This time around I thought we’d take an in-depth look at teleconverters. Not just what they do – but how they work, how to get the best results, how they affect AF speed and accuracy, the best way to use them and more. Even if you think you know all about teleconverters, there’s probably something new for you in this video.
Plus, as a bonus, towards the end I even show you a few field tips to help you manage your TC in the shortest amount of time (Hint – using the techniques I describe, I can have a TC on or off in less than ten seconds!)
Check it out:
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Also, here are the links I promised:
Nikon TC Compatibility: Link #1 | Link #2
Canon TC Compatibility: 1.4TC Link | 2X TC Link | Wiki Page
Sony TC Compatibility: The Sony 1.4 and 2X TCs are compatible with the SEL70-200GM, SEL100-400GM, SEL400F28GM lenses. I’m sure the new 200-600 and 600 F/4 will also have compatibility at some level, but there is not any info yet form Sony’s product page as of this publication.
PS – If you enjoyed this post, I think you’ll REALLY like my e-books and video workshops! Thousands of pages and hours of videos filled with tips, tricks, and techniques – all my best content! Check ’em out – click here (hey, it’s free to look).
Hello, I have ordered a Nikkor AI-S 500mm f4 P ED and looking for a TC. The TC-14b seems to go along with it but it looses that CPU data that the lens is capable of. Is there another TC that would fit this lens? Camera is D4
Is the Running Buddy roomy enough to hold both the 1.4X *and* 2.X TCs simultaneously (without caps)? I’m thinking of the largest XXL size (7″ x 4″).
If not, I’d appreciate any suggestions for an alternative two TC carrying solution. Thanks!
I use the TC-14E III on my Nikon 400mm f2.8 VR, which makes it an 560mm f4. The image quality is excellent even wide open at f4 and by f5.6 it about matches a bare 600mm f4 VR lens. The 400mm f2.8G VR and 400mm f2.8E VR FL are the sharpest lenses Nikon has ever made outside of the 800mm f5.6 FL (which is the king of super-tele’s) and sharpest super telephoto ever made by anyone including Canon. Now back to the 400mm f2.8 VR with TC-14E III versus 600mm f4 VR…I’d say the 600mm f4 VR beats the 400mm… Read more »
I use a Nikon 500mm PF fixed lens… when mounted on tripod is it better to have VR enabled ? primarily I use it for bird photo shooting.
Does anyone know if the TC-14E III will work with AF-S Nikkor 500mm F5.6E PF ED Prime lens?? Working in conjunction with a Nikon D500 camera body?
Yes it does. However, you’ll have limited AF performance with some of the outer points. See my review for more info:
https://backcountrygallery.com/nikon-500-pf-review/
Thanks Steve – excellent – newbie – bought 1.4 Kinko teleconverter for my 70-300 before trip to S Africa- very helpful tips –
Hi again in this post, Steve; first question already solved. Now I would like to comment you that ones, while I was at Manu National Park, Peru, I had a problem produce by the TC. I was shooting normally when suddenly I noticed that f/ was blocked on f/22. After the logic frizzing of my heart – and far away from home – I checked the whole parameters and also go to the lens, then I discover that some screws of the metallic ring of the TC were loosened, so with a very fine screwdriver I solved the problem; since… Read more »
Steve,
Is it necessary to turn the camera off before mounting and removing lens and TC’s?
thanks Bas
Technically, you probably should. However, I probably forget at least half the time, no problems as far as I can tell.
Hi Steve,
Thanks again for another helpful video. I have a question concerning the use of older lenses and tc’s. I am using a 200 f4 non ai lens and a TC-1. When I go to the menu and select the lens in the Non cpu lens data, do I need to make a new entry for the combo since it now acts like an f8 lens or do I just keep selecting the f4 200mm? Thanks in advance for your time and and all your great tips and tricks.
Michael
I think you treat it like a new lens (pretty sure). However, I have only used the non-CPU lens date option like once in my life, so I can’t be 100% positive.
