Nikon tc 20e iii - not impressed

[popgoestheweasel]

Hi

So I have a D7000 with a 70-200mm 2.8
I purchased a teleconverter tc 20e iii after doing quite a bit of research and tried to ignore the ridiculous price tag but thought at least this would allow me to shoot at 400mm and get fairly good (sharp) photos at a reasonable distance .

We I'm not impressed so far, I tried shooting at f8 at around 380mm and its too soft. I've tried loads of different focus settings, shooting using a tripod, beanbag etc etc.
Has anyone used this combination before and got good results? If so what should I be doing to get a decent quality photo using this converter? tripod, 1/400 shutter speed, single spot focusing.

I'm thinking i've wasted £400 on this thing, maybe its faulty.
Maybe its only worth having if you use a 300mm 2.8 or 400mm 2.8

Any thoughts on this would be great.

 

[cowleystjames]

I did try the same converter when I bought my Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8G ED VR II and came to the same conclusion as you.
I ended up buying the TC-17E II which in my mind, is far better. It only loses 1.5 stops instead of 2 and the images produced are as crisp as you like.

 

[popgoestheweasel]

I did try the same converter when I bought my Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8G ED VR II and came to the same conclusion as you.
I ended up buying the TC-17E II which in my mind, is far better. It only loses 1.5 stops instead of 2 and the images produced are as crisp as you like.

Yeah I looked at the TC-17E II but from what I read the 20E did a good job.

So you get good results from the 17E, I did think i could be unlucky and have a faulty one.

Be great to hear from someone with a 20E thats works well.