could use some help with this... - teleconverter (Nikon, d30, 100mm)
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Never used a teleconverter before sooo...how do I correctly use this to get the best shots with it?
can anyone offer up a website for info? I have searched and am coming up empty.
I am using a Nikon D300 with a Nikon 80-200 1:2.8 ED AF-S lens.
Never used a teleconverter before sooo...how do I correctly use this to get the best shots with it?
can anyone offer up a website for info? I have searched and am coming up empty.
I am using a Nikon D300 with a Nikon 80-200 1:2.8 ED AF-S lens.
thanks
It's pretty easy! And you've made a good choice with the TC-17EII.
First, what it works on and how to... I works on telephoto lenses, and the 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-S is one that is compatible. See this URL for Nikon's list:
The one trouble with Nikon's TC's is that they make an effort at not allowing them to be mounted on lenses that Nikon does not consider compatible. Kenko on the other hand tries to make them fit anything, and lets you decide which combinations are good or not. Hence, be very careful about trying to mount any lens not on the compatibility list. If it appears to work mechanically, make sure that the back element of the lens will not make contact with the glass in the TC.
The way to use it is simply to put the TC on the camera and the lens then mounts to the TC. The focal length and aperture are both magnified by 1.7x, so your 80-200mm f/2.8 becomes a very useful 136-340mm f/4.8 zoom. The significance to that particular combination is that the 80-200mm is a very sharp lens, so magnifying all the flaws still gives acceptably sharp results (which is not the case with most zoom lenses). Since the aperture is wider than f/5.6 it will AF with any of the Nikon AF cameras.
If you try using it with other lenses, a few things need to be understood. On the consumer models it might not AF well if the resulting aperture is not as wide as f/5.6 and may not work on the pro models if it goes past f/8. Generally speaking only the best zoom lenses do well with TC's, and for shorter focal lengths it is almost always better to just buy a lens rather than use a TC.
TC's really come into their own when used with focal lengths over 100mm. For example, if you put that TC on a 300mm f/4 fixed focal length lens if gives you a 510mm f/5.6 lens that is very good, and is just about the least expensive way to do wildlife wtih a high quality 500mm lens. (Not a cheap combination at $2000, but compare that to paying $8500 for a 500mm f/4 for perspective. Of course, the TC17EII works on a 500mm f/4 too...)
thanks Floyd...much of that I did know as I found that info on the web with some assistance from C.C. but.. reading it from you is reassuring!....
so should I be changing any of the settings on the camera lens ring or leave it locked on 22?? I'm not sure if how to word this....tips on if and when I should change settings for the camera lens to do the choosing or let the camera setting control.
thanks Floyd...much of that I did know as I found that info on the web with some assistance from C.C. but.. reading it from you is reassuring!....
so should I be changing any of the settings on the camera lens ring or leave it locked on 22?? I'm not sure if how to word this....tips on if and when I should change settings for the camera lens to do the choosing or let the camera setting control.
Use it virtually exactly the same as you do the 80-200mm without the TC.
You'll find that if (a big if) you've had any issues with sharpness at the extreme limits of the zoom range, it will be worse with the TC. So, for example, if you want to print something at 24"x30" and are thinking of shooting it with that combination at 200mm and wide open at f/2.8... you might end up with an image you think is not as sharp as it might be. If you bracket, and set the zoom to 180mm (actual focal length of 306mm) and the aperture to f/4 (actual aperture of f/6.8) and print that one too, you'll probably like it better!
If the above scenario isn't something you are likely to do, and for example you are only going to print at 12"x18", you'll probably never be able to see the difference!
Use it virtually exactly the same as you do the 80-200mm without the TC.
You'll find that if (a big if) you've had any issues with sharpness at the extreme limits of the zoom range, it will be worse with the TC. So, for example, if you want to print something at 24"x30" and are thinking of shooting it with that combination at 200mm and wide open at f/2.8... you might end up with an image you think is not as sharp as it might be. If you bracket, and set the zoom to 180mm (actual focal length of 306mm) and the aperture to f/4 (actual aperture of f/6.8) and print that one too, you'll probably like it better!
If the above scenario isn't something you are likely to do, and for example you are only going to print at 12"x18", you'll probably never be able to see the difference!
bracket and zoom to 180mmm...okay off to do some more reading as I have not done this....inexperienced here....thanks for the info!
no I have not had any issues with sharpness at the extreme zoom range...actually I have gotten spoiled and really dislike any other lens now! I was so disappointed in my bird photo's this summer with a different lens in Alaska compared to last year. that is why I bought the teleconverter...despite the weight it is so worth shooting with this lens for wildlife!... will see what I get for sharpness now...thanks Floyd
well it is not common sense to some people new to photography...I did know that long before and that is why I went with the lens and tele. that I did...to reduce the amount of loss as much as possible. A less quality lens and tele will get much worse images than this selection of equipment.
I am asking for tips on the use of the teleconverter to assist in getting the best of the combination.
please stay on topic, it is well understood the issues of sharper image quality..now moving on if anyone has tips of use of the teleconverter to get the best shots (as this is the original question) with this combination please add to the conversation. tips such as changing the f stop...to allow more light, taking a flatter light image or such. thanks
For what it is worth - anytime you use any tele convertor - your sharpness suffers immensely!
That is a simple common sense issue.
David, have you actually ever used a decent teleconverter? Do you even own a camera that could use one, much less currently own or use a teleconverter? Do you know anything about when they are useful and when they are not?
Or is this just more BS like the bit on "Birds In Flight". You can't show us any, but claimed a month ago to have thousands of BIF shots where you taught "students" to use shutter speeds of 1/250th using a Mamiya RB67. (None of which is in fact true.)
As for how sharpness suffers, here's an interesting image. This was shot with a Nikon D3S camera using a 70-200mm f/2.8G VRII lens set to about 180mm with a aperture of about f/3.2. That worked out to a total focal length of 500mm at f/9 because there is not just one, but two teleconverters stacked. This used a Kenko 300 PRO 1.4X DGX with a Nikon TC20EIII in front of the 70-200mm zoom.
Maybe David, you can explain how sharpness suffers immensely...
Teleconverters are also very useful for macro work. And none of this is anything new. It was described very well by John Shaw years ago in his book "Closeups in Nature". The following images were taken last week with a Lester A. Dine branded 105mm f/2.8 macro lens made about 30 years ago by Kino Precision Optical, mated with a Panagor 2x Focusing Macro Teleconverter (also made about 30 years ago by Kino Precision Optical).
This first one is a Butter Cup, about the size of a quarter. Maybe David can demonstrate where the sharpness has suffered immensely:
I don't know the names of the following flowers. They are small, and smaller. The next two shots show a flower that is just a little smaller than a dime maybe.
This last one is a whole cluster that is about the size of a dime.
Incidentally, all of those shots were done hand held with a shutter speed of 1/320. The aperture is not recorded with old lenses of course, but if I remember right they were shot at f/11 for the Butter Cup and f/16 for the others.
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that is why I bought the teleconverter...despite the weight it is so worth shooting with this lens for wildlife!... will see what I get for sharpness now...thanks Floyd
