Discussion
Can you help please chaps 
In my ceaseless quest to buy literally all available photography equipment these extender thingies have come onto my eBay radar
I am a Canon man and I see they do a 1.4x and a 2x extender - now clearly the 2x gives a bit more reach but are there any considerations to be aware of re IQ ?
Kenko also do a 1.4x and a 2x - anybody know if they're any good ?
Lastly do these things work with any lens - ie EF and EF-S ?
Or would I be better to just save up for a decent telephoto
Cheers, DD
In my ceaseless quest to buy literally all available photography equipment these extender thingies have come onto my eBay radar
I am a Canon man and I see they do a 1.4x and a 2x extender - now clearly the 2x gives a bit more reach but are there any considerations to be aware of re IQ ?
Kenko also do a 1.4x and a 2x - anybody know if they're any good ?
Lastly do these things work with any lens - ie EF and EF-S ?
Or would I be better to just save up for a decent telephoto
Cheers, DD
I can't speak for the Kenko ones.
I have the Canon 1.4x which I bought to extend my 70-200mm L zoom and I think it's a great bit of kit. I couldn't detect any image quality degradation when I've used it and I still use it even though I've got the 100-400 L lens now. The 70-200 with the 1.4 is a lot smaller and lighter to handle than the 100-400 lens.
You do loose 1 stop with the 1.4x and 2 stops with the 2.0x so you need good light.
I have the Canon 1.4x which I bought to extend my 70-200mm L zoom and I think it's a great bit of kit. I couldn't detect any image quality degradation when I've used it and I still use it even though I've got the 100-400 L lens now. The 70-200 with the 1.4 is a lot smaller and lighter to handle than the 100-400 lens.
You do loose 1 stop with the 1.4x and 2 stops with the 2.0x so you need good light.
Canon now have made 3 versions of the 1.4 and 2.0 extenders.
The mkII added weathersealing.
The mkIII added coating and improved optics and is just hitting the shelves.
1.4 drops AF speed by 50% and adds a stop (so f2.8 becomes f4)
1.4 drops AF speed by 75% and adds 2 stops (f2.8 -> f5.6).
MKI and II:
The 1.4 is significantly better than the 2.0.
MKIII looks like the 2.0 is actualy better than the 1.4.
No they dont work with EF-S lenses due to protruding rear element. They may work with some DC 3rd party lenses.
There realy designed to be used with canons super tele's tho can work with things like the 135L and 70-200.
AFIK the 3rd party ones work with more lenses.
The mkII added weathersealing.
The mkIII added coating and improved optics and is just hitting the shelves.
1.4 drops AF speed by 50% and adds a stop (so f2.8 becomes f4)
1.4 drops AF speed by 75% and adds 2 stops (f2.8 -> f5.6).
MKI and II:
The 1.4 is significantly better than the 2.0.
MKIII looks like the 2.0 is actualy better than the 1.4.
No they dont work with EF-S lenses due to protruding rear element. They may work with some DC 3rd party lenses.
There realy designed to be used with canons super tele's tho can work with things like the 135L and 70-200.
AFIK the 3rd party ones work with more lenses.
I use a 1.4 II with a 70-200 F4 IS L and can't see much IQ difference at all, the focussing is marginally slower but with a 1D Mk2 still fast enough for a speeding rally car. Also it is a slim little thing, can fit in a jacket pocket for times when you think you might need a little extra reach.
I too have the 1.4x II with a 70-200 f/4. The lens is so good the IQ difference of the extender is negligible IMO. I have used it most on a 40D and it was amazing at Goodwood FoS and on Safari earlier this year. I have just upgraded to a 5D2 but have not had much oppo to use the telezoom on the full frame yet.
The combo I have is very highly recommended - tho I am starting to wonder about a 70-200 f/2.8 upgrade.........
(BTW, the extenders don't work with all Canon lenses - I can only use it with the telezoom)
The combo I have is very highly recommended - tho I am starting to wonder about a 70-200 f/2.8 upgrade.........
(BTW, the extenders don't work with all Canon lenses - I can only use it with the telezoom)
Another vote for the 70-200 2.8 IS and 2x converter here. Made this comment on here recently - when I was looking at a new lens I chose this rather than the 100-400 to give me more overall flexibility. Good quality on the images imo, although I don't think I'm as technical s some of the others on here!
I was lent a 70-200 f2.8 IS MkII with a 2x Mk 2 extender to play with on a 7D and the speed of focus was fine and resolution remarkable. Superb IQ. Deep crops possible without any problem. This was thanks to a fellow photographer (totally unknown to me) at Oulton Park back in August. First day out with the hired 7D and had about 20 mins with the lens and extender. So clearly it just worked and worked well.
I then bought a 70-200 f2.8 IS Mk II since the results were so good I could not find an argument to stop myself. I also bought a lightly used 1D MkIII and the chap selling had a 2x extender Mk2 (seemingly never used) on offer as well. Speed of focus and results are fine. IQ is excellent. 10Mpix and the 1.3 crop factor mean that the remarkable results of the combination on the 7D (18Mpix and 1.6 crop factor) when deep cropping are not quite as crisp and subtle but there's not much in it for most practical purposes. To my eyes the 1D3 gives a slightly smoother overall result with either output being perfectly fine.
Canon do have a list of lenses with which the Extenders can be used. I think the Mk2s were generally reckoned to show advantages over the originals. The MkIIIs are meant to be better again but at about double the price (or so it seems at RRP) of the Mk2s they would need to be remarkably good with existing technology lenses to justify a MkIII over a Mk2. On the other hand if buying one of the new generation lenses is on the agenda then one suspects that a MkIII extender is the only sensible way to go. Fortunately the new lenses also seem to be reassuringly expensive!
I also have both types of 2x extenders (Canon's own - they had different extenders for different lens ranges back then) for the old FD fit lenses and they provide very good results considering their age and the other limitations of consumer zooms of the time. However it can sometimes be difficult to the see the subject through the viewfinder when using my 600mm +2x extender which, with a lens adaptor on a 400D digital body, gives me something like a 1800mm prime lens but with a max aperture of about f11 and something wth such a narrow angle of view that it is almost impossible to keep the lens still on shutter activation. It's interesting to experiment though ....
As ever I would suggest renting and trying before buying unless eBay offers something that can easily be passed on. Extenders seem to sell at around half 'mail order' price but be sure to check which Mk it is.
I then bought a 70-200 f2.8 IS Mk II since the results were so good I could not find an argument to stop myself. I also bought a lightly used 1D MkIII and the chap selling had a 2x extender Mk2 (seemingly never used) on offer as well. Speed of focus and results are fine. IQ is excellent. 10Mpix and the 1.3 crop factor mean that the remarkable results of the combination on the 7D (18Mpix and 1.6 crop factor) when deep cropping are not quite as crisp and subtle but there's not much in it for most practical purposes. To my eyes the 1D3 gives a slightly smoother overall result with either output being perfectly fine.
Canon do have a list of lenses with which the Extenders can be used. I think the Mk2s were generally reckoned to show advantages over the originals. The MkIIIs are meant to be better again but at about double the price (or so it seems at RRP) of the Mk2s they would need to be remarkably good with existing technology lenses to justify a MkIII over a Mk2. On the other hand if buying one of the new generation lenses is on the agenda then one suspects that a MkIII extender is the only sensible way to go. Fortunately the new lenses also seem to be reassuringly expensive!
I also have both types of 2x extenders (Canon's own - they had different extenders for different lens ranges back then) for the old FD fit lenses and they provide very good results considering their age and the other limitations of consumer zooms of the time. However it can sometimes be difficult to the see the subject through the viewfinder when using my 600mm +2x extender which, with a lens adaptor on a 400D digital body, gives me something like a 1800mm prime lens but with a max aperture of about f11 and something wth such a narrow angle of view that it is almost impossible to keep the lens still on shutter activation. It's interesting to experiment though ....
As ever I would suggest renting and trying before buying unless eBay offers something that can easily be passed on. Extenders seem to sell at around half 'mail order' price but be sure to check which Mk it is.
Killwilly said:
LongQ, what FD-EOS converter do you use with FD lenses on the 400D?
Chap I bought the 600mm lens from included a Kood converter.He used it for bird shots with the converter's lens (for focus to infinity) removed. That restricts the range you can shoot to so I leave it in. It can be prone to purple fringing in certain conditions although it is getting easier to PP fixes for that with recent software developments.
There are now a number of converters around that include connections for telling an EOS camera that is is manual focus mode and so able to use the focus confirmation feature so I am considering getting a new converter to see if there are improvements to be had. As yet I have no idea which of those on offer are worth considering.
The Kood seems OK considering it has obviously been well used over the years. It also seems to work reasonably well with other lenses down to 50mm but not great with my 28mm FD. An old 70-200 Canon or Vivitar Series 1 give quite reasonable results, even with an extender fitted, but the viewfinder is a bit dark!
A converter for FD/EOS adds about 15 to 20% image size - so about a 1.2 crop factor to add to the camera sensor crop factor if comparing to 35mm. Or at least that is what I have read. I have no easy way of checking and in any case it does what it does and there is nothing I can do about it!
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