picked up the TC 1401 for my sigma 150-600 sport lens. not so happy

[coastalconn]

Regardless of what marketing people say, you are asking too much to put a TC on any of the 150-600 lenses. You are making it a F9 lens and it will not AF well except in perfect light. Also you need to fine tune it. You are pushing the ISO too high in both shots in my humble opinion...

are you saying i need to do a fine tune with the TC on the lens..

Yes! TC can change your focus quite a bit. I wouldn't expect miracles, but it will help..

 

[kap55]

Before you give up on the TC1401 you may want to try something. I am using the Contemporary version of your lens with a D750. I bought the TC1401 and wasn't thrilled with the results at first, but after stopping down to f/11 I started getting some pretty decent results. The autofocus on the 750 worked fine - can't say what would happen with your 7200 but it's worth a try. Using an auto ISO max of 6400 with f/11 and shutter speeds up to 1/1600 have given some great shots even at 100% crop.
The TC1401 was specifically made to be compatible with only a couple of lenses (one being the 150-600). I definitely find the results more acceptable than with other TCs I have used in the past.

 

[spiralout462]

I use a Canon 1.4 tc vs.ii on my 300f4is. AF definitely takes a hit and I'm at f5.6 wide open! I couldn't imagine a TC on such a slow zoom.

 

[robbins.photo]

I use a Canon 1.4 tc vs.ii on my 300f4is. AF definitely takes a hit and I'm at f5.6 wide open! I couldn't imagine a TC on such a slow zoom.

Depends on the camera body as well. Not all of them are really rated to have their AF systems work reliable out to F8.

 

[hamfist]

How is the focus/sharpness with the TC using manual focus only ? That will tell you if you have a sharpness issue or a focussing issue. At the moment it seems that you don't know which it is. Even if you don't like tripods, do some testing with a tripod. Its the only way to find out what the real issue is. If you are hand-holding whilst testing you never know if blur is caused by you or by your kit.
As you have suspected it could be that you just need to fine tune the autofocus with the TC on. It could easily be way off compared to the lens on its own. I am with another poster who says that the camera seems to have focused in front of the squirrel.

 

[DarkShadow]

I have no experience with a TC but there ain't no way in hell I would ever put a TC on this lens.

 

[fmw]

I have quite a bit of experience with Nikkor 1.4 TC's but that was back in the film days with manual metering and focus. I never encountered a loss of acuity but I never used it with a zoom. I did get some some loss of contrast but very little. I used it many times indoors with a Nikkor 300mm f2.8 lens to shoot subjects on a stage from the back of the hall. It always performed satisfactorily. It seems there is a lot of fear about manual focus these days.

 

[robbins.photo]

I have quite a bit of experience with Nikkor 1.4 TC's but that was back in the film days with manual metering and focus. I never encountered a loss of acuity but I never used it with a zoom. I did get some some loss of contrast but very little. I used it many times indoors with a Nikkor 300mm f2.8 lens to shoot subjects on a stage from the back of the hall. It always performed satisfactorily. It seems there is a lot of fear about manual focus these days.

Well I would point out that it's not that some of us can't manually focus, it's just that we really don't want too...

 

[JacaRanda]

I would toss all my gear in a lake if I had to manually focus while tracking a bird or squirrel.

Whenever I find myself in discussions about how to use, what to use, when to use, dynamic range etc. etc., I have to remind myself that some people are photographing flowers on a candlelit table in a pitch black living room.

 

[Peeb]

Isn't your full frame focal length equivalence something like 600 x 1.5 crop factor x 1.4 TC= 1,260?

1/1000 shutter is pretty fast, but maybe not fast enough?

 

[fmw]

I would toss all my gear in a lake if I had to manually focus while tracking a bird or squirrel.

Whenever I find myself in discussions about how to use, what to use, when to use, dynamic range etc. etc., I have to remind myself that some people are photographing flowers on a candlelit table in a pitch black living room.

What do you suppose wildlife photographers did before auto focus?

 

[robbins.photo]

I would toss all my gear in a lake if I had to manually focus while tracking a bird or squirrel.

Whenever I find myself in discussions about how to use, what to use, when to use, dynamic range etc. etc., I have to remind myself that some people are photographing flowers on a candlelit table in a pitch black living room.

What do you suppose wildlife photographers did before auto focus?

Same thing car owners did before someone invented electronic ignition.

But I don't go out and hand crank my engine in the morning because I don't have too.

Much like I don't fetch water from the well, I just turn on the tap. If you chose not to take advantage of certain technological improvements that's your prerogative, but it doesn't really give you leave to be snarky to those of is who do.



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[JacaRanda]

I would toss all my gear in a lake if I had to manually focus while tracking a bird or squirrel.

Whenever I find myself in discussions about how to use, what to use, when to use, dynamic range etc. etc., I have to remind myself that some people are photographing flowers on a candlelit table in a pitch black living room.

What do you suppose wildlife photographers did before auto focus?

Miss a lot more shots?
What do you think wildlife photographers are doing now with the technology? Using the old stuff because it's cool to use?

 

[fmw]

I would toss all my gear in a lake if I had to manually focus while tracking a bird or squirrel.

Whenever I find myself in discussions about how to use, what to use, when to use, dynamic range etc. etc., I have to remind myself that some people are photographing flowers on a candlelit table in a pitch black living room.

What do you suppose wildlife photographers did before auto focus?

Miss a lot more shots?
What do you think wildlife photographers are doing now with the technology? Using the old stuff because it's cool to use?

No, I was commenting on the use of these teleconverters prior to the advent of autofocus. Your response was to criticize manual focus. I use auto focus too but I didn't in 1980. Give me a break.

 

[fmw]

I would toss all my gear in a lake if I had to manually focus while tracking a bird or squirrel.

Whenever I find myself in discussions about how to use, what to use, when to use, dynamic range etc. etc., I have to remind myself that some people are photographing flowers on a candlelit table in a pitch black living room.

What do you suppose wildlife photographers did before auto focus?

Same thing car owners did before someone invented electronic ignition.

But I don't go out and hand crank my engine in the morning because I don't have too.

Much like I don't fetch water from the well, I just turn on the tap. If you chose not to take advantage of certain technological improvements that's your prerogative, but it doesn't really give you leave to be snarky to those of is who do.



Sent from my N9518 using Tapatalk

I missed the snarkiness but I'll leave you folks to share your expertise among each other. Obviously you aren't interested in mine.