olcoach Loc: Oregon

Hi, Has anyone used the new Canon extenders, and if you have are they worth the $. I have the 1and1/4 and the 2 and they are of little or no use. I want to know if the new ones are any good or are they a they a remake to sell something like the old ones that Canon should apologize for or sell with serious caveats about how limited their value. Sorry about the rant but I want a product like this but it hasn't been there yet. Mike

travlnman46 Loc: Yakima WA

Hi olocoach: I've not used the new extender or teleconverter. I do have the 1.4 "L" series to match my 70-200 mm "L" series lens and yes it does increase the reach of the lens a little ,the reach would be even better on a 300mm lens, it doesn't turn it into a 500mm lens and it shouldn't be expected to either. I know this doesn't actually answer your question but if the extender/teleconverter doesn't live up to your expectation, sell it. Then buy a telephoto lens that will. I mean that what I'd do. Hope this doesn't come across as sour grapes, but I'm not satisfied with some product I get rid of it and replace it with something I can like and use.

olcoach Loc: Oregon

Hi travlnman46, I have telephoto lenses and I don't quite understand your 500mm analogy but I want to know if the new ones are any better than the old ones. I also would have a problem selling the ones I have as I know they are not a very good product. There are several lenses that you can't use the extenders with and I just want to know if the new ones do what the old ones don't. Mike

travlnman46 Loc: Yakima WA

Hi again olocoach: Sorry I didn't make myself clear, My reference to the 500 mm was more tongue in cheek than anything. When I first ordered my 1.4 teleconverter to use with my 70-200mm I really thought I could zoom in on things much further away and still get crystal clear shots that I wanted, with out the need to enlarge my photos in post production processing. In other words I was expecting to get near the same reach as a 500 mm lens would have gotten me.
Now as to the actual difference between some of the 1.4 & 2.0 models. There are actually three generations of these teleconverters the second generation or the markII the major improvement was improved waterproofing. The third generation or markIII has some optical enhancements. Here is a great website that covers most all of Canon lenses it breaks them down to two areas one is lens usage and the other is lens quality. It is written for beginner photographers and is easy to understand. You can find the information on extenders about two thirds of the way down the page. http://photonotes.org/articles/beginner-faq/lenses.html Hope this helps. I almost forgot Your two Canon extenders as you have called them should both be "L" series and are actually fairly valuable if that is the case. The casing around them should be a cream or light brown, if it is then they are "L" series teleconverters. You can sell them here or at ebay or through places like B&H, KEH or even Adorama all reliable resellers of photographic equipment.

FilmFanatic Loc: Waikato, New Zealand

Can't help myself but to ask: What lens(es) have you tried to use them on? I know that Canon limits the compatible lenses but they do have good reason to do so

birdpix Loc: South East Pennsylvania

I originally bought the canon 1.4 mark II tc to use with my canon 100-400 zoom. I was terribly disappointed as image quality was degraded too much. When I got my canon 500mm and tried the tc I was extremely pleased with the results.

It seems that the tc's work very well with longer prime lenses of the "L" series, not so well with zooms. If a lens has any defects, the tc only magnifies them.

Canon has a limited list of lenses that the tc's will fit. I would check their website to see if the mark III has any more lenses that it will work with. I'm doubtful since most of the compatibility issues are because the location of the rear element on the lens will strike the front element of the tc. Additionally, there are loss of auto focus issues with lenses slower that f/4.
I would also be checking reviews to see what other info is out there. Any optical enhancements they may have made on the mark III's still won't correct for a less than needle sharp lens.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

My first question is what camera/lens are you using ?? I use the Canon 2X II on a 300 F2.8 with astoundingly good results on crop frame. Also use a Tamron SP 1.4X on Sigma 100-300 F4 with similar astoudingly good results !

FilmFanatic Loc: Waikato, New Zealand

Like the others I had a 1.4x tc on a 300mm f/4 prime with fabulous results. Makes me wonder if your expectations were not a tad high

David E Loc: Southwestern Ontario, Canada

Like imagemeister I have amazing results with a Canon EF
2 X 11 Extender on a Canon EF 400 L 5.6 super telephoto. Can't afford the 2.8 lens but still get great shots with what I have. Have also found that the new full frame Canon 5D works better with this set up. Only my experience. Good luck! Dave

robert-photos Loc: Chicago

Not to be a SA but the math is 1.4x gives you a 98-280mm on your 70-200mm....not even close to your expected 500mm..... and 2x gives you a 140-400mm. With both you'll get a 204-560mm but lose three stops to f/8 plus sharpness.

To get auto focus on a 100-400mm see my UHH post:

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-55697-1.html

travlnman46 Loc: Yakima WA

Hi robert-photos: Indeed I realize now that the 1.4 on my 70-200 wouldn't actually be the equivalant of a 500mm, it was just my unrealistic expectation that there would be more reach than it provided. As I said before my 500mm refrerence was more tongue in cheek than reality.I really do appreciate you pointing out that the reality for a 1.4 teleconverter on a 70-200mm lens would actually only be 98-280 mm because it save any confusion I might have accidentally proffered... as I tried and gather I failed to get my point across the expectations I had for this combination weren't a reality and I was using the example of a 500mm as a tongue in cheek expectation. My apologies to all if my explaination left something to be desired.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Per the Canon website:
"This tele extender can be used with fixed focal length lenses 135mm and longer (except the 135mm f/2.8 Softfocus lens), and the EF 70-200 f/2.8L, 70-200 f/2.8L IS, 70-200 f/4.0L, 70-200 f/4.0L IS USM, and 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS zoom lenses. Superb optically, it preserves the image quality of the lens it's mounted to and multiplies its focal length 1.4x. Effective aperture is reduced by one f-stop; autofocus is possible on any EOS camera when combined with a lens having an f/4 or faster maximum aperture. The new version II maintains the outstanding optics of the previous version, and adds enhanced weather-resistant construction, and improved anti-reflective surfaces in the barrel."

olcoach Loc: Oregon

Hi, I have version ll and it doesn't work on the 100-400.Some folks say you can tape over some contacts and it will work but it doesn't work for most of us. For those of you that have asked I am using a 7D and many of my lenses, even the L lenses, don't work with these extenders. I am not trying to start a war but I simply wanted to know if the new extenders work where I couldn't get the old ones to work.