benji Posted February 4, 2002 Share Posted February 4, 2002 I have a Nikon AF 300mm f/4 ED-IF and often use it with a tc14b on my f5. When doing this of course auto focus is lost. Has any one with the above combo(not necessarily with the f5) tried Kenko's 1.4x Teleplus Pro 300 and compared to the tc14b as far as sharpness, contrast, color....? Also how is the auto focus compared to the 300 with out a converter? ThanksBen Czinski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fabriziogiudici Posted February 4, 2002 Share Posted February 4, 2002 Hi. Sharpness, contrast and colors are very good; it is definitely a good combo. For what concerns autofocus, this is a little mistery. There are two versions of the Kenko: the AF-d (black) <i>does not</i> support autofocus with AF-S lenses; the AF-s (grey) does. I have the latter, but it does not autofocus with my AF-S 300 f4 and F80. I suspect mine it's probably a defective unit... There is plenty of Internet reports about the fact that it usually works. stoppingdown.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fabriziogiudici Posted February 4, 2002 Share Posted February 4, 2002 Sorry Ben, I realize now that you asked about the AF and not the AF-S. My answer was about the AF-S. Since the AF is practically the same as the AF-S from the optical point of view, I think my considerations about sharpness, contrast, color still apply. stoppingdown.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce Posted February 4, 2002 Share Posted February 4, 2002 Ben, The Kenko Pro300 1.4x + the original AF Nikkor 300 f4.0 EDiF is an outstanding combination. I use this set up routinely for light weight work. I have compared it to my AF 300 2.8 EDIF + TC14b, and the performance is identical wide open. I have written a thorough review of this converter and posted on my website. Check it out at http://owlseyenaturephotos.com Regards, bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_bridge Posted February 4, 2002 Share Posted February 4, 2002 I suspect the Kenko Pro and Tamron SP Pro are the same base design. Can't speak to the Kenko's and F5, but my Tamron SP Pro 1.4x does a fine job on my F100 and D1X and F4 (borrowed) with a variety of lenses (105mm f/2.8 AFD micro, 80-200 f/2.8 AFD (borrowed), 80-200 f/2.8 AFS, 80-400 f/4.5-5.6 VR, 300 f/4 AFD (borrowed), and 600 f/4 AFS. Auto-focus on the 80-400 is spotty in the 300-400mm range and worse on the F4 (no surprises here). Its been a while since I used the tc14b, so my sharpness, contrast, color comparisons are influenced more by what the lens does with and without the Tamron converter against what I recall the tc14b did. If there are any minor differences, I'll gladly trade them for the full coupling and the ability to used them on AI, AFD, and AFS lenses. The Tamron SP Pro 2x definitely affects contrast and stacking the Tamron 2x and 1.4x leaves no doubt the contrast has changed, particularly the blue layer (or blue channel on D1X). The rear objective sticks out on the Tamron 1.4x and any accidental palm or finger prints really degrades the sharpness of the image, a problem that I never remember causing with the tc14b. I had to retrain myself to avoid this problem with the Tamron 1.4x. The only other complaint I have is the outside diameter interferes with my ancient F's FTN Photomic (yes, I still use it once in a while). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fabriziogiudici Posted February 5, 2002 Share Posted February 5, 2002 <i>I suspect the Kenko Pro and Tamron SP Pro are the same base design.</i><p> Yes, they are the very same piece of equipment. stoppingdown.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick_bryans3 Posted February 5, 2002 Share Posted February 5, 2002 I have this combination and the results are excellent. I did some testing shooting a newspaper, and sharpness was outstanding, I think there is a slight bluish colour introduced compared to plain Nikkors though. I cannot compare with the TC14B however, not having used one. I would say though that the AF (with my F100) was so slow that mostly I used manual focusing, so whether it would be worth buying just to get AF is debatable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benji Posted February 7, 2002 Author Share Posted February 7, 2002 Thanks to all those who contributed. I think I am going to give it a try. Also I wanted to attach below a second responds from B&T Leventhal about the autofocus portion of my question. Thanks again, Ben Czinski Ben, Autofocus will be fair with the combination. Unfortunately, the 300 f4.0 does not have the best mechanism for switching between AF modes. Unlike the 80-2.8 ED, the MF system is not on a clutch so you need to change both the camera and lens to AF or MF... this eliminates any prefocusing opportunities. I suspect that if you manually prefocused the combo you'd be fine, but AF alone is pretty slow... Fortunately for me I guess, AF is not a priority... however, electrical communication with the 5 spot meters is a priority. regards, bruce -- B&T Leventhal Owl's Eye Nature Photos www.owlseyenaturephotos.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason_elsworth3 Posted February 7, 2002 Share Posted February 7, 2002 I carried out a comparitive test of the Tamron SPAF 1.4 (identical to the Kenko Pro)and a TC14B, using a 500 f4/p Nikkor. I found no real difference between the two and as the Tamron allows matrix metering to be maintained on my F100 with the 500 f4/P it was the obvious choice. If you want to read my full review go to http://www.jasonelsworth.co.nz/review.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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