• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

1.7 Teleconverter? (1 Viewer)

A

Adam C

Latest Lifer: Far Eastern Curlew: 11-2-07
Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with the 1.7 Nikon teleconverter?

Is it a fair guess to say the quality is somewhere between the 1.4 and 2x?

I guess I'm hoping its closer to the 1.4 but the reality is its probably closer to the 2x in optical quality.

Any help appreciated.

Adam~
 
I thought this was an excellent teleconverter (and it wouldn't go amiss in Canon's line-up). It's impact on AF speed makes it less than ideal on an f4 lens, but when I used this on my old 300/2.8 VR it was rapid enough.
You'll need to stop down a bit more with the TC-17E than with the TC-14E to get the best out of it.

cheers
Andy
 
Adam C said:
Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with the 1.7 Nikon teleconverter?

Adam~
Click to expand...

I use it quite often with a 70-200mm f2.8 zoom and a 105mm f2.8.

It is a great accessory. There are quite a few bird shots taken with it at my Nikongear gallery Here is one.
 

Attachments

  • DSC_7648_cr_cr.jpg
    DSC_7648_cr_cr.jpg
    198.2 KB · Views: 239
When I bought my 300 F2.8 vr, I also got the TC17. All of the reviews suggested that it would be the best one to get, being much better than the 2x, and almost as good as the 1.4.
I use it frequently, and while there is some loss in image quality (but not much), and a noticeable slowing of the af, the most noticeable thing for me is with the out of focus areas which can look a bit odd. However I have seen this to some degree with other lenses and other converters. Depth of field is also reduced.
I will only use the TC17 where it is absolutely necessary ie when the subject is rather distant, and where the light allows, I prefer to stop the 300mm down to f4 or f5.6 as this does improve the image quality.
 
I bought the 1.7 to go with my 300 f2.8 before I bought the 1.4 because the first thing we all look for is extra reach but personally I find the results are disappointing. AF is much,much slower in poor light and the IQ isn't as good. If I was given the choice of only one I would take the 1.4 because the performance is considerably better with hardly any IQ loss. I have an 500f4 lens but I don't tend to use 1.7 on that very often because it performs even worse than on the faster f2.8.
 
It's an interesting TC in the sense that it behaves differently with different lenses.
Normally, it doesn't "like" zoom lenses and works better with primes. It works better with the 500/4 AFS than with the 200-400 AFS VR (AF speed, sharpness).
A very good combination is the relatively inexpensive 300/4 AFS lens and this TC. It results in a 500mm/6.8 lens which is quite fast and sharp.
My big surprise was when I was playing around with the 80-400 VR (the old, slow lens). I knew that the TC-14E was not outputting a sharp image (after removing a small metal piece from the TC) and the lens has no AF. The Kenko Pro 300 x1.4 TC allows AF, albeit slow. Both give medium quality results with this lens.
However, when just for curiosity I used the TC-17 with the 80-400 on my D700, AF as expected, was not there but VR and metering was there and the images were much sharper than with the 1.4 TCs. I shot hand held, pushed the Iso up to 1000 and focused manually.
This is a very good combo to get a decent focal length with the 80-400 (it becomes 136-680mm, f:9.5 at the long side). Interesting. With the D300 I don't need TCs.
The little metal tab should be removed from the TC (voiding warranty) and care should be taken not to back off the zoom too much as the rear element of the lens mught bump into the TC.
 
Last edited:
I tested out the TC1.7 on my 70-200 VR zoom and was very happy with the outcome,, wide open at 100% viewing I could see some softness but as the f stops increased I had to go to 200% and look hard for the difference,,

I have fine tuned my 70-200 when I first received and it did make a difference,, shooting on a D300,,

have attached one of my lens test charts I use to adjust the most accurate focus,,

the lines to the right of the center bullet would be 20 and on the original they are very sharp,, reduction for posting has reduced the resolution,,

Derry
 

Attachments

  • Test chart.jpg
    Test chart.jpg
    97.9 KB · Views: 122
What Do You Mean Fine Tune . ?????

