imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Canon prime teles with Canon TC's and good techniques/management and preferably on full frame bodies, are the absolute best case scenario for TC usage ! - this is fairly common knowledge !

sirlensalot Loc: Arizona

JeffDavidson Loc: Originally Detroit Now Los Angeles

Good response and excellent results!

ORpilot Loc: Prineville, Or

Not all the world wants super sharp photos, as the f64 group proposed, look at what Minor White and some others did. Not to mention all the soft focus filters and lenses out there. I happen to have a variable soft focus prime lense for my Mamiya 645. Different strokes for different folks. If the photographer get the image he wants the that is all that matters. People hated Monet vs the pre-raphalites too. Personally I like the shots. Happy shooting

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

While what you're suggesting may be valid, I'm pretty sure the OP's goal was to get the sharpest images. The somewhat soft results he got were due to lens/teleconverter image sharpness issues and were not planned. What this whole thread is about is that with a great camera, a great lens, a top quality 2X teleconverter, and good skills you can get acceptable results. Others using less competent lenses and teleconverters will have to be content with significant image quality compromises. Some folks are willing to accept those compromises, but others are not. And, unfortunately, a third group here seems to lack the skills and ability to tell the difference.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Teleconverters DO reduce resolution and image quality to SOME extent.

Weaker 1.4X TCs do less harm to image quality than stronger 2X. (Even stronger TCs have existed... and typically do a great deal of damage to image quality.)

In general, prime lenses work better with TCs than zooms do.

And there are a variety of grades of teleconverters... ranging from high quality, well matched ones to cheap junk.

The quality of the lens makes a huge difference. An extremely sharp, high quality, prime lens can make very fine images when used with high quality teleconverters.

Some lenses work well with teleconverters or with particular TCs... But other combinations may not work very well at all. For example, someone mentioned the Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM doesn't work well with a 2X teleconverter. But I've often used it and find the results very acceptable using that lens with a Canon 1.4X "II" TC (here on a full frame 5D Mark II camera, using a monopod):



Or, the same lens and TC combination on a crop sensor camera (left: on original 7D, handheld... right: on Canon 50D, on monopod):



30% loss of image quality? Maybe in some cases, though that's not a figure I've heard a lot or thrown around personally. I think my Canon 1.4X II "costs" about 5% to 10% and my 2X II around 15% or 20%. I use the 1.4X on 135mm, 70-200mm, 300/4, 300/2.8 and 500/4 lenses (I haven't yet done much testing with it on the 100-400 I got last year). I only use the 2X on 300/2.8 and 500/4 lenses, there's too much loss of image quality for my tastes, on "lesser" lenses and all zooms I've ever tested with it.

Plus, there are many factors that make up "image quality": sharpness, resolution, color rendition, contrast and micro-contrast, evenness of illumination/vignetting, chromatic aberration, distortions such as pincushion and barrel or more complex, among other things.

We get a lot of people asking here about using a teleconverter as a cheap means of gaining focal length. Unfortunately, it just doesn't work that way. There's a very noticeable difference between using a TC on a premium $6000> 300mm f/2.8 and using the same TC on a <$300 "kit" zoom. If a lens is already only marginal in image quality, it ain't gonna improve if you stick a TC behind it. You'll be magnifying any and all of the flaws of the lens, along with the increased focal length.

And, the longer the focal length, the more susceptible your rig is to vibrations that can cause camera shake blur and the more effort a photographer will need to make to get a steady shot. Since a TC magnifies focal length, they always increase the difficulty getting a steady shot. Image stabilization can help a lot, along with a number of techniques that photographers can use to get at least some sharp, usable images.

So, basically, I disagree with much of what the OP stated in the original post about teleconverters. The examples are good, but only tell us about how one particular premium quality lens works with a premium quality teleconverter specifically designed for use with that lens, used in good light at mostly high shutter speeds (1/2000 in one case, 1/8000 in two others... only 1/500 in one). Ideal setup and conditions!

DeanS Loc: Capital City area of North Carolina

Would be hard-pressed to discern any degradation here.

bull drink water Loc: pontiac mi.

many of us only use tc's with specific lenses. I have 3 basic lens/tc combos. best lens best tc. if 10 people say a photo looks great and you disagree, you loose. but you get to keep your opinion.

ssymeono Loc: St. Louis, Missouri

<amphoto> wrote: 30% loss of image quality...

Thank you Alan for your authoritative and CIVILIZED reply to the original OP. Your stunning images convey the message convincingly.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Completely agree, especially with your last paragraph which I bolded.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Excellent photos. When you use good equipment like the Canon products that are matched to the lenses not some off brand stuff you will not lose quality as you have so well proved.

1beer2

Hi all,
Recently purchased the new Nikon 70-200E FL 2.8 and and have a question about compatibility w/the Nikon 20E III TC teleconverter. Ken Rockwell says it is compatible; I called Nikon tech support today and they said NOT compatible, YES or NO???

Jim Bob

I said I was done but must applaud this response. Now I'm done.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Ken actually used the TC so I would say he knows more than the tech does.

Steve3265 Loc: Fulton, IL

Thank you so much for the information and photos. My wife and I are looking at going on our first vacation in 30+ years of marriage and looking at go to Alaska on a cruise. I have thought a lot about purchasing another lens, but had used an extender when I used to shoot film. I never had issues with it and your work here has convinced me not to spend the money on another lens but to just get a converter. Thanks again for the examples! I have no doubt you have saved me a couple hundred dollars at least that we can spend on the trip instead. :)