D7100 - What tele-option gives you the better picture quality?

[philip_carlo_jorgensen]

<p>I have a Nikon D7100 and a 70-200 2.8 G VRII lens and an AF-S teleconverter TC-14E II.<br>

When I would like to have some more reach than the 200 mm, I cannot quite figure out, in which way I get the best picture quality as to sharpness, chromatic aberration, colour rendering etc.<br>

Should I prefer just mounting the 70-200 mm and set the camera in 1.3 crop mode and in this way reduce the sensor from 24.1 Megapixels to 15.4 Megapixels, if that matters at all quality-wise?<br>

Or should I rather mount the 70-200 mm together with my teleconverter TC-14E II, which picture quality degradation in itself should be negligible, I have read somewhere?<br>

With this latter setup, I of course also shall have the possibility to further my reach even more by also applying the 1.3 crop mode. But that is another matter, I guess, because THEN picture degradation will be clearly visible?<br>

Let me hear what you would prefer. Many thanks in advance.<br>

Best regards<br>

Philip</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Since you already have all of those components, why don't you experiment with those different options and see what works best for you?</p>

<p>My personal preference is to avoid the 1.3x crop mode on the D7100. It only has two usage:</p>

<ol>

<li>You can gain 1 fps, from 6 to 7, using the 1.3x crop mode.</li>

<li>You can get smaller image files. It can be useful if you are short on memory card space, but since cards are so cheap in these days, it is easy to prevent yourself from getting into this situation.</li>

</ol>

<p>IMO, you are much better off using the entire DX sensor on the D7100 and if you need to crop, crop in post processing because it can come from the edge of the DX frame. My philosophy is that you are much better off capturing as much information as you camera allows and, if necessary, throw pixels out afterwards, rather than throw them away at the time of capture.</p>

<p>The 1.3x frame on the D7100 is also confusing. I find it easy to miss and one can mistakenly compose with the entire DX frame rather than just the cropped area in use.</p>

<p>Since the 70-200mm/f2.8 AF-S VR II is such a good lens, it works well enough with the TC-14E. However, it is best to stop the lens down to f5.6. I.e. its max f2.8 becomes f4 with the TC. You stop further down by a stop to f5.6.</p>

[rjmelone]

<p>Philip, you have a great camera and lens combo. Not sure what you need the extra reach for, but no matter. In terms of IQ, I found no benefit of using the 1.3 crop mode when compared to cropping in post. I think your best bet is using the 1.4 (without the 1.3 crop mode) and then cropping in post. Or course it doesn’t cost anything to try both so why not see for yourself. Best regards, Rob</p>

[Michael R Freeman]

<p><em>"Let me hear what you would prefer."</em></p>

<p>Does it really matter? Seriously. Not trying to be a smart-ass, but as Shun noted since you already own all three pieces of equipment, run some carefully controlled tests and come to the only conclusion that really matters in the end. What *you* think.</p>

<p>So take a few shots with the master lens only, crop them in post by 1.4x, and compare those edited shots to photos of the same subject taken under the same lighting conditions with the lens and TC-14E. That will tell you what you need to know.</p>

<p>I would forget about shooting in 1.3X crop mode for the purpose of your tests, as that doesn't accomplish anything that you can't duplicate *exactly* by cropping in post. The 1.3X crop mode doesn't really change anything on the pixel level. It just discards the unneeded data from the edges of the frame.</p>

[Kent Shafer]

FWIW I did that comparison myself not

long ago with a D800E and found that,

at f/5.6 and about 10 feet from the

subject, the teleconverter combo was

slightly better than the unconverted

lens plus cropping. The difference was

so small, though, that I wouldn't

recommend buying the TC just to use

it on the 70-200. But as others have

said, it's best to do your own tests since

you already have the equipment.