This Is Now the combination i am using . Picked up the 70-200 Vr yestrerday , but i had the d300 for quite a while .

Do they need fine tuning to get the best results the n ???

many thanks lozninja:smoke:



Derry said:
I tested out the TC1.7 on my 70-200 VR zoom and was very happy with the outcome,, wide open at 100% viewing I could see some softness but as the f stops increased I had to go to 200% and look hard for the difference,,

I have fine tuned my 70-200 when I first received and it did make a difference,, shooting on a D300,,

have attached one of my lens test charts I use to adjust the most accurate focus,,

the lines to the right of the center bullet would be 20 and on the original they are very sharp,, reduction for posting has reduced the resolution,,

Derry
Click to expand...
 
I would recommend that you fine tune all your lens,, such a great tool so why not use it to assure maximum sharpness when ya want it,,

Derry
 
I might be a little late here but my experience with the 1.7 is that it is not as sharp as the 1.4x and really has an issue with focussing anything moving more than amoeba speed. I have mine and it is just added to the box of junk that I once thought was useful. So for my money I would stick to the 1.4 and crop as I think it gives a better option and a better result. But just my opinion and just one person's, am sure others have great results with it.
 
I will also retract what I said yesterday, after testing the 1.7 again last night with the 600mm on Little Owls the results are damn good. I did shoot at a very high aperture to ensure good sharpness and at an ISO of 800 to keep the shutter speed up. Results on twitter and blog later if anyone interested.
 
Ian, I can explain how to fine tune my D300 and imagine the D700 and D3 use the same method,, someone has mentioned the bodies below the D300 do not offer this feature,, I can only talk about my D300,,

go to the wrench menu which is also the setup menu,, scroll down till you see AF Fine tune and either hit the OK button or press the multi selector dial on the right side,, this will bring up a AF fine tune off/on and you want it to be turned on,,

drop down one line to the saved value and hit OK or right click on the multi selector,, this will bring up a scale that will allow you to enter + or - values adjusting the focus of the lens mounted,,

would recommend a good line test chart (I posted one of mine below) and the camera mounted on your best tripod,, fill the frame with the test chart so the distance may be 10 to 15 feet away with that 400mm,,

make a note on a pad of the frame number and the value you entered on the scale,, on the scale enter a +3 shoot a frame, then enter a +5 shoot a frame, then enter a +8 shoot a frame and finally a + 10,, the enter a -3, shoot, -5 shoot, -8 shoot & -10 shoot,, I normally move the f stop up two positions and then repeat the process,, a couple more f stops and repeat,, as you will see the scale can go to 20 for + or - but for most lens the first 10 values normally add improved resolution,, have heard of a few that needed a 20,,

after all shots are done load them on the computer and start comparing them side by side to determine which setting +/- offered the finest resolution,, viewing up to 200%,, that +/- number can then be entered for that lens and the camera will remember it every time the lens is mounted,,

such a great tool to really fine tune every lens,,

if you need a good test chart let me know and I will e-mail you one,,

Derry
 

Attachments

  • Test chart.jpg
    Test chart.jpg
    97.9 KB · Views: 107
Warning! This thread is more than 15 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Similar threads

MrYama
Fuji 70-300mm +1.4 TC vs +Cropping (w/ X-T4)
Replies
2
Views
344
Ignatius
Ignatius
W
Considering a Partial Camera Upgrade - D500 w/ 200-500mm lens
2
Replies
34
Views
4K
BriLee
B
N
Help with ID - Ferruginous Duck / Female Tufted Duck?
Replies
5
Views
360
Chris G6 UXU
Chris G6 UXU
J
Braemar in late April
Replies
4
Views
338
aberdeenshirebirdtours
A
N
Help with ID please - Ferruginous Duck / Female Tufted Duck
Replies
4
Views
505
Joern Lehmhus
Joern Lehmhus

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top