TC-20E III with 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED

[nabarun_ghosh]

<p>Firstly, I want to let know that my sole purpose is wildlife.<br>

I want to know if it is possible to use a teleconverter (say TC-20E III) with the 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED?<br>

What will be the difference in output if I use this combination instead of the 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED?<br>

My main problem with the 80-400 is that it is not AF-S, which means slower focusing not suited for wildlife.<br>

Kindly help.</p>

<p>Thanks and regards,<br>

Nabarun Ghosh</p>

[Jerry_]

<p>Wildlife can be several things: a sitting pelican, a flying hawk, butterfly's, moose, or running foxes.</p>

<p>You could be more specific. The older AF 80-400mm non-AF-S VR lens can focus on and keep up with a flying jet fighter. I'm unsure of what type of wildlife can go almost that fast across the sky.</p>

<p>http://www.photo.net/photo/11948317</p>

<p>is one example taken with the 80-400mm lens and a Nikon D300 body.</p>

<p>The teleconverter absorbs some light, and adding glass between a lens and the camera may give you less of a sharp image (at times...) -- so you would be the one to decide on how well the combination would work.</p>

<p> </p>

[Ed_Ingold]

<p>A fighter jet is half a mile away and is only "fast" when going sideways to you. You need to get within 30 feet of a large bird to fill the finder with a 400mm lens.</p>

<p>A TC20EII gives acceptible results with a 70-200 VR, but nothing compared to a long prime. It might be comparable to an 80-400, has the same effective aperture (f/5.6) but retains most of its AFS focusing speed.</p>

<p>A converter is a lot cheaper and lighter than a 400/2.8. The best telephoto you can get is a gilly suit, a camouflaged blind and a LOT of patience.</p>

[elliot1]

<p>I have the 70-200mm VR I and the TC20EII, and the 80-400mm VR and its quality is as Edward describes, acceptable. If you are making prints up to 8 x 10 without cropping, the results are fine. The TC20EIII may give you slightly better results but I don't think a TC option is your best choice. The 80-400mm is very sharp and while AF speed is not as fast as most AF-S lenses, is still excellent in both speed and accuracy on my D3. Nabarun, what body will you be shooting with? </p>

<p>And the 80-400mm is very well suited to wildlife and in my opinion your best choice for a low cost option. At about 10% of the price of Nikon's newest 600mm lens and half the price of the 70-200mm/TC option, it is a bargain for what you get! </p>

<p>You can view a superb selection of wildlife photos from a fellow P.NET member shot with the 80-400mm here:</p>

<p><a href="../photodb/folder?folder_id=840110">http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=840110</a></p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Nikon has two versions of the 70-200mm/f2.8 AF-S VR zoom. I have had version 1 since 2005 and early this year, I tested a sample of version 2 on loan from Nikon. The newer version 2 works much better with teleconverters.</p>

<p>My tests were done with the TC-14E, TC-17E II and TC-20E. I have never even seen the TC-20E III; I assume the III version is better than previous versions.</p>

[rayyeager]

<p>I use the 1.4 and 1.7 TC on my 70-200. Pretty good results. The 2x TC is pushing it.</p>

[jon_savage]

<p>If it's of any help here are probably my sharpest "wildlife" shots I could find with my D90, 70-200/2.8 VR1 and the TC-20Eiii. 100% crops in corner, no extra sharpening. I don't know how they compare to other 400mm alternatives though as this is my only telephoto set up.<br /><br />Most of my photos of birds are a bit soft. Probably focus (DOF on a small bird at ~7m is only 6cm) and poor technique/low shutter speed. Away from f5.6 and/or 400mm and it's much better.<br /><br />I recently tried the new VR2 version of the lens with my TC and thought that a bit sharper but more noticable was the improved colours and contrast it had. It was significant enough I thought I'd go back and try again more carefully as it is tempting me to discuss a lens udgrade with Santa...</p><div></div>

[jon_savage]

<p>Another one...</p><div></div>

[jon_savage]

<p>And here is an example of my typical sharpness at f5.6</p><div></div>

[nabarun_ghosh]

<p>> Jerry - My wildlife would include mainly birds.<br>

> Elliot - I have a D90.<br>

And thank you to all for the responses.</p>

 

[elliot1]

<p>Nabarun, I am not sure how well a non AF-S lens will work on a D90. Perhaps someone could comment. Your best bet may be the TC option as you get the advantage of having a fantastic, fast lens (70-200mm f2.8) when not using the TC. Again, if you are not making huge prints, you will be satisfied with the results.</p>

[dbcooper]

<p>The TC-20E III will work with any lens the TC-20E II did, meaning either of the 70-200/2.8G VR lenses. It's slightly shorter, slightly lighter, sharper, and less expensive than the TC-20E II. That might explain why it's been difficult to find in stock since it was introduced.</p>