Canon 60D;
Canon 300mm f/4.0 IS USM (with 1.4x and 2x extenders);
I bought two extenders: Kenko 1.4x mc4 dgx & Canon 2x II. Results with 1.4x are good and with 2x are poor. Why?
Kenko tc 1.4x works fine. AF is slower, but still works. Quality of photo is worse (worse resolution and contrast), but slightly better in aperture at 6.3 - 8.0; with 5.6 is still ok if you want to take some shots with fast shutter speed (when there's a low level of light). Chromatic aberrations are more visible.
With Canon tc 2x II photos looks too soft. I reccomend aperture at 9.0 or 10.0 and photo edit (level of detail from 15-30% + sharp mask at 50% with radius on 0,7% in Camera Raw). Level of chromatic aberrations will be high, so forget about little and medium birds in flight. AF is working only in Live View and it's very slow. Better forget about this extender with this lens.
I checked examples with Canon 1.4x II (which gives the same results as Kenko 1.4x mc4 dgx) compared to Canon 1.4x III and Canon 2x II compared to Canon 2x III. Better results gives second versions of those extenders with this lens and you can check it here: The-Digital-Picture.com
If you want to take shots of birds, you need 400mm lens or longer. So far there's only 400mm f/5.6 lens (without IS, so you will need tripod or short shutter speeds when shooting) and 100-400mm f/4.5-f.5.6 - with the prices which are acceptable for amateurs. 400mm f/4.0 DO IS is more expensive and optical quality of this lens could be better (much better is 2.8 version or 500mm f/4 IS).
With Kenko or Canon 1.4x extender (which you can always detach) you can shot birds and you have IS. With bare 300mm it's also possible, but more difficult (I am not talking about vigil).
Pros:
- good picture resolution (with nice bokeh) at 4.5, better at 5.6;
- IS & mounted lens hood;
- low weight
Cons
- noticeable CA (when shooting birds on he branches);
- worse image quality with the 1.4x extenders, poor with 2x extenders
Photos on full frame camera (Canon 1DX):
http://canonmacrophotography.blogspot.com/2014/05/canon-1dx-canon-3004-is.html
You don't have to be registered to add comment (I will be grateful for your opinions and critique).
Kenko tc 1.4x works fine. AF is slower, but still works. Quality of photo is worse (worse resolution and contrast), but slightly better in aperture at 6.3 - 8.0; with 5.6 is still ok if you want to take some shots with fast shutter speed (when there's a low level of light). Chromatic aberrations are more visible.
With Canon tc 2x II photos looks too soft. I reccomend aperture at 9.0 or 10.0 and photo edit (level of detail from 15-30% + sharp mask at 50% with radius on 0,7% in Camera Raw). Level of chromatic aberrations will be high, so forget about little and medium birds in flight. AF is working only in Live View and it's very slow. Better forget about this extender with this lens.
I checked examples with Canon 1.4x II (which gives the same results as Kenko 1.4x mc4 dgx) compared to Canon 1.4x III and Canon 2x II compared to Canon 2x III. Better results gives second versions of those extenders with this lens and you can check it here: The-Digital-Picture.com
If you want to take shots of birds, you need 400mm lens or longer. So far there's only 400mm f/5.6 lens (without IS, so you will need tripod or short shutter speeds when shooting) and 100-400mm f/4.5-f.5.6 - with the prices which are acceptable for amateurs. 400mm f/4.0 DO IS is more expensive and optical quality of this lens could be better (much better is 2.8 version or 500mm f/4 IS).
With Kenko or Canon 1.4x extender (which you can always detach) you can shot birds and you have IS. With bare 300mm it's also possible, but more difficult (I am not talking about vigil).
Pros:
- good picture resolution (with nice bokeh) at 4.5, better at 5.6;
- IS & mounted lens hood;
- low weight
Cons
- noticeable CA (when shooting birds on he branches);
- worse image quality with the 1.4x extenders, poor with 2x extenders
Photos on full frame camera (Canon 1DX):
http://canonmacrophotography.blogspot.com/2014/05/canon-1dx-canon-3004-is.html
You don't have to be registered to add comment (I will be grateful for your opinions and critique).
CA test (color fringing):
Aperture - f/4.0; shutter speed - 1/400; iso 1250
Canon 300mm f/4.0 & Kenko TC 1.4x mc4 dgx (420mm f/5.6):
Aperture - f/5.6; shutter speed - 1/1250; iso 320
Aperture - f/5.6; shutter speed - 1/400; iso 200 (cropped)
Aperture - f/5.6; shutter speed - 1/250; iso 400
Canon 300mm f/4.0 & Canon TC 2x II (600mm f/8.0):
Three videos recorded by Canon 60D and this lens (second video with extender 1.4x, third video with extender 2x, all hand-held, first "stabilized" by vReveal):
