Want your opinions on teleconverters.

CookieS

Ok, I am looking at all these great Bird shots and see alot of 1.7 and 2x teleconverters. (I myself shoot canon and nikon ) I Hate my 1x4II telconverter for my canon,(use it with the 80-200 f2.8, it just seems to soften everything . Yuck I like sharp. STRIVE for sharp. so are the NIKON telecoverters Better ?? are some better than others. IS there a secret to using a converter. I just ordered the 80-400 lens, but IF it doesnt work for me, am considering adding a 1.7 or 2x for those distant horse shots and racing action.. Thanks for your help and opinions.

ALSO May I ask your favorite focus mode/method for capturing those Bird in flight shots. Sharing your techniques willl help me post better photos here for you to suffer thru.

Osprey Whisperer

First of all...the Canon 1.4x converter is really pretty darn good. If you are using one and not getting excellent results you might check into the lens it's attached to...and your shooting techniques. Shooting WIDE OPEN with ANY teleconverter is asking for some image quality loss.

The use of zooms does NOT help the situation either. If you use the TC's with a high end quality prime you will be surprised at the difference. Don't blame your TC so quickly. If you are using TC's in middle of the road lenses you will not get great results. If you don't have a Canon prime "L" lens ...perhaps borrow one to test the TC out with. Slap that TC on a (for instance) Canon 200mm f/2.8 "L" and see if your results are not much better.

You can also try improving some of your techniques. Do you use a tripod or monopod? How about a cable release. Ever try "mirror lock up"? Do you shoot at a high ISO? How about wide open? Fast shutter speed to eliminate camera shake and stop action? Try stopping down a couple stops if you can. All of this will help improve the image quality of the photos.

Finally..TC's are going to be inferior to the prime equivelant of the focal length. If you use a 2X with a 200mm to get your 400mm it will NOT be as sharp as the prime 400mm lens from Canon ( or other 3rd party manf.) If you are using a TC on a zoom lens...well...it is going to suffer even more than used with the primes. That Canon 70-200mm is suppose to be a pretty decent zoom ..and I would think you would get good results with it. If not...perhaps a defective TC ? How are the pics without the TC ? Process of elimination to figure out the problem, I guess.

Well..I've rambled on enough. Just remember the TC is sort of the poormans sollution for reach. I use one..but truly would much rather have the prime in the appropriate focal length.

Regarding BIF shots. I use the "servo" mode and the center focus point on my 20D.

Good luck.

gluwater

This has been debated over and over again. Some people will just never be happy using TC's while others are ok with the compromise with reach vs quality. If you are looking for the sharpest photos you can get then stick with Primes and stay away from zooms and TC's. I'm not saying TC's are horrible but you will lose light and sharpness. I am trying to do a comparison of different TC's with different lenses in [thread=29503]this thread[/thread]. I use Canon so I have never used Nikon TC's but I have seen good results with them. Will I say they are better or worse than Canon TC's, no, I have never used both and I have never seen a direct comparison between brands. As a general rule with TC's remember that the better lens you start with the better results you will get.

I use the same settings as Mike listed for my shots. Also if you are taking BIF shots try to keep your shutter speed above 1/1000.

bfjr

I use them, till I can afford not to, then I'll probably use them anyway

Always seem to need just a tad more reach

jwear

if you look Harry shots them Ben and i do also but you have to work very hard for good shots with say the 1.7 the 2 that would be too much I think and never used one

tmlphoto

I was disappointed with the 2x with my canon 100-400, but the 1.4 was pretty good. My 300 2.8 is great with the 2x, still razor sharp. I shoot with mine on a monopod. All of my recent pics are with that setup.

Rohirrim

- with all the above.

I have both the 1.4xTC and the 2xTC for my Canon. I'm rarely happy with the image quality from the 2x, however I get pretty darn sharp images with the 1.4 in combo with the 500 mm 4.0L. I do use a tripod almost all the time with the Wimberly Sidekick on a ball head.

As has already been said they work best with a good prime.

I use the same method as Mike for in flight shots, AI-Servo with the center focus point active. Try and keep the center point at the base of the neck. I usually shoot as wide open as I can. I do stop down a little when I shoot with my 100-400mm Zoom.

I hope you don't hate me for saying this, but you might consider exchanging your 80-400 for a 400mm prime. You'll get sharper images from the prime and it will work better with the TC's. It's a tough choice. For shooting equestrian events a zoom is essential, but for shooting birds the prime will serve you better.

I also shoot equestrian events and my long term plan is to replace my 100-400mm zoom with the 400mm 5.6 prime and the 70-200 f2.8 IS. This will make my primary bird lens the 500. I'll have the 400 f5.6 for travel/hiking and the 70-200 for horse shows.

Hope I didn't ramble too much.

CookieS

Thanks for the replies, Yes I have the converter ont the Good canon L 70-200 the lens is sharp just got it back fromservices. ( never thought to xsend the converter too for checking. ) I will try stopping down some, i still HATE mondopds...argh. and can be a tad sloppy if I do not concentrate. Ill see If the changes help with better image quality. Ill post some examples later, but havent got any proofed yet from the other day .