400mm prime + 1.4 tc some success at last

[Roy C]

Spured on by Keiths great shots I decided to give it a good go today with the 400mm f5.6 and Canon 1.4 tc. Good light and I bump up the ISO to see if I could handhold this combo (non IS lens remember). All the shots were handheld and I am fairly pleased with the results.
Thank you Keith for the inspiration.

[Saphire]

Excellent shots Roy I bet you are dead chuffed.

[robski]

Some good results Roy, Was that using the Canon x1.4 ? I am giving this lens some serious thought to extend my range.

[mike from ebbw]

Nice shots Roy.I tried handholding the kenko 1.4x with my sigma 135-400 but unless there is bright sunshine it is a non starter.You seem to have pulled it off though.

[Roy C]

Excellent shots Roy I bet you are dead chuffed.
Thanks Christine. I had the 1.4 tc before I bought the 400mm prime but never really used it a lot - when I did it was probably poor light so I gave up on it. I think it might be glued on for the summer at least.

[Roy C]

Some good results Roy, Was that using the Canon x1.4 ? I am giving this lens some serious thought to extend my range.
Yes it was the Canon 1.4 Rob.

[GYRob]

there very good to my eye and the first one is full of detail i think your on a winner.
what camera/iso did you use ?
Rob

[Roy C]

there very good to my eye and the first one is full of detail i think your on a winner.
what camera/iso did you use ?
Rob
30D all at ISO 800 Rob. This is the first time I have used the tc with the 30D, my previous efforts being with my 350D. I am now wondering if the Camera has made the difference although generally I find the IQ much the same on these two cameras.

[CyberKat]

I am amazed by your pix Roy, and by pix of many others who use this lens with tcon 1.4 and still get great pix. I am still struggling with mine (I have tamron 1.4). Af is slow, gets confused a lot, and even when I get confirmed focus and take a shot, when I transfer it on the computer I find it a bit unsharp, and yet without tcon I get great pix. I wonder is there a catch and am I doing something wrong ?? :( ... either way your pix are encouraging.

[Lisa W]

I am amazed by your pix Roy, and by pix of many others who use this lens with tcon 1.4 and still get great pix. I am still struggling with mine (I have tamron 1.4). Af is slow, gets confused a lot, and even when I get confirmed focus and take a shot, when I transfer it on the computer I find it a bit unsharp, and yet without tcon I get great pix. I wonder is there a catch and am I doing something wrong ?? :( ... either way your pix are encouraging.

CyberKat, I am using a Canon 20D. With my 100-400 IS Lens I can use the Tamron 1.4 (with taped pins) and it works fairly well. I can't get the Tamron to work with my Canon 400mm IS prime. I have just ordered a Kenko 1.4, if it works with the 400mm, will probably order a second. The Tamron is "glued to the 100-400 now.

[CyberKat]

I read somewhere that pins don't have to be taped with tamron 1.4 (non pro version) cause the AF does work either way (although it hunts a bit), but it is the (un)sharpness of the pix that confuses me :( I will try taping the pins *shrug* (btw, I use 350d and 400mm 5.6 prime)

[Roy C]

I read somewhere that pins don't have to be taped with tamron 1.4 (non pro version) cause the AF does work either way (although it hunts a bit), but it is the (un)sharpness of the pix that confuses me :( I will try taping the pins *shrug* (btw, I use 350d and 400mm 5.6 prime)
Whether you use a cheap tamron tc or a tc that has to have the pins taped it should not make any difference to the AF or sharpness. The cheap Tamron/Kenko tc's are missing the pins that tell the Camera that a tc is present by taping these pins on the eleven pin converters you are doing the same thing by fooling the Camera into not knowing there is a converter present. By and large you are better off with a decent quality converter.

There are a few tips that I have found useful for focusing.

1) Manually focus near enough and then let the AF finish it

OR

2) When/if the hunting starts, release the shutter button and depress again, it will very often lock on to the focus right away.

To get sharp shots hand held on a Non IS lens you need good light and a fast shutter speed. Dont be afraid to bump up the ISO to 800 even in good light - aim for a speed of 1/1000 or over.

AF will also be more difficult if the subect has not got much contrast.

