JoelS Loc: Deep South Alabama

I want to shoot some landscape photos of a lighthouse out in the Gulf of Mexico. I have to shoot from the beach and my 300mm Nikon is not quite long enough. Can I get sharp image if I use a 1.4 or 2x converter and a tripod with my Nikon D80? Will a telecoverter be a waste of money?

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

A high quality tele-converter (doubler) can be an effective way to extend the reach of your Nikkor 300-mm. I recommend a very sturdy tripod, and consider locking-up your mirror to eliminate camera shake, which is most noticeable with long lenses.

bobmielke Loc: Portland, OR

High quality Nikon teleconverters are over $400 just by themselves. If you should decide to go with the best understand they will only work with a very limited number of lenses. Check your 300mm for compatibility before you buy.

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

Vivitar, Kenko, and other manufacturers offer high quality tele-convertors as well:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/Cameras-Photo-/625/i.html?_nkw=teleconverter+nikon&_frs=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m359

Adubin Loc: Indialantic, Florida

My experience with an older vervsion 2X Telecomverter, is first you cut light in half coming into your sensor. You go from ie f-4 to f-8. If you rely auto focus that could be a major problem. Something else, it my not work with the lens you have. I find the the 2X Teleconverter gave me soft focus photo. I also use a 1.4X Teleconverter and that works great. You also want to consider renting a lens. Arnold

Igore Loc: Wisconsin

Will switching the camera to live view/LCD lock the mirror when you do 2 sec delay ?

lowbone

Lets assume that you are talking about a 300mm prime lens rather then a zoom lens that extends to 300mm. I good 300mm lens should be able to handle a 1.4 TC with the only problem being that you will lose one stop of light. If your 300mm lens has a maximum aperture of f4, a 1.4 TC will now make it an f 5.6 lens. Now, if you put a 2X teleconverter on yo will lose two stops of light so your f4 lens is now an f8 lens. Now you have lost two stops of light and you have also lost auto focus because f 5.6 is the cutoff for auto focus to work on your camera.
In addition, you will have lost a little image quality with the 1.4 TC and little more with the 2x and your viewfinder will become darker. So, what does this add up to. If your 300mm lens is a vey high quality lens you can take excellent shots with a TC. I use a TC with my Canon 300mm f 2.8 and 500mm f4 lenses frequently. If your lens is not the sharpest to begin with I would recommend not using one and if your lens is a consumer grade zoom lens I would definitely suggest you do not use a TC. I also don't recommend using a TC not made by the manufacturer of the lens. One way to go about this would be to rent a nikon TC from someone like lensrentals.com and then decide if you want to buy one. A tripod will help when using a TC .

Al Loc: Southern Delaware

I shoot a lot with the Nikon 300mm f4 and use the Nikon 1.4 teleconverter to give some extra "reach". It is totally compatible with the lens and gets very sharp image results.
Al

gessman Loc: Colorado

My Canon 5D MkII does and gives the added benefit of magnifying for focus

GC likes NIKON Loc: East Greenwich, Rhode Island

Specifically which 1.4 Nikon teleconverter do you use ?? I have that lens and am looking at a 1.4 for it.....

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

If you are using a Nikon 300mm F2.8, a 1.4x is a good combination. If you are using something like an 18-300 - you won't be at all happy, and you could risk damaging your lens.

bdk Loc: Sanibel Fl.

SO another train of thought. save your money, rent a boat for a few hours, shoot the light house and then shoot the shore line. I have no experience with teleconverters but friends have them and most do not like them.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

:thumbup:

Macronaut Loc: Redondo Beach,Ca.

It may be worth noting that any possible shortcomings of your lens such as CA, will be exaggerated with the TC, especially 2X. Loosing 2 stops is a substantial concern all by itself.