Lens extenders: I shoot a lot of birds, some of which are out of range of my Canon 100-400 L lens. I'm thinking about getting a 1.4x extender. Does anyone have an opinion/experience...

nat Loc: Martha's Vineyard, MA

I shoot a lot of birds, some of which are out of range of my Canon 100-400 L lens. I'm thinking about getting a 1.4x extender. Does anyone have an opinion/experience with extenders? I understand that you lose an Fstop.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Yes, you will lose a stop with a 1.4X teleconverter, two stops for a 2X. That probably won't matter to the exposure itself. But remrmber that if you would normally shoot at f/5.6, that one stop will put you at f/8, and your autofocus might not work.

My advice... As long as the TC has good glass and your basic exposure can be kept at f/4 (yielding an effective exposure of f5.6) or wider, use the TC and enjoy.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

nat wrote:

I shoot a lot of birds, some of which are out of range of my Canon 100-400 L lens. I'm thinking about getting a 1.4x extender. Does anyone have an opinion/experience with extenders? I understand that you lose an Fstop.

From what I have heard, you should get a Canon extender for your Canon setup. The cheapies are awful. A 1.4 would make your 400mm like a 560mm. http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-Extender-EF-1.4x-II-Tele-Converter-Review.aspx

BigBear Loc: Northern CT

Hey Nat, I will tell you that using an extender on a 100-400 you will also lose AF.

nat Loc: Martha's Vineyard, MA

Thanks, Bill

nat Loc: Martha's Vineyard, MA

Jerry - I, too, have read reviews on the extender, but I wanted to get some opinions from UHH members. I also have the 70-200 f2.8 L, which it will also fit on. I love that lens, but it really doesn't have the range I need, so that will be a bonus.

nat Loc: Martha's Vineyard, MA

BigBear wrote:

Hey Nat, I will tell you that using an extender on a 100-400 you will also lose AF.

Hi Big Bear - I expect to lose AF, but I think it will be helpful for shooting egrets and other birds which always seem to be just beyond 400mm. I always use a tripod and I think I will be okay using manual focus. Thanks for your input.

BigBear Loc: Northern CT

I used the 100-400 a lot until my wife tried it. Now it's her primary lens. I'm so happy that she can't carry my 300 2.8. ;)

You will be happy with it I'm sure. I have to try my doubler on the 70-200 2.8 to see what it does.

kendog

You didn't say what Canon body you are using, but I had no problem with a 1.4 extender with auto focus on a 1D mark 4 or any other 1D. I'm not sure on the 5D or 7D anything less will not have auto focus capabilities.

birdpix Loc: South East Pennsylvania

nat wrote:

I shoot a lot of birds, some of which are out of range of my Canon 100-400 L lens. I'm thinking about getting a 1.4x extender. Does anyone have an opinion/experience with extenders? I understand that you lose an Fstop.

I own both the Canon 100-400 and a Canon 1.4 tele-extender. My experience is that they don't work well together. Yes, you will lose autofocus. My experience is that the image quality degrades too much to make it worthwhile. I do use it with my Canon 500mm f/4 and I can hardly see a difference.

BTW, I am using this on the Canon 7d body.

In the end, the question always comes down to this: Which will get me the better image? Using the Tele-extender and having a somewhat degraded image or using just the lens I have and having to crop more?

My sense is that the Tele-extenders work less well with zooms and better with primes. The better the basic lens is the better the Tele will work.

travlnman46 Loc: Yakima WA

nat wrote:

I shoot a lot of birds, some of which are out of range of my Canon 100-400 L lens. I'm thinking about getting a 1.4x extender. Does anyone have an opinion/experience with extenders? I understand that you lose an Fstop.

Hi Nat: I have the Canon 70-200mm 2.8 usm "L" lens with the matching Canon 1.4 teleconverter or extender lens. You are right in that it doesn't have the reach for birds at any distance. Thus far I haven't noticed that much difference in lost light, nor do I have any auto focusing challenges, but then I'm far from even a mid range amature photographer. The one thing about them is they will only fit the lens for which they are matched. Also the 1.4 is the only teleconverter that Scott Kelby recommends. Hope this helps some.

Swamp Gator Loc: Coastal South Carolina

I regularly use a Canon 1.4 extender III attached to a Canon 300 f (which makes it a 420 5.6) on a 7D body with what I feel are pretty darn good results.
IQ is tack sharp and AF is quick and spot on.

BigBear Loc: Northern CT

kendog wrote:

You didn't say what Canon body you are using, but I had no problem with a 1.4 extender with auto focus on a 1D mark 4 or any other 1D. I'm not sure on the 5D or 7D anything less will not have auto focus capabilities.

It isn't about the body. The 100-400 L lens when using an extender loses the AF feature.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

BigBear wrote:

kendog wrote:

You didn't say what Canon body you are using, but I had no problem with a 1.4 extender with auto focus on a 1D mark 4 or any other 1D. I'm not sure on the 5D or 7D anything less will not have auto focus capabilities.

It isn't about the body. The 100-400 L lens when using an extender loses the AF feature.

If you're shooting at distance, however, you don't need autofocus. You can focus on an object at a distance and lock that focus in. The lens will be in focus for all objects at "infinity."

Also, you might pm Judy 2011. She has your lens with an extender. She can tell you what she thinks about it.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

I just checked and Tamron offers several AF teleconverters, but the are limits to which lenses can be used. Look at thr SP TC's at

http://www.tamron-usa.com/lenses/prod/teleconverters.asp

But rember, you lose AF & AE at f/8!