Teleconverters: I am considering the purchase of a Nikon 1.7 teleconverter for use with my AF-S Nikkor 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G ED VR lens and Nikon D7100 camera body. I called B&H Camera...

Waterboy23 Loc: Toms River, NJ

I am considering the purchase of a Nikon 1.7 teleconverter for use with my AF-S Nikkor 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G ED VR lens and Nikon D7100 camera body. I called B&H Camera and the person I spoke to told me that my lens would not be compatible with ANY teleconverters. I pointed out that the Nikon Compatibility Chart for Teleconverters listed their 1.7 teleconverter with the note AF(1), meaning that autofocus is only possible with lenses having a max. aperature of f/4 or greater. Since my lens has a maximum aperature of only 4.5, I'm guessing I could use the teleconverter with manual focus but this person said I couldn't use it, PERIOD. I should mention that I already have a Sigma 2x teleconverter which I bought for a Sigma 150-600mm lens but I couldn't seem to attach it to my 55-300mm Nikon lens or camera body. Any comments or suggestions would be most welcome!

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

It's your money. You can throw it away anyway you want.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Waterboy23 wrote:

I am considering the purchase of a Nikon 1.7 telec... (show quote)

If either lens or TC has 'wrong' geometry they may collide .... and you could break some expensive glass.

Bill_de Loc: US

I just took a look at my Nikkor 1.7x. The front element of the converter protrudes about 3/16' beyond the mounting ring. If the rear element in your lens goes back close to or beyond the mount on the lens when zooming, crunch city.

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BlueMorel Loc: Southwest Michigan

I have a Canon and my equivalent lens has only one manufaturer that makes a teleconverter to fit, I think Kenbo, and that was added to their line relatively recently. I decided not to waste my money.
Why do you need it if you already have the Sigma 150-600? Just curious.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Bill_de wrote:

I just took a look at my Nikkor 1.7x. The front element of the converter protrudes about 3/16' beyond the mounting ring. If the rear element in your lens goes back close to or beyond the mount on the lens when zooming, crunch city.

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and with some lenses, the rear element moves back towards the mount while zooming, so its fitting when you mount it doesn't necessarily mean "crunch city" won't come later while you are zooming.

jethro779 Loc: Tucson, AZ

If you went to www.nikonimgsupport.com you would find that Nikon does not recommend any teleconverter for any of the 70-300 lenses.

https://www.nikonimgsupport.com/ni/NI_article?lang=en_US&articleNo=000002347

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

Waterboy23 wrote:

I am considering the purchase of a Nikon 1.7 telec... (show quote)

Forget it.

JeffDavidson Loc: Originally Detroit Now Los Angeles

Nikon also doesn't recommend a teleconverter for any zoom lens with variable aperture.

Check the Nikon compatability chart and abode by it. It does NOT mean that this is "lose" so it should be okay.

Waterboy23 Loc: Toms River, NJ

BlueMorel wrote:

I have a Canon and my equivalent lens has only one manufaturer that makes a teleconverter to fit, I think Kenbo, and that was added to their line relatively recently. I decided not to waste my money.
Why do you need it if you already have the Sigma 150-600? Just curious.

My Sigma 150-600 is getting a bit too heavy for me to use without a tripod so I thought why not try to extend the reach of my 55-300 Nikon.

Waterboy23 Loc: Toms River, NJ

jethro779 wrote:

If you went to www.nikonimgsupport.com you would find that Nikon does not recommend any teleconverter for any of the 70-300 lenses.

https://www.nikonimgsupport.com/ni/NI_article?lang=en_US&articleNo=000002347

Thanks. I used your link to send Nikon an email with the same essential question I asked on UHH.

Waterboy23 Loc: Toms River, NJ

JeffDavidson wrote:

Nikon also doesn't recommend a teleconverter for any zoom lens with variable aperture.

Check the Nikon compatability chart and abode by it." It does NOT mean that this is "lose" so it should be okay.

I didn't understand what you meant by '..."lose" so it should be okay.'

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

Waterboy23 wrote:

I am considering the purchase of a Nikon 1.7 telec... (show quote)

Once you determine if you can get a tele for your lens, consider how each tele affects the light and if you can still get quality images with your chosen tele. I think the 1.7 would reduce the light by two stops if I remember correctly (which is always questionable!). I have a 1.4 that I sometimes use on a Nikon f/2.8 70-200 and I got the 1.4 because it only affects one stop. Just a thought.

Waterboy23 Loc: Toms River, NJ

CHG_CANON wrote:

It's your money. You can throw it away anyway you want.

If I could extend the reach of my 150-300mm zoom to 510mm, I wouldn't consider a waste of my money. My 150-600mm Sigma is a little too heavy for me to use these days without a tripod. My 86-year-old body ain't what it used to be!

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

CHG_CANON wrote:

It's your money. You can throw it away anyway you want.

Kenko 1.4 and 2X extenders will physically "fit" your lens -and you are welcome to manually focus .......but keep your expectations LOW and you may be happy.

OR, you could just MAXIMIZE your native image quality and CROP and use well applied pixel enlargement software for larger printing !
.