Telephoto vs extender?? (Page 2): Maybe you should find a new camera shop, if I am not mistaken no one is making a 4X extender and even worse the camera shop is not telling you that...

Blurryeyed Loc: NC Mountains.

JimBart wrote:

I am currently contemplating purchasing a Tamron/S... (show quote)

Maybe you should find a new camera shop, if I am not mistaken no one is making a 4X extender and even worse the camera shop is not telling you that you would lose all ability to auto focus with the extender/lens combinations you are considering even if they would be usable on the lenses you are talking about. I don't know the Nikon lenses but extenders are limited in their use to a hand full of specific lenses mostly because of the location of the rear element on the lens and the front element on the extender.

Many cameras will not auto focus at apertures smaller than f/5.6, and many of the newer bodies at f/8, the extender/lens combinations you are considering are f/11 down to f/22.

jcboy3

JimBart wrote:

I am currently contemplating purchasing a Tamron/S... (show quote)

There is no substitute for a good lens.

You have to have a great lens to get good results with a 2X extender. I use 1.4x on zooms, and 2x only on primes.

If a 4X extender actually exists, I wouldn't bother with it. The results would be extremely poor.

With a 2X extender, your aperture is doubled, and autofocus may not work with your slow zoom lenses. Even a 1.4X is pushing it with these lenses.

Just buy the telephoto lens and enjoy it.

Joexx

Good advice. Especially changing
camera shops.

Gene51 wrote:

I would find another shop to buy your gear from an... (show quote)

tgreenhaw

It depends on your lighting conditions. Extenders reduce the speed of your lens proportionately so you will be using a slower shutter speed. With long telephotos, you usually want a fast shutter speed.

High quality lenses and extenders don't suffer significant image quality loss, unless you are running wide open aperture (see above because you will be tempted to). A 4X extender is likely pushing well past the breaking point.

If you have abundant light, and/or are using a tripod this won't be as much an issue. My favorite moon shots were with my extender.

For the nature photography I thought they would help with I ended up having mixed results. I was happy in the field, but then disappointed when I got home to look closely. I thought I needed extenders too but ended up rarely use them.

Finally depending on your gear, you may experience diminished auto focus performance. If you can, test that at the store with your gear.

JimBart Loc: Western Michigan

I want to say a hearty "Thank You" to each one who has commented so far. Each one of you has given me something more to think about....especially about my local camera shop. In addition, you confirm my feelings that I need to go with a good telephoto....now to decide which one....the Nikon 150 - 500, The Tamron or Sigma with a little more reach. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions...thankfully not a GAS attack.
Thanks again guys. One of the benefits of the HOG.

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

If you have the funds I believe you would be quite happy with the Nikon 200-500. It is a very good lens.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

JimBart wrote:

I want to say a hearty "Thank You" to each one who has commented so far. Each one of you has given me something more to think about....especially about my local camera shop. In addition, you confirm my feelings that I need to go with a good telephoto....now to decide which one....the Nikon 150 - 500, The Tamron or Sigma with a little more reach. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions...thankfully not a GAS attack.
Thanks again guys. One of the benefits of the HOG.

You will appreciate the extra reach. Go with the 150 to 600. Either Tamron or Sigma will be fine. I would go with the sigma contemporary rather than the sport.

cambriaman Loc: Central CA Coast

I agree with imagemeister and billnikon. I have the Nikon 200-500mm and it is absolutely great! I have always stayed away from extenders (although I had a Nikon 1.4X some years back when I was less able to spend on my cameras) because they cost you lens speed and are likely to cost some IQ. There is no way you can add an extender to a lens and get a better IQ than the lens.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

JimBart wrote:

I
Discussions with the local Camera shop personnel are leading me to believe that a 2X or 4X extender when placed on the current lenses and used with the current camera would give me a much better range, more versatility, at no change in picture quality. They also mentioned that the cost would be significantly much cheaper.

Find a new store.

treadwl Loc: South Florida

I am a Nikon shooter and I have very expensive long glass. I can use a 1.4 TC with acceptable results, but the longer range extenders like the 2.0 TC produce a noticeable softness that, for me renders the images unacceptable.
With out trying to make a joke out of this, I find the best extenders for my lens is my feet. I just have to find a way to get closer.
After reading your remarks about your camera store's advice, my advice is find another camera store.

Chris Hayes

Firstly, as others have said, find another camera store, their advice is horrible. I am not a fan of the tele extenders, they really only work well with fast primes. The Nikon 200-500 is an amazing lens, especially for the money. My preference is to stay away from off brand lens, but others use them and are happy with them. So my advice would be to rent what you think you want and decide for yourself. Buying a lens that ultimately does not work for you gets expensive, especially if you go off brand and then try and sell them used. Cannon or Nikon lens sell better, but you ultimately loose money, sometime more than you would think.
So rent and try, then decide.

Chris

Mike1017

Not true you will loose some sharpness

Smudgey Loc: Ohio, Calif, Now Arizona

As a rule, extenders will slightly soften the image. The exception is when the extender is made for a particular lens. Then the softening of the image is minimal or non existent. Canon makes a couple of extenders that will only work on a select Canon lenses. I have one and you would be hard pressed to see any difference in sharpness between photos taken with or without the extender.

rjandreoff Loc: Hawaii

As far as IQ impact while using nikon extenders....based on a recommendation from a PRO friend of mine AND a lot of research, I purchased the nikon 1.4 TCII and 1.7TCII extenders about 3 years ago and have used them extensively (BIF, wildlife) with the 70-200 2.8 VRI, 300 f4, and 400 2.8 VRII. Results are usable-to-excellent about 70-80% of the time. The ONLY combination that has not resulted in some level of noticeable softness is the 1.4 + 400 2.8. Even if I crop, the image on my 4K monitor shows virtually no IQ impact. Probably a testament to the glass more than anything. No so with any other combination. Noticeable. It is said that the never TC models are better. Good luck.

chrisg-optical Loc: New York, NY

JimBart wrote:

I am currently contemplating purchasing a Tamron/S... (show quote)

It is best to use the teleconverters optically matched to the lens (Sigma for Sigma, Tammy for Tammy, Nikon for Nikon, for each respective model of lens/ compatibility, etc.)- also don't forget you will lose 1, 2 or 4 stops on the maximum aperture so your viewfinder will dim and AF may be impaired f/8 or higher. Teleconverters come at a price - loss of f stops, VF brightness, extension and weight.