Teleconvertor

[Radical]

Was thinking of buying a convertor for my nikkor 70-300mm 4.5/5.6 af-s ed lens, is there anything I should be careful with or watch out for? I shoot with a Nikon d3100.

 

[480sparky]

Don't buy a Nikon one.... they won't work on that lens. Not sure about any of the 3rd-party makers.

 

[Nikanon]

Was thinking of buying a convertor for my nikkor 70-300mm 4.5/5.6 af-s ed lens, is there anything I should be careful with or watch out for? I shoot with a Nikon d3100.

YES, Horrible IQ and really really slow focusing! Nikon doesn't have teleconverters for that lens 3rd party maybe but IMO not even worth it if you were to find one.

 

[SCraig]

YES, Horrible IQ and really really slow focusing! Nikon doesn't have teleconverters for that lens 3rd party maybe but IMO not even worth it if you were to find one.

I disagree. The results obtained from using a teleconverter depend on both the TC itself, the lens to which it is attached, and the camera that both are attached to. While it is very true that many (perhaps "Most" perhaps only "Some") TC's do indeed cause horrible image quality that statement does not hold true in every instance.

Using a 2x TC on a long lens in an effort to double an already long focal length seldom works well. Using an inferior TC makes the situation worse. I have a 2x TC that I consider to be inferior and I will not use it on anything at all. In fact the results from using it are so poor that I won't even sell it because I don't want to stick someone with it. On the other hand I have a 1.4x TC that I've used on every lens I have (including the Nikkor 70-300) with excellent results most of the time. In poor light conditions or in when it causes me to have to use a low shutter speed it does not, but as long as there is plenty of light it works very well.

TC's cause a corresponding loss of light. A 2x TC costs 2 EV or 2 full stops of exposure, and will turn a f/4.5-5.6 lens into an f/9-11 lens. A 1.4x TC costs 1.4 EV.

With many lenses that loss of light puts the lens into a range in which most camera bodies will not autofocus since many camera bodies require a lens of f/5.6 or wider for the autofocus unit to work. My D7000 has not had any significant problems autofocusing, even with my 150-500 lens and a 1.4x TC.

 

[Radical]

So SCraig, what 1.4 TC do have?

 

[SCraig]

So SCraig, what 1.4 TC do have?

Kenko Teleplus Pro 300 AF 1.4X DGX

Kenko makes 2 grades of TC's. Make CERTAIN to look at the Pro version. I do not have a very high opinion of their standard grade.

 

[ratssass]

YES, Horrible IQ and really really slow focusing! Nikon doesn't have teleconverters for that lens 3rd party maybe but IMO not even worth it if you were to find one.

I disagree. The results obtained from using a teleconverter depend on both the TC itself, the lens to which it is attached, and the camera that both are attached to. While it is very true that many (perhaps "Most" perhaps only "Some") TC's do indeed cause horrible image quality that statement does not hold true in every instance.

Using a 2x TC on a long lens in an effort to double an already long focal length seldom works well. Using an inferior TC makes the situation worse. I have a 2x TC that I consider to be inferior and I will not use it on anything at all. In fact the results from using it are so poor that I won't even sell it because I don't want to stick someone with it. On the other hand I have a 1.4x TC that I've used on every lens I have (including the Nikkor 70-300) with excellent results most of the time. In poor light conditions or in when it causes me to have to use a low shutter speed it does not, but as long as there is plenty of light it works very well.

TC's cause a corresponding loss of light. A 2x TC costs 2 EV or 2 full stops of exposure, and will turn a f/4.5-5.6 lens into an f/9-11 lens. A 1.4x TC costs 1.4 EV.

With many lenses that loss of light puts the lens into a range in which most camera bodies will not autofocus since many camera bodies require a lens of f/5.6 or wider for the autofocus unit to work. My D7000 has not had any significant problems autofocusing, even with my 150-500 lens and a 1.4x TC.

...thanks for sharing real world thoughts/experience,Scott

 

[orb9220]

Nope sorry to disagree here. But teleconverters are designed for faster f4 or faster fixed aperture lenses.

Using a Tamron 1.4x on my Nikon 80-200 f2.8 made for a great 280mm f4 with minimal impact in speed and little in the way of noticing any Hits to Image IQ. On the other had putting it on my

Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED IF AF-S VR

And turned into a always AF hunting never locking AF next to useless.
Too many stops lost makes for unusable for me. Also significant hits in speed making it into an f8 and severely impact Image IQ as far as I was concerned. And that was with just a 1.4x.
I just shutter doing a 1.7x or 2.0x.
Now this was on a D90 so not a particularly slow or featureless entry camera.

So I Say NO! it's a waste of monies on any of the slower variable f-stop zooms!
But hey again that is just my experience take it or leave it.
.

 

[Radical]

Thanks evewryone

 

[Onbird]

Nope sorry to disagree here. But teleconverters are designed for faster f4 or faster fixed aperture lenses.

Using a Tamron 1.4x on my Nikon 80-200 f2.8 made for a great 280mm f4 with minimal impact in speed and little in the way of noticing any Hits to Image IQ. On the other had putting it on my

Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED IF AF-S VR

And turned into a always AF hunting never locking AF next to useless.
Too many stops lost makes for unusable for me. Also significant hits in speed making it into an f8 and severely impact Image IQ as far as I was concerned. And that was with just a 1.4x.
I just shutter doing a 1.7x or 2.0x.
Now this was on a D90 so not a particularly slow or featureless entry camera.

So I Say NO! it's a waste of monies on any of the slower variable f-stop zooms!
But hey again that is just my experience take it or leave it.
.

Sticking a teleconverter on a lens like the 70-300 f/4.5 ~ 5.6 will almost certainly lose you some AF ability. AF isn't supposed to work at apertures below f/5.6, and a 1.4x converter would take the maximum aperture of that lens down to f/6.3 ~ f/8, so AF performance would be marginal at best. Using a 1.7 x converter would almost certainly make AF unuseable and image quality would be reduced considerably as well.

In view of the high cost of Nikon's TC-14E that you were considering buying, you'll almost certainly be better off getting a 3rd party prime telephoto or zoom instead. Something like the Sigma AF 400mm f/5.6 Apo (make sure it's the Apo version), the Tokina 80-400 or Nikon's 80-400 if you can run to it.

Saying that I put on a 2X a few years ago as an experiment to prove what I just said, it was a 3rd party tele. I got the photo but had to manual focus to get it. If it was a moving animal or person, forget it.

If you can afford it get a prime new or used, the 300 mm f4 is not bad for the price, or a Sigma as I mentioned above (there are others out as well)

Good Luck....John

 

[Patrice]

Ability to focus with smaller apertures is more a function of camera than lens. Some newer Nikons can autofocus down to f/8, but I'll agree with the majority opinion that a teleconverter on a zoom with slow variable apertures is not the best of ideas. But if you must the Kenko N-AF 1.4X Teleplus Pro 300 would be the one to get. You will end up with a pretty dim view through the viewfinder when zoomed to 300 mm.