work with the 100-400 and the digital rebel. |
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04/14/2004 12:11:44 PM · #7 |
Here is a shot I took this past weekend with my EF 100-400 IS and an inexpensive Tamron-F 1.4x TC (not as good as the Canon one). This is just about the full frame scaled down for web viewing. The Tamron TC doesn̢۪t report its presence to the camera so the camera thinks it is shooting at 400mm f/5.6 while it is actually shooting at 560mm f/8. The advantage is that I don̢۪t need to tape any contacts to get AF while using this lens and TC on my Rebel.
//www.pbase.com/image/27832234&exif=Y
Greg
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04/14/2004 12:55:27 PM · #8 |
Here's another shot taken using the EF 1.4x II TC. I wonder if you just had a bad one?
//www.pbase.com/image/27832255
Greg |
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04/14/2004 02:01:07 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by Corwyn:
I sold my Canon Extender 1.4X II today. I got $250 US for it.
I took over 250 pictures with it and none of them were usable for prints.
I used it on a 100 - 400L IS lens, without the extender the lens takes beautiful pics. I think it is the best copy of the lens I have ever seen (even at full out).
I was very disappointed in it.
This is all just my humble opinion. |
Don't forget you're stopping down the lens considerably with a 1.4x TC. The aperture on the 100-400 is already pretty small, you're taking it quite far with the 1.4x (1 f-stop I believe)..
On the 70-200/2.8 I'd imagine it will operate considerably better.
Edit:
Notice the difference:
70-200: f/2.8
100-400: f/4.5-5.6
I'd imagine this contributed to the problems.
Message edited by author 2004-04-14 18:02:43. |
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04/14/2004 02:04:24 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by Corwyn:
Sorry I forgot to mention that Gordon gave me a link in my last Extender discussion about making the lens autofocus and it did work with the 100-400 and the digital rebel. |
So after you started focusing, were none of them still in focus ?
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04/15/2004 04:43:58 AM · #11 |
Start off by saying thanks again Gordon your trick really helped.
Originally posted by Gordon:
Originally posted by Corwyn:
Sorry I forgot to mention that Gordon gave me a link in my last Extender discussion about making the lens autofocus and it did work with the 100-400 and the digital rebel. |
So after you started focusing, were none of them still in focus ? |
It wasn't they were out of focus terribly but more that it was very soft. No sharpness to the pictures at all.
I tried mostly with the lens full out, because that̢۪s why I bought the extender to get the extra distance. It took not bad pictures at 3/4 zoom but if I was going to take pictures at 3/4 zoom with my extender on, It would be better for me to just take it off and get super clear pictures with the same range.
Like someone said about I may have just got a bad copy...
I think the Extender is really made for the Prime lenses. The 100-400L IS is a great lens on it’s own, probably the best I'll ever own for a long while (being 26 and getting a steal of a deal on eBay ($940 shipped) for this lens because someone spelt it ‘CANNON’ and not may people found it to bid on it). I think the extender would do a lot better on the 70-200 2.8 because the stop down wouldn't affect it as much.
Message edited by author 2004-04-15 08:44:56. |
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04/15/2004 06:40:07 AM · #12 |
On the topic of Canon extenders and or converters, Flash brought up the topic and we were discussing the effects they have on your photos and etc.
Does any know of a source or link that discusses the pros and cons on using these and how they effect your photo shots?
I have heard pros highly recommend using them on photographic shows I have seen. Is this all commercial hoopla?
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04/15/2004 06:50:42 AM · #13 |
There is no doubt that TC̢۪s cause some degradation of image quality, they also affect the f-stop of the lens they are being used with. For instance a 1.4x TC adds one stop to the max aperture of the lens it is used with and a 2x TC adds 2 stops. I have found that when using a digital body such as a Digital Rebel or 1D or 10D that a high quality 1.4x TC has a minimal practical affect on the image quality. A good quality 2x converter usually does have a noticeable ill effect on the image quality. The main things I have noticed about the effect TC̢۪s have on my images are additional CA, ghosting, halation and loss of contrast. The benefit is that you get more focal length.
I see teleconverters as being useful tools for those once in a while shots when you just need that extra focal length but they are not (in my mind anyway) a good permanent solution. I have found that a longer lens pretty much always beats a shorter lens with a converter in the image quality department. The 1.4x converter will get you pretty close though so that might be an ok solution if you just can̢۪t afford a longer lens.
Greg
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