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1D Mk111 with 100-400 plus TC-will it AF? (1 Viewer)

David Smith

Warrington Lancs
I am 99% certain that it will but can't find the old threads.
Now I've said that I'm sure someone will point dozens of them out:egghead:

Assuming it does will it work with 1.7 as good as with 1.4 without taping the pins etc. ??
Thanks
 
In theory this will work fine but I do know users with this set up who find that the AF is very slow with the 1.4x...
 
I use the MkIIN and the EF 400mm prime with 1.4x TC. It does autofocus but only on the centre AF point. And it is noticeabley slower than the AF without the TC. But still usable.
 
AF with a Canon 1.4 TC and a 100-400 on a 1D III is centre point only and quite slow, but accurate and perfectly usable. It is noticably faster than using a 2X Canon converter on a 500/4. I tend to avoid the combination where I can, but it does work OK. Bit of a waste of a 1D III though. You'd probably do better to use the 100-400 without a TC on a 1.6 body like a 50D or a 400D - that would give you about the same reach and significantly faster AF (though not as accurate).
 
Some interesting comments here guys. I frequently use my 400/5.6 with a taped tc on a 40D and while I am perfectly happy with the IQ AF can be very slow at times. I always use this combo on a tripod and occasionally have to resort to manual focussing which is no big deal to me but I do miss shots of course. A particular frustration with this combo is BIF which I find very difficult.
I too have looked at the mkIII for the centre point f8 AF - has anyone tried the 400/5.6 with a 1.4tc on the mkIII ? Just how much slower is the AF and could it be used for BIF.
A draw back for me would be the 1.6 to 1.3 drop in crop factor, e.g. the field of view with 560mm on a 1.3 crop is not that much greater than the bare 400 on a 1.6 crop (725mm v 640mm).
I had just about concluded that the mkIII would be somewhat wasted with a 400/5.6 and some of the comment seems to bare this out.
 
Some interesting comments here guys. I frequently use my 400/5.6 with a taped tc on a 40D and while I am perfectly happy with the IQ AF can be very slow at times. I always use this combo on a tripod and occasionally have to resort to manual focussing which is no big deal to me but I do miss shots of course. A particular frustration with this combo is BIF which I find very difficult.
I too have looked at the mkIII for the centre point f8 AF - has anyone tried the 400/5.6 with a 1.4tc on the mkIII ? Just how much slower is the AF and could it be used for BIF.
A draw back for me would be the 1.6 to 1.3 drop in crop factor, e.g. the field of view with 560mm on a 1.3 crop is not that much greater than the bare 400 on a 1.6 crop (725mm v 640mm).
I had just about concluded that the mkIII would be somewhat wasted with a 400/5.6 and some of the comment seems to bare this out.

I have tried the 1.4 on my 1D mkIII with 400 F5.6 lens and the autofocus seems to work fine, although It is a little bit slower, It's still fast enough for BIF shots, even on a grey day.
Hope this helps.
 
I have tried the 1.4 on my 1D mkIII with 400 F5.6 lens and the autofocus seems to work fine, although It is a little bit slower, It's still fast enough for BIF shots, even on a grey day.
Hope this helps.
That's good to Know Ray, thanks.
 
Yesterday I tried the MK111 with 100-400 + 1.4TC. The afternoon was very gloomy to say the least. Good results- although it can only focus with the centre point (which does me fine for 99%).
I agree with Tannin that the 40D without TC will give virtually the same length as 1D with TC.
My goal is to get a 500 F4 to go with it.......anyone got one to sell for £500??;)
 
Yesterday I tried the MK111 with 100-400 + 1.4TC. The afternoon was very gloomy to say the least. Good results- although it can only focus with the centre point (which does me fine for 99%).
I agree with Tannin that the 40D without TC will give virtually the same length as 1D with TC.
My goal is to get a 500 F4 to go with it.......anyone got one to sell for £500??;)

Make that £4500 not £500 and mine could be heading your way ;)
 
I'm using the MkIIN and 400m f/5.6 having come from a 20D and I have to say I think it is a great combination. The move from a 1.6 to a 1.3x crop factor is noticeable but not perhaps as much as you might expect. With the bare 400mm the AF is faster and considerably more accurate than the 20D, and of course with all 45 AF points it is great for BIF (see my blog for some test shots. With the 1.4x AF is slower and it does get confused a bit by clutter. Overall however I'd say that it slightly better with the Canon 1.4x than the 20D was with the Tamron 1.4x and the IQ seems a bit better too. I have used it for BIF and the greater burst speed actually doesn't help me becase I find it harder to track the bird on one point than I did with the 20D. Basically it's not really playing to the 1D's strengths to use just the centre AF point for BIF.

However when you do aim accurately generally I've found the 1D to nail the focus much more easily than the 20D did. I'm not dissapointed.
 
Overall however I'd say that it slightly better with the Canon 1.4x than the 20D was with the Tamron 1.4x and the IQ seems a bit better too.
Ian,I am very surprised that it is only 'slightly' better - with the centre focus point AF'ing up to f8 I would have that that it would have been much better |:S|
 
Ian,I am very surprised that it is only 'slightly' better - with the centre focus point AF'ing up to f8 I would have that that it would have been much better |:S|
Roy. It may just be an impression. I was expecting a significant improvement myself - but it was not as significant as I was expecting. I haven't done any real side by side testing. What has surprised me is the increased accuracy.
 
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