Getting sharp shots on a lens with IS should be fairly easy down to around 1/320

[gmax]

Good shots Roy!
After having used this combo during the winter in rather average poor light, I'm once again surprised by the results with good light ... I see all your shots were taken handheld, well done! I much prefer using a tripod/beanbag/solid support whenever possible and I can see IQ increasing :)
Keep shooting
Cheers,
Max

[CyberKat]

Roy, you are right about the shutter speed. I know it has to be minimum 1/1000, and after you mentioned it, I checked my pix that didn't came out so well - the shutter was 1/500... I didn't even pay attention to this before... it was a sunny day so it totally slipped my mind to check on shutter speed after I fired few shots... I really should have increased the iso *slaps forehead*

[David Smith]

Very impressed with those results.
I am thinking of this camera-perhaps with the 100-400 zoom. Can you tell me:-
For the Chaffinch, how far away where you and did you have to crop ? (I'm asking this to compare with my shots)
I note the 30D doesn't have spot metering-do you miss this ?
In the light of the other comments do I understand that a) any 1.4 TC will work with a prime lense but b) they will work on a zoom if the pins are taped ?

[Saphire]

David the 30D does have spot metering and you will have to tape the pins on the TC, with both prime and zooms to get AF to work.
I have the 400mm f5.6 and my husband has the 100-400 so I know that the pins need to be taped for both.

[David Smith]

Christine
Thank you for that. Would you say either of these lenses holds an advantage ?
Do you both use 30D ? would you recommend any particualr camera in that price range ?
If you were choosing a lense now (with hinesight) what would it be ?

[Saphire]

David both lenses are brilliant, the 100-400mm is a good all round walkabout lens . As a zoom lens I don't think it can be beaten for build quality and picture taking results. The 400 f5.6 is in my opinion the sharpest 400 mm on the market, with a 1.4 TC well the photos speak for themselves and its at a price where you don't have to take a mortgage out.

I have the 30D with the 400mm F5.6 and a Sigma 80-400mm. I take mostly bird photos and close-ups I just add extension tubes to get closer with both 400mm and get great results.
My husband has my old 350d with the 100-400mm because he takes general type photos not just birds.

You have put me on the spot with the last question as I don't think I can answer it with having both lenses to use. I did go on a meet with some members of WPF to Trentham gardens and could not make my mind up whether to take the sigma 80-400 or my 400mm prime, I decided to take the prime and the 18-55. Big mistake, I was stuck with the 400mm unless I changed lens.

With hindsight I don't know what I would choose I would have to compare lenses very carefully and make a decision on which type of photos I would take the most.

Hope this helps.

[Roy C]

Very impressed with those results.
I am thinking of this camera-perhaps with the 100-400 zoom. Can you tell me:-
For the Chaffinch, how far away where you and did you have to crop ? (I'm asking this to compare with my shots)
I note the 30D doesn't have spot metering-do you miss this ?
In the light of the other comments do I understand that a) any 1.4 TC will work with a prime lense but b) they will work on a zoom if the pins are taped ?
David, The chaffinch shot was a 1500 x 1000 pixels crop so fairly heavily cropped. Not sure how far away I was but I would guess about 10 metres. I took the attached shot today with the same combo and reckon I was about 5 metres away so it is not cropped so heavily.

As Christine as already pointed out, the 30D has spot metering and taping the pins has nothing to do with being a prime or zoom - see my post #12 for an explanation.

[Cashie]

Great shots Roy, now I think i'll have a go at it myself, so can you tell me which pins to tape? please. I have the 1.4X Canon extender.

Cheers Paul B (:

[David Smith]

Thanks again Christine.
To help me-can you say if, on a 'like for like shot' you could see a difference in quality between the Sigma zoom & the Canon prime ?

[Roy C]

Great shots Roy, now I think i'll have a go at it myself, so can you tell me which pins to tape? please. I have the 1.4X Canon extender.

Cheers Paul B (:
It is on the side of the converter where the lens fits. If you hold it so the 11 pins are on the top - it is the three pins to the left (not the three pins which are isolated from the other 8). This is a link to a good pic http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=29503

[Saphire]

David, the Sigma is not a patch on the Canon prime, there is no contest.

[mike from ebbw]

Very impressed with those results.
I am thinking of this camera-perhaps with the 100-400 zoom. Can you tell me:-
For the Chaffinch, how far away where you and did you have to crop ? (I'm asking this to compare with my shots)
I note the 30D doesn't have spot metering-do you miss this ?
In the light of the other comments do I understand that a) any 1.4 TC will work with a prime lense but b) they will work on a zoom if the pins are taped ?

I dont want to put a spanner in the works on someone elses thread but when I bought my kenko pro 1.4x I put it straight between my 300d and sigma 135-400mm zoom.I didnt bother with taping it and all my lens functions,including autofocus,work fine.It does hunt a bit in low light but that is the case with all of them.

[Cashie]

It is on the side of the converter where the lens fits. If you hold it so the 11 pins are on the top - it is the three pins to the left (not the three pins which are isolated from the other 8). This is a link to a good pic http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=29503

Thanks Roy, I will have a go now, as I'm going to cornwall for the weekend, so I'll be giving the 1.4 a try.

Cheers

Paul B (: