1.4 xTeleconverters/extenders

[bluenose]

<p>I have a Canon 40D camera with 2 lenses, an EF 28- 70mm f/2.8 L USM and an EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM and I now wish to purchase a 1.4x teleconverter/extender. I am rather keen to stay with the Canon option but do find these to be rather expensive. Does anyone have any experience of, or views on, any other manufacturers identical product, such as Tamron, Sigma, Vivitar etc. and how they compare in performance with the Canon. Thank you in advance of any input.</p>

[JosvanEekelen]

<p>Search the archives, there is plenty of information on Canon Extenders vs the others. There are a few things to keep in mind. Not all converters work with all lenses, the Canon 1.4 x won't work with the 28-70 lens, most others will (I'm not sure about the Sigma since that one has a protruding element like the Canon). <a href="http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/reviews/tcs.html">http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/reviews/tcs.html</a> is a good place to start, I'm sure others will comment on the different brands.</p>

[janet_forsythe]

<p>i have a tamron, the pro series. works great. since i don't have a Canon extender i can't compare but i bought it mainly because it worked with more of my lenses. i have one third party lens it will not work with electronically ( a phoenix). it also works with f4 lenses and some do not. ( i have a 70-200 f4 as well) it does however say to use with 90mm or longer lenses<br>

the tamron build is great, metal, looks like a cream canon lens. the image is sharp and doesn't noticeably degrade(but then i'm not a huge fan of pixel peeking). the biggest problem i have with it is I need to use a tripod but for me that would be with any converter( medical issue= slight tremors in my hands).</p>

[philip_wilson]

<p>In my opinion the Canon 1.4x (versionII) is worth the money - it is much better than their 2x and works really well on the 70-200 (I have the F2.8 not the F4 version but it will be fine on the F4). as Jos stated it will not work on the 28-70 or indeed almost all of the wide and standard length lenses. The reason for this is that Canon has always had a protruding element on the front of their 1.4x TC which can actually damage the rear element of many lenses. I cannot speak to independent manufacturer TCs on the EF series of lenses but I can on the preceeding Canon FD series. Like the EF lenses Canon's best FD TC was the 1.4x which only worked on 200mm + lenses. Similar to the current Canon TCs the FD 1.4x was much better than their 2x (They made two different 2x TCs for FD lenses). I made the mistake of buying a Vivitar 1.4 TC to save money as I only intended it for occasional use. It was terrible - I have probably used it 5-10 times and then it has sat in a box for about 25 years. While I am sure that the quality of independent TCs has improved the Canon EOS 1.4x II is probably the best 35mm TC I have used. While you can probably use some independent TCs on your standard zoom I would probably avoid it as the quality is very low - somewhere on this forum there was a post from a photographer (retireed Pro if I recall correctly) that had a link to his website where he had a review of putting a TC on a standard zoom lens - I can't find the link but if you do it is worth a look. I beleive he was located in the Carolinas.</p>

[trevor_martin]

<p>I use the Kenko pro 300 1.4 with my 70-200mm f/4L IS and think it works great. I can't see noticeable loss of sharpness between having it on or off the lens, at least with my 40d. I'm sure that with a full-frame camera there would be some loss in the corners. Just be sure to get the pro version, kenko makes a cheaper inferior teleconvertor as well that you'll want to avoid.</p>

[alan_green4]

<p>canon 1.4 tc II is excellent, especially with the canon 70-200 f4.<br>

would not recommend any 2.0 tc.</p>

[matthias_meixner2]

<p>Here is a comparison of the Kenko to the Canon converter: http://www.traumflieger.de/desktop/telekonverter/konvertertest2_teil2.php while the page is in german, the test-images in "Teil 2" should speak for themselves.</p>

[calin_deac]

<p>I recently bought the same Kenko 300 1.4 Pro DG. I found it terrific. It works beautifully with all my canon and sigma lenses....No lost in sharpness with 24-70 L or 85 1.8 ( which on APS-C becomes a super 190 2.8).<br>

If I let all the autofocus sensors active I even manage to autofocus at 300 with the 70-300 IS (which is not suppose to on 20D, due to f8 ) thus having the equivalent of 670 on FF. In good light using f8 for better sharpness which in fact became f11 , autofocus is still possible at 300. I found this amazing.The canon not even mount on this cheap(but good) lens.<br>

Built is good too.Metal and no loose. I highly recommend.<br>

Canon 1.4 besides being more expensive would limit you to canon telephotos....You gain weather sealing.That's all.</p>

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