Canon EOS 30D with Canon EF70-200 f/4 with 1.4X converter

How good is 70-200 f/4 with 1.4X converter for sports, wildlife and portraits?

Any issues? Thanks a lot!

I would imagine that would be a very slow setup. the f/4 is already slow add to that the 1.4x and I can't imagine it's very useful for anything but full light.

Not too useful for sports, as autofocus will be slow when using any teleconveter. For wildlife anf portraits though, it would make a pretty good combo. Despite what people say, f5.6 is not that bad...when I stop down my 70-200 to that speed, I can still get 1/2000s on a bright day with ISO 100. The only thing is, when using a TC, you'll probably want to stop it down to f8 to make for the sharpness lost when using the TC.

I use that combo sometimes to shoot boogieboards close to shore (as well as "beach life"). Works great. AF is slightly slower than without the Extender but still amazingly fast and plenty peppy to use AI servo on surfers. Certainly beats the hell outta my old EF 75-300 IS USM! Of course I'm shooting in the blazing Hawaiian sun so I can use F5.6 at ISO 100 and 1/1000 and get sharp images. It's surprisingly sharp at F5.6 albeit a bit soft on the edges. I wouldn't bother with in in low light, e.g., sports stadiums at night.

 

The only good wildlife shooting will be at the zoo. That combo is too short and slow for any true wildlife except maybe large mammals or tame squirrels out during full sun.

My 70-200 w/ 2X works fine for outdoor soccer here in SoCal. Hand held or on monopod.

Thanks for opinions. Would then the EF 70-300 mm IS be a better option?

I have Canon 30D and Autofocus with 70-200 with 1.4 X converter is NOT WORKING.

Depends on what you mean by 'wildlife' but in general this combination is not nearly long

enough for most wild birds and mammals. There are always exceptions but 'wildlife' lenses

typically start at 400 mm and go up from there. Also, as others have mentioned, AF won't

be particularly fast, but it is usable. I got some very sharp images of flying terns with my

30D, 70-200/4 IS, and 1.4X, but that was in bright light.

I've shot lots of kid soccer and baseball with EF7-200 + 1.4x converter. The results aren't professional quality, but they get great reviews from other parents.

 

I usually shoot shutter priority at 1/640 or 1/500 sec on my Rebel 400D. This is enough to freeze most action. A moving bat or ball may have a little blur, but that's often a desirable effect. Sharpness is acceptable even with the lens wide open, although stopping down a little helps. You may have to raise ISO to 200 or 400 if it's overcast or near sunset.

 

Evenings or indoors, forget it. I talked to a professional at a night time high school soccer match who said that even f2.8 isn't enough to freeze action under those conditions. Best you can do is crank the ISO as high as you can stand it, add some exposure comp, lose the extender, and just use cropping to fill the frame. You'll have grainy photos, but you'll still have your bank account!