I did a test as follows: D850 with Sigma 150-600 lens at 600mm on all 4 pics all at 1/500 and auto ISO on a tripod. I used a Sigma TC 1.4 on 2 pics (one full frame and one crop mode and then with no TC on 2 pics (one full frame and one crop mode). Then I imported them into Lightroom and cropped the 3 photos to the same image size as the TC crop mode pic. Then I exported them to “Photos” so they would be JPEG and I could see the megapixel size that was left… Read more »
I have a Tamron 150-600 lens and a Canon SL2 camera. Would it be better to use a Tamron or Canon TC? Loved the TC video.
Probably the Tamron – BUT – I wouldn’t put a TC on a lens with a max opening of F/6.3 – it’ll put you past F/8 and I’m not sure how good the performance would be (both in image quality and for AF).
I am using the D500 with a 70-200 tamron zoom.(not the new G2). Will any tamron 1.4TC work with this lens? Also being a crop sensor would my max with the 1.4TC be 420mm?
Thank you – another great, informative video. My question – which gives the better result? Using a 1.4x teleconverter on my 500mm prime lens or simply using the lens and cropping in to the exact same degree as the teleconverter would have provided? If the quality is broadly the same I’d prefer not to lose an f stop.
It depends 🙂
https://backcountrygallery.com/use-teleconverter-crop-image/
However, I have not tested with the D850 and from just filed experience it seems very close between cropping a D850 and using a TC. More controlled tests when I’m back in the states.
Brilliant link and response – thank you!
Always enjoy your videos and books and always learn a little gem or two! I just wanted to share my experience with using the 1.4 TC with the Nikon 500mm PF. I was pleasantly surprised by the sharpness of the image AND without stopping down at all. Also, as you note the Nikon branded TC worked better than the Kenko Pro 1.4 that I was previously using. On a D500 I didn’t worry too much about AF speed so the issue simply became balancing the need for enough light with a low enough ISO to reduce noise and enough shutter… Read more »
Hi Steve.
I’ve just made AF Fine-tuning to my combo D850/500mm f/ VR + TC 1.4, but I noticed that gives me different values of focusing if I make it in it “Full” or switching to “8 mt.-Infinite”. What is the reason and which is the better choice to do it? Thanks.
That’s really odd – one should hav nothing to do with the other – how far off?
Thanks Steve. More excellent advice!
Hi Steve. Very interesting & made it so easy to understand like all the other information you have given. Thanks again have struggled understanding some things till I heard you & my camera is thankful as well
Curiosity have your feeling about mirrors cameras improved ?
Hi Steve, when using he Nikon 1.4x TC-14E III teleconverter with a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G on my D500, I have noticed that in Lightroom it still shows as the 70-200mm and doesn’t recognize that the image is shot with a teleconverter. Some images have visible distortion because they’re corrected with the 70-200 profile only. Any idea what’s wrong here and how to rectify it? Thanks!
LR does that to me as well – but it will display the proper focal length too. As for lens correction, that one I don’t know. I honestly don’t use it – just not really needed for wildlife shots I suppose. (and lens corrections “warp” the image slightly and can, in theory, lead to slightly softer output).
Thanks Steve, especially the tip that the AF correction is different with and without TC lead me to test my 105/2.8 Macro with the TC 1.4 (both Sigma). This combination works great but indeed shows a completely different correction value. I though about a slightly longer Macro lens, but the combo does the trick with much less effort
Steve Im new to all this camera stuff so am grappling to get my head around the benefits of a TC. My husband bought a nikon d7500 and the nikon zoom lens 80-400 for bird photography but as most of our birds are small and often far away he is now talking about getting the nikon 200-500mm lens. My ? is would that be a better choice or would getting a TC work the same.
The 200-500 would be a bette bet – the 80-400 is only “OK” with TCs and isn’t better than the bare 200-500. Although, for bids, I like the 600 F/4 🙂
Thanks Steve I will pass all that on to him
Thanks again Steve.
I commented on a previous post of yours regarding concerns I was having with the TC-14EIII fitted to my 200-500, and this latest video expands on the reply you gave me back then. The extra information is very much appreciated.
Cheers from Oz
Terry
Dear Steve,
I would like to know if a nikon 400mm F2.8 with a tc1.4 iQ is the same as 600mm f4 IQ. Both will give the same length and f stop
I’ve not tested it, but from the comments here and on You Tube, it sure doesn’t sound like it. I also seem to recall reading an article that compared them and the 600 was the better choice.