[philip_carlo_jorgensen]

<p>Thank you very much Shun, Robert, Michael and Kent!<br>

I find all your answers extremely valuable and interesting. They are (for me) the very proof that I really was wise asking "Let me hear what you would prefer." I have of course already been experimenting with the different combinations and possibilities, but I was still in doubt, that's all.<br>

And I remain humble enough to listen to great advice and experience from others far more adept, also in the technical field, than I am.<br>

And yes, me too, I find the crop mode a bit hard to aim with in the viewfinder. And yes, stopping down to f/5.6 sounds like a very good idea. And yes, it makes a lot of sense using the entire sensor and afterwards in post, crop if I need it. And you agree that the picture degradation with the small teleconverter is very little.<br>

So again: Many thanks, I feel it has been a great help to get clarified my uncertainties about the mentioned details!<br>

Best regards<br>

Philip</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>I'll point out one more time that if you mount the TC-14E onto the 70-200mm/f2.8 AF-S VR II, as long as you can stop further down to f5.6, I think most people would be very happy with that combination. If you have to use that combo wide open at 280mm, f4, you should verify that you are indeed happy with it.</p>

<p>Most zoom can work well with the TC-14E if you stop down. The problem is that if you start with f4, the TC robs you a stop and then you need to further stop down, you'll end up with a very slow but long lens. That is not a good combination. Here you start with f2.8, thus you have some room to play around.</p>

[nico_morris]

<p>I'm surprised you don't mention image noise as a concern. It is the number one factor that makes me crop in the field where possible. If I have to crop 40% off the picture at high ISO afterwards, I notice the noise. You would have to have quite a bad teleconverter to do worse than a crop, so the only question is whether you have enough light.</p>

[t._zenjitsuman]

<p>You can get 545mm effective FL if you mount your 1.4 tele on a DX camera, mount the 200mm zoom to that and invoke the 1.3x crop. That is 200mm x 1.4x 1.5x 1.3x = 545mm. You are going<br>

to lose one F stop, but the D7100 auto focus will work up to F8 so you can still use an ND filter<br>

or something else like that. Factoring in the TC , the DX crop factor and the additional 1.3x crop<br>

your wide end 70mm is now 190mm. So you have a 190mm- 545mm zoom attached to a 16mp<br>

camera.</p>

[philip_carlo_jorgensen]

<p>I have shot these two photos by using the 70-200 mm at 200 mm plus the TC-14EII teleconverter plus the D7100 camera's 1.3 crop mode. In the EXIF details it says that this results in 560 mm. By the way, the bird has not in post received any further sharpening or color adjusting, just a little crop and straightening.<br>

The bird:<br>

http://www.photo.net/photo/17471909<br>

The giraffe:<br>

http://www.photo.net/photo/17471910</p>

<div></div>

[jeff_loughlin1]

<p>FWIW, I did an experiment a while back with a 2x teleconverter vs cropping in post. In my test shots, when I cropped the non-TC image so the two images had the same field of view, the cropped image was sharper and had better contrast. This was on a D700 with the 70-200 2.8 VR (on a tripod, VR off) and a Kenko 2x teleconverter. Your camera has a lot more pixels than my D700, so your results from cropping would be better than mine. I've never used the Nikon TC, so I don't know if they're better or worse than my Kenko (probably better). I'd guess the results with your camera and a 1.4x TC would be similar, but you'd have to do the test yourself to find out.</p>

<p>Since I did this test, my 2x teleconverter has been sitting unused in my bag.</p>

[philip_carlo_jorgensen]

<p>Hi Jeff, thanks for your comments. I read somewhere that the new Nikon TC 14EII would only degrade the picture quality very very slightly. But when you go further up, to 1.7 or 2.0 you more and more experience a negative influence. And somehow, being the regular zoo-shooter I must confess I have become, I always fear not having enough reach and then (better to be safe than sorry) nearly always start out with the TC mounted on my 70-200 f/2.8. It is a psychological thing, I guess, because quite often I find myself in situations, where I have too much reach and have trouble going back enough.<br>

It is also true that I can crop a lot with the MP-rich sensor I got with the D7100. But again, sometimes I just get greedy and want ALL the possibilities available for zooming in more - even the in camera 1.3 crop, which so many warn against using. Oh well, I better start doing what the wise tell me: Make up my mind in advance. Select a very limited number of objects/animals, I should be concentrating on at each visit. And equip myself accordingly.<br>

Thank you so much everybody, it has been very informative and inspirational to read your inputs!<br>

Best regards<br>

Philip</p>