Teleconverter question ?

[RK Conrad]

Can you use a teleconverter with all of the Nikon Nikkor 80-200 mm f2.8 lenses?

 

[Derrel]

AS a rule, NO. The 80-200 f/2.8 AF-S (a rare, short production variant) can use the AF TC's Nikon made, like the TC14e or 14e-II,and so on. THOSE converters are for AF-S and AF-i Nikkor lenses, and have a slight projection forward, that snugs into the rear of the barrel of AF-S lenses; this forward projection will HIT the rear element of standard 80-200 Nikkors. The AF Nikkor converters have a small tab that prevents mounting of non-compatible, non-AF-S lenses, as a way to alleviate crash and bash lens/converter conflicts.

Nikon has a very large compatibility chart on their main website, buried someplace.

In general, if you DID really want to use a TC on an 80-200 AF-D for example, it would be an older, manual focusing TC model, and those have a recessed front element, one that does not stick out past the lens mounting surface on the TC unit. I believe the TC-200 and TC-201 are the specified converters for 80-200 models. And maybe the TC-14b. those are all older, manual focusing converters.

A few years ago, Kenko made some TC's that would work, and they were AF. Seems to me that their HIGH-end converters worked "Okay" on a lot of Nikon lenses. I think these were called their "KENKO PRO" line.

In general,most people are not using a converter with an 80-200 Nikkor lens,now that we have moved into the 24-to 36-MP era, and post-capture cropping-in at the computer is so much better than it was a decade ago when we had 10 or 12 megapixels or less.