Nikon 70-300 AF-S VR with TC-14e [was: D5200 lens compatibility]

<p>Hello All & thanks for all the great advise this forum offers. I just bought a D5200 & I'm having trouble figuring out the lens compatibility issues across the Nikon line. I just bought a used Nikkor AF-I TC14E from a reputable dealer on Ebay. The converter mounted to the camera fine but my Nikkor AF-S 70-300 would not mount to the converter. This surprised me, as I expected any incompatibility to be with the exposure or focus functions-not the lens mount. And this lens mounts just fine on my old F film bodies so was the teleconverter defective? Should I not buy any AF-I lens?<br>

Now, another mystery. Nikon does not mention this anywhere but a couple of the reviews that I read on the 5200 before I bought it stated that the autofocus system has 9 points that will autofocus down to f8. Is this right? If so what autofocus settings should be used.? If this is not correct then I don't want a teleconverter anyway as the 70-300 is already at f/5.6.<br>

Thanks again to everyone.</p>

<p>Pkk</p>

<p>Only *f2.8, expensive* Nikon lenses mate with tele-converters of the Nikon brand. The 70-300 lens you have might work with a other brand of tele-converter, but the results won't be keen.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>Only *f2.8, expensive* Nikon lenses mate with tele-converters of the Nikon brand.</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>Are you kidding me?! Well, I guess not.</p>

<p>--Lannie</p>

<p>Thanks for the quick reply. I had no idea about this kind of incompatibility. The D5200 manual at least does not make this clear. Thanks for the info.</p>

<p>Pkk</p>

<p>If you Google/Bing on "Nikon teleconverter and lens compatibility," you'll find a chart from Nikon that shows that the TC14E is not compatible with the 70-300 VR AFS. The 1.4 x TC works with f2.8 and f4 lenses, while the 1.7 and 2.0 TCs may work with some f4 lenses.</p>

<p>So the incompatibility is between the lens and the TC, not between the TC and the camera body.</p>

 

<p>The instruction manual lists lenses and converters that are compatible with your camera which the one you but is, but does not list which lenses are compatible with teleconverters, which the lens and TC you have are not compatible with each other.</p>

<p><em>"</em><em>the autofocus system has 9 points that will autofocus down to f8"</em> You do not have to do anything as far as setting - this just means that if you have a lens that is f8 (as opposed to f5.6 like the one you have), the camera will still autofocus. Older bodies typically only offer AF up to f5.6. Typically this situation will arise with some 3rd party lenses or a Nikon f4 lens used with a 2x TC which will have an effective aperture of f8. This is not something you need to be concerned about.<br>

<br>

This chart from Nikon may assist you:<br>

<br>

<a href="http://www.nikonsupport.eu/europe/Manuals/DrdIaQvRZv/TC_converter_compatibility-EN_01.pdf">http://www.nikonsupport.eu/europe/Manuals/DrdIaQvRZv/TC_converter_compatibility-EN_01.pdf</a></p>

<p>If Nikon doesn't declare with a fanfare of trumpets that their Multi-CAM 4800DX unit can AF with lenses of f/8 maximum aperture, then it probably can't. Or at least not reliably and consistently.</p>

<p>Nikon make a clear declaration that their Multi-CAM 3500FX unit <em>can</em> AF with f/8 lenses using 11 cross-point sensors, so why would they keep quiet about that feature on another AF module?</p>

<p>It may be that under some conditions you can get an f/8 lens to autofocus. For example I could get the AF confirmation on my D700 to work sporadically with a 500mm f/8 Reflex-Nikkor in very good light and with a high contrast subject. That's not the same as consistent and reliable working that Nikon could advertise and be held to.</p>

<p>I have real doubts that image quality is going to be much good from a 70-300mm + TC combo.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Only *f2.8, expensive* Nikon lenses mate with tele-converters of the Nikon brand.<br>

Are you kidding me?! Well, I guess not.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I don't think he is kidding, but he is inaccurate.</p>

<p>All AF-S Nikon telephoto lenses from the 70-200mm/f4 and up are compatible with the TC-14e, including some relatively slow f4 and f5.6 ones, such as the 300mm/f4 AF-S and the new 80-400mm/f4.5-5.6 AF-S VR that is merely f5.6 on its long end.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, the 70-300mm/f4.5-5.6 AF-S VR is not, since it doesn't have sufficient clearance on its rear end for the TC-14e to mount.</p>

<p>Incidentally, all of this is only about compatibility between the lenses and the teleconverters. The D5200, which is specified in the thread title, has nothing to do with it. If you use a D4 or D800, you'll have the same issues. The D5200 itself is fully compatible with the Nikon TCs.</p><div></div>

<p>I suspect that you'd get the same or better results cropping in with that lens even if you COULD use a TC.</p>

<p>There isn't <em>one </em>Multi-CAM 3500 or <em>one </em>Multi-CAM 4800, but different sensor modules that go by the same designation as they have the same number of lines (like pixels in an image sensor) which is what the number designates (if they used the same principle of designation as in the early AF years with film cameras). Some newer cameras with Multi-CAM 3500 and Multi-CAM 4800 (e.g. D800, D4, D600, D7100, if I recall correctly ) can AF with f/8 lenses, these are also generally specified to AF in lower light and the difference is easy enough to see. The D5200 uses an older type of Multi-CAM 4800 module, which is not specified to AF with f/8 lenses.</p>

<p>The TC-14E has a little tab that stops it being mounted to "incompatible" lenses. Annoyingly, this includes some lenses with which it's perfectly compatible, like my 500 f/4 AI-P. You can just file the tab off, as I did... that might allow you to get it onto your 70-300, with no promises about optical quality, but you're on your own ensuring that the rear element of the lens doesn't grind against the front element of the teleconverter. (I don't have a 70-300, but if it happens to have enough clearance when the lens is at the long end, that may be good enough for you.) Whether the result is any better than digital zoom, given the limitations of the 70-300, I couldn't say. I suspect you'd be diffraction limited on a D5200 with a TC-14 + 70-300 at the long end, even if it was sharp wide open.<br />

<br />

Otherwise, this might be a good time to discuss how much better a 300mm lens the 300 f/4 prime is, compared with the 70-300.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>that might allow you to get it onto your 70-300, with no promises about optical quality, but you're on your own ensuring that the rear element of the lens doesn't grind against the front element of the teleconverter.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Don't do that. The 70-300 AF-S VR does not have sufficient rear clearance.</p>

<p>Shun - then sorry for the bad advice, and thanks for the correction. (I didn't have a 70-300 to check - some zooms give enough clearance at some focal lengths, so I was hoping that Patrick might have been lucky at 300mm.)</p>

<p>Thanks to all for the great responses. The learning curve is still pretty steep here.</p>

<p>PKK</p>