I use the TC-14E III on my Nikon 400mm f2.8 VR, which makes it an 560mm f4 not a 600mm f4. The image quality is excellent even wide open and at f5.6 might match a bare 600mm f4 VR lens. The 400mm f2.8G VR and 400mm f2.8E VR FL are the sharpest lenses Nikon has ever made outside of the 800mm f5.6 FL which is the raining king and sharpest super telephoto ever made by anyone including Canon. Now back to the 400mm f2.8 VR with TC-14E III versus 600mm f4 VR…I’d say the 600mm f4 VR beats the 400mm… Read more »
Steve,
I have been told that you should always mount the teleconverter on the lens first then mount it on the camera. The manual instructs you to do it this way, also someone from CPS told me if you do not mount it on the lens first you could have AF problems becasue of communication issues between the lens and camera. Have you ever heard of this.
Never had an issue with Nikon – but I’m just one user. Still, I’ve been mounting TCs every which way for years, always works out.
After I bought the TC-20 III and did lens autofocus fine tuning I found that it was noticeably sharper than my TC-14 II and TC-17 II teleconverters. I sold both the II generation teleconverters and bought the TC-14 III. Alluded to indirectly but with the loss of a stop or two of light there is less light and lower contrast for the camera’s autuofocus sensors to use. I keep the TC’s in the Nikon pouches but I put white electrical tape around the drawstrings for the TC-14 pouch and red tape around the drawstrings on the pouch for the TC-20… Read more »
Thank you Steve, I made a link with your previous post ”The secrets to sharp eyes and better compositions” to realize that with a 300mm PF f/4 and a 1.4 TC or only a 500mm PF f/5.6, both mounted on a D500, there is no other way that using focus and recomposing method for better sharpness, using cross type AF sensors in the middle of the frame; I forgot the composing and moving on the eye method; I forgot also using the 500mm PF with the 1.4 TC. Thanks again for the quality and the clarity of your videos and… Read more »
Have read good reviews on the TC 1.4 for use with prime lenses but mixed opinions on whether it works with the 200-500 . Is there any reason for this? Is the Tc1.4 better than cropping with the 200-500mm?
The TC works well from an image quality standpoint, but no so much from an AF standpoint. AF is already slow on the 200-500 and the 1.4TC can make it a little too slow for my taste. However, I do know people who use it and think it’s fine.
Thanks, Steve. I think that little pouch would be good for an extension tube, too. Good tip.
Thanks the the tips on how to rapidly switch on and off a TC. I was a lens cap fumbler with the side pouch but will lose the caps! It would be interesting to see you do a video on lens calibration. I know some photogs do it and most don’t. Nikon is making this easier to this in camera but is that as good as using a program like LensAlign?
I have this video you might like:
https://backcountrygallery.com/get-nikons-auto-af-fine-tune-system/
I have a Nikon D7100 which has the 1.3X “crop mode”. I understand that the sensor resolution is reduced to 16MP vs full 24MP, but I get nearly the same magnification w/o the hit on f-stop (1.3X vs. 1.4X). I also understand that the central photosensors are active in this mode, so is using crop mode a preferable way to go?
Depends on the lens and TC. I generally find the Nikon 1.4TC with a high quality prime is better than cropping.
I understand that and prefer not cropping as well. However, adding another piece of glass and reducing max aperture seems to be more impact on IQ than having a smaller part of the sensor recording the image – effectively increasing the focal length by 1.3X???
It really depends – there are a lot of variables. You’d have to just take a few shots and see. However, like I say, a good prime and TC see almost no impact in IQ.
It seems from your teleconverter video, that a 1.5 crop sensor camera or just cropping with photoshop would give the same results? Why even use a teleconverter? I get great results on my D850 and 70-200 mm f4 zooms lens by just cropping in photoshop.
With a D850 it’s a close race, however, with lower res cameras you absolutely see an advantage with a TC.
If all the tc is doing is cropping the image, why not save yourself the image quality and 1 or 2 stops of light, forget the the tc and just crop the image yourself?
It’s not cropping, it’s magnifying and that’s what makes the TC better in some cases.
