400/5.6 and 2x tc shots

[Roy C]

Messing around in the garden this week with the 400/5.6 and an 15 year old Teleplus MC7 2x tc. Used a good tripod and head and manual focussing of course but the results are quite usable IMO.
Results would probably be better with a better converter (Canon or Kenko pro).
EDIT: Forgot to mention that these were with the lens wide open and shot at ISO 800.

[Claymore]

Messing around in the garden this week with the 400/5.6 and an 15 year old Teleplus MC7 2x tc. Used a good tripod and head and manual focussing of course but the results are quite usable IMO.
Results would probably be better with a better converter (Canon or Kenko pro).

Lovely shots there Roy, wish i could manual focus that well!:t:
Cheers
Brian

[Roy C]

Lovely shots there Roy, wish i could manual focus that well!:t:
Cheers
Brian
Thanks Brian but I posted the shots as a testament as to how good this lens is rather than any skills on my part.

[Fowl Mouth]

Roy, stop making me wish I had saved a few more and bought one! Joking. Really sharp images for a slow prime with a stacked 2x. Thanks for the examples.

[MarkEvan]

Those are excellent quality for a lens with a 2x on...........might persuade me to get a 400 5.6 as a walk around.

[Cactusdave]

I thought that there was a general agreement that the Japanese-made MC7 teleconverters of that period are really rather good. I have a Tamron badged MC7 X2 of the era that works very well with my Canon 40D and 300mm F4 L.

[Roy C]

I thought that there was a general agreement that the Japanese-made MC7 teleconverters of that period are really rather good. I have a Tamron badged MC7 X2 of the era that works very well with my Canon 40D and 300mm F4 L.
I might try stacked 1.4's today (Canon and Kenko Pro) to see if there is much difference.

[Sandpiper]

Roy,

Excellent images, thanks for sharing. Try stacking the converters and see what results are possible. Recently I stacked Canon 2x, Jessops 2x and Sigma 1.4x on my 300 2.8 and 40D using Live View to aid focusing. I was amazed at the quality of the image at the equivalent of 53x magnification. Give it a go!

Mike.

[Nikon Kid]

Nice shots Roy, but you are good anyway. Did you use a remote/shutter cable and Live view. It just shows you as long as you are close enough on
the Bird you are not going to lose to much IQ. And of cause its all about time and position in your own garden you can come up with good images

[Roy C]

Roy,

Excellent images, thanks for sharing. Try stacking the converters and see what results are possible. Recently I stacked Canon 2x, Jessops 2x and Sigma 1.4x on my 300 2.8 and 40D using Live View to aid focusing. I was amazed at the quality of the image at the equivalent of 53x magnification. Give it a go!

Mike.
I have tried a 2x and a 1.4 stacked before with some success Mike. This would effectively be the same f stop as you shooting with two 2x and a 1.4 by my reckoning (f16). If I tried the same as you with my slow 400/5.6 I would be shooting at f32 LOL

[Roy C]

Did you use a remote/shutter cable and Live view.

I did not use live view Terry, I did have a wired remote connected but took most of the shots via the shutter button through habit I guess.
The shots do take a bit more processing in the way of increased Sharpening, Contrast and saturation but you can get there in the end.

[christineredgate]

Roy,very very good.Usually one is dissuaded from using a 2.x due to noise /blur etc,but you have proved to be wrong,excellent shots.good clear detail.

[macshark]

Really nice work.

My personal experience with the 2X MC7 TC and 400mm f/5.6L is that it is possible to capture excellent detail over shorter distances (maybe up to 20m). I was even able to use AF on a 350D using the side (not the center) AF sensors, but it is impossible on the 40D. It still shows that Canon may be able to design an AF system that can support f/11 aperture under certain conditions if they really wanted to.

A good tripod and head, of course, is crucial at 800mm FL. I will try to go through some of my older 400mm + 2x TC shots and add to this thread if I get a chance...

[Roy C]

My personal experience with the 2X MC7 TC and 400mm f/5.6L is that it is possible to capture excellent detail over shorter distances (maybe up to 20m).
I would agree with this, I have tried shooting big birds like Spoonbills from 50m or more and results have been poor mind you that was in the winter when the light was not that good. I guess the greater the shooting distance the more the quality of light/air comes in to it, any heat haze is going to be magnified I would have thought.
I might take the 2x out in the field with me to test at longer distances now that I have got a quality tripod and head.

[GYRob]

very nice set Roy and shows what can be done when the birds close ,i would think anything over 30m will start to lose detail moreso if its a hot day.
Rob.

[Robert L Jarvis]

Actually it is not so much distance but the size of the bird is more important, eg a Green finch at 30 metres!!!!!! is a lot different than say a Heron. Even so 20 metres IMO is a bit far remember in old terms that is 65 feet.