Time to 'belly up to the bar and pay the tab' or . . .
Oct 9, 2013 11:01:11 #
So, last Sunday was a beautiful fall day, I'm sitting in the late afternoon sun enjoying the day and I look at my wife's bird feeder in the distance, and it's loaded with these beautiful little yellow bellied birds. Even though I'm a very serious portrait shooter, I thought I'd bring out the tripod, mount my 2.8 70-200 and see if I could get some interesting yellow-bellied bird shots. I actually had more fun than I thought I would, except for one thing. I started thinking that I needed a much bigger lens to get 'closer' and not have to crop so much to get interesting shots. So I looked at the prices of big lenses (gasp!) and I wondered if a teleconverter was really a viable option. A Nikon 1.7 or 2.0 is about $500 bucks, which is doable, but I've never used one or know anybody that has, so, I'd really like to hear from any fellow Hoggers that have experience with teleconverters, especially the Nikons. Are they really a viable option, or do I need to spend lots of thousands on a quality big lens to get the reach and quality I want?
Oct 9, 2013 11:03:03 #
Thinking the same thing so I'll watch replies to you.
Good Luck (for me too)
Sarge69
Good Luck (for me too)
Sarge69
Oct 9, 2013 11:10:25 #
Assuming I am not hijacking this thread; are third party teleconverters just as good or should we stick with one from our camera manufacturer?
Oct 9, 2013 11:13:29 #
Don't have one but been doing some research and what I'm understanding is if you should buy the same make converter as the lens your going to use it on.A friend had a diff.converter onhis and he wasn't getting sharp pictures.Went to a camera store and tried the same make as his lens and what a diff. Traded his old on and got the same make.Probably a year now and never heard a complaint yet.
Oct 9, 2013 11:18:05 #
This should be interesting. I've been using an ePhoto 1680 since 1999. . .. It sure has a Hefty appetite for AA batteries. It's been swimming in the Blue Pacific... Deep sea Albacore run. It survived a 6 second sinking before I grabbed the monophiliament line I attached to my belt. The Ole' gray mare still clicks pics. and eats AA batteries.
I'll welcome any suggestions!
I'll welcome any suggestions!
Oct 9, 2013 11:26:27 #
I've found that some (particularly third market) converters work well with one lens and not another of a different focal length. Therefore any general statement about converters is probaably worthless. To avoid problems, I now only use converters made by the original manufacturer. There are third market items by Kenko and a few others that have good reps, but in view of my initial discovery, I go for the sure thing and forego the need to test everything, exchange, return and all that jazz. IMAO what you pay for OEM is worth it. You still may sacrifice a small amount of sharpness, ane of course there is a corresponding loss of light, but for good lenses you get decent results.
Oct 9, 2013 11:28:37 #
jonsommer wrote:
So, last Sunday was a beautiful fall day, I'm sitt... (show quote)
Info on Nikon TC's.
http://photographylife.com/image-degradation-with-nikon-teleconverters#ixzz2d3qOYlh9
Oct 9, 2013 11:35:41 #
I haven't got any experience with Nikon but my Canon 2X converter with 70-200 f2.8 gives me pretty good results. Keep in mind you'll lose one or two stops depending on which converter you use. The answer to your question probably hinges on how serious you are about the resulting images. Obviously a long prime lens will perform better but at a price. Like you, I'd love to have one of those big, beautiful primes but I don't have that kind of money laying around :).
Oct 9, 2013 11:53:50 #
I have a 1.7 Nikon teleconverter that I match with a Nikon 70-200. You wouldn't know it was there as far as photo quality. You will lose 1 1/2 stops but that isn't bad for a 350mm lens. Have no knowledge regarding third party pairings, but that said I wouldn't mix manufacturers for the small difference in cost. ;)
Oct 9, 2013 12:04:26 #
Shot 1 was with a Nikon 180 2.8 and a Nikon TC-201 and the other was with a cheap Bower 500 F8. Teleconverts will help...but at a cost of speed and IQ. Your best bet is to get as close as you can...and then some.
#1
#2
Oct 9, 2013 12:46:13 #
Great information, thank you, thank you all for sharing your experience and knowledge. It looks like you all saved me thousands, so I'll go the teleconverter route, for now - hmmm, let's see, what else do I 'need' . . . .
Bye the way, WOW, great bird shots, wish I had some of those in my backyard!
Bye the way, WOW, great bird shots, wish I had some of those in my backyard!
Oct 9, 2013 12:53:37 #
Wolfman, great info in the attached link, thank you for posting it.
Oct 9, 2013 13:17:35 #
jonsommer wrote:
So, last Sunday was a beautiful fall day, I'm sitt... (show quote)
OR....you could do what I've done.
Buy a few cheap wireless triggers. (also used as remote switches)
Put the camera in the yard on a tripod, prefocus the cameras at the right spot.
Sit inside at the window and wait for birds to come...when they do...hit the remote switch at will with no risk of scaring them away.
Works like a charm. You could even build a bird house/feeder that would "house" your camera to keep it out of the elements...along with a short lens...you'd have the best bird pictures there are...and save a ton of cash in the bargain.
Oct 9, 2013 14:43:09 #
jonsommer wrote:
Great information, thank you, thank you all for sharing your experience and knowledge. It looks like you all saved me thousands, so I'll go the teleconverter route, for now - hmmm, let's see, what else do I 'need' . . . .
Bye the way, WOW, great bird shots, wish I had some of those in my backyard!
Bye the way, WOW, great bird shots, wish I had some of those in my backyard!
jon: do a search above for Sigma 150-500. Great lense for relatively short money (compared to Nikkor & Canon L)
Oct 9, 2013 22:22:19 #
if you type in teleconverters in the search box at the top of this page you'll get all the data you could ask for.shorter answer, depending on the quality of the lens and converter you can get top notch images. i use sony alpha cameras, i have a minolta 200mm f2.8 "g" lens and a 2x minolta teleconverter. cost of lens used $1200.00, cost of teleconverter used $175.00. camera sony a-850 , with a tripod i get great images, also with their 1.4 teleconverter.OOPS forgot one last angle, with sony alpha you can switch full frame lenses back and forth. i use that 200mm "g" lens plus a 70-200mm "g"lens on both my a-550 crop and a-850 full frame cameras, with teleconverters.
you'll find samples of mine and others under search/teleconverters.
you'll find samples of mine and others under search/teleconverters.
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