So I am confused. At 3:30 in your video, you are talking about image quality (and image magnification) and that the tc takes the center portion of the image circle and discarding the rest and stretches what is left to cover the imaging sensor. The more you stretch, the more the image quality suffers. It may be different (that it is magnifying) but to me it still sounds a lot like the problems you would experience if you crop an image too much. Is there a way that you could explain the difference in image quality between using a tc… Read more »
I’m going to conduct some tests when I get home (I’m doing 4 back-to-back workshops in CR right now) the will hopefully explain it better. For now, check out this article: https://backcountrygallery.com/use-teleconverter-crop-image/ It looks at the differences between cropping and TCs – and the TCs win. However, I’m not sure it holds as well with the D850. I’ve noticed that I seem to get nearly identical quality using the TC vs cropping and enlarging, but I haven’t tested it fully so I might change my mind. Still, it’s close. Also, as far as magnification vs enlarging, I suppose you can… Read more »
Hi Steve – Thank you so much for the video and the many incredibly useful tools. Your wildlife photography book is wonderful and I enjoyed it very much. I do not have a technical background in photographic science, but had a question regarding TC versus shooting in crop mode with a full frame camera. What wold be the pros and cons of using a TC on a full frame camera as compared to shooting in a crop mode? I would imagine you get a similar frame filling image. Does shooting in crop mode preserve the maximum aperture and auto focus?… Read more »
On a high res camera, the IQ is surpassingly close. On lower res cameras, the TC makes more of a difference. However…
One thing I didn’t mention in the video is that you do tend to get a little better subject isolation when using the TC than with cropping. With the TC, you have a longer lens, slightly shallower DoF (even with the smaller max opening), and more background magnification. That’s my main reason for using them on the D850 – I love subject isolation in my wildlife shots and TCs work better than cropping to get it 🙂
Excellent. Thank you. Right now a moot point for me as I am using the D500, but am considering going to full frame (possibly mirrorless) in the near future and trying to consider all options. Maximum length lens at the moment is the Nikon 200-500 so would worry about loss of reach with a full frame. The necessity of a longer lens at the moment is what is holding me back. However, a 1.4 TC or shooting in crop mode, depending on subject is a very reasonable solution.
AF with D500/200-500+TC14eIII is severely impaired..(and only over central AF points) slow and erratic unless you have a steady bird perched under the sun… forguet about a busy background, branches, poor light conditions or any action..
Good to know! I have the same lens/camera setup and was always curious. Looks like I’m stuck with what I can afford.
I also use a D500 + 200-500mm and a 1.4EIII used primarily to shoot wildbirds, etc. While the AF does suffer some at times with the TC in lower light I wouldn’t be so critical as to label it severely impaired. Using the TC is a viable compromise but it’s limitations should be recognized and understood – and it’s better alternatives cost a lot more.
Another great video, thanks. I keep the 1.4 parked on the 500 f4, in part because of the pain of going back and forth and fear of scratching it in the process. Your tips on quick change and pouch give me a new perspective on this and will be put to good use.
Thanks Steve – really useful advice. I have a question though…..I tried a TC1.4 on a 80-400 (new one) on a D7100 a few years ago. I couldn’t see a difference between the TC and cropping a non-TC image to the same degree. So thought it best to save several hundred pounds and not get the TC. Did I miss something? I now have a D500 do you know how the TC1.4 performs on that? I do mainly bird photography. Thanks again Steve.
Peter
You probably missed a bit of subject isolation. When you’re too far away and crop, you often sacrifice subject isolation. However, when you add a TC the “new” lens acts like whatever the resulting lens would be – and although you have a smaller effective F/stop, the increase in focal length and magnification gives you better overall isolation.
Ok thanks. I think I understand…..by subject isolation, you mean the tc gives the impression of narrower depth of field? I guess I’ll just have to borrow a tc1.4 and try it on the D500. Many thanks Steve.
Peter
Yes, exactly – you’ll have the impression that the subject is more isolated and the DoF is shallower, mostly due to the increased background magnification.
Hi Steve
Another great and informative video on TC’s. Just one point of claritication I noticed that you attached the TC to the camera first whereas I was under the impression that it had to be attached to the lens first or does it make no difference?
An additional request can you please send some of that lovely light that you seem to get in North America over to the often dull UK?!
Best wishes
Geoff Dicker