400mm f/5.6L + 1.4 TC on 650D Crop Body? (1 Viewer)

I know the Kenko TCs have been discussed exhaustively here, but I can't seem to find exactly the answer I'm looking for. I'd like to hear from anyone using the DGX 1.4 with the 400 5.6L on a recent model crop body. I would be shooting from a tripod, don't mind manual focus, and am mostly concerned with image quality. Should I buy one, or am I as good or better off with just cropping at greater than 100% in post processing? I want that extra length, will work around the focus and light loss issues, but just don't want to spend the money if, when all else is worked out, the net result will be noticeably poorer IQ.

Thanks for any and all help!

Bill

Bill

I have that exact combination. Despite what some say it will only autofocus reliably in live view, this may not matter if your prepared to focus manually. I have extensively pixel peeped images taken with the combination and am not convinced that there is any difference between the 400 cropped or the 400 + 1.4 dgx in IQ.

I also have a 7d and I think that micro adjustment of the 400 1.4 dgx combo might change this, unfortunately the Kenko dgx does not report fully to the camera and therefore a separate MA value is not storable in the camera. For this reason I am thinking of buying the Canon 1.4 Mkiii.

I do use the 1.4 dgx with the 70-200 f4 and that definitely produces better results than just cropping the bare lens and of course will autofocus.

Hope this helps

Steve

Hi Steve,

Thanks—that definitely helps and it confirms my doubts. So are you thinking that Canon's MkIII 1.4 TC would be the better purchase for my lens/body combination? I would rather spend 2x as much on the Canon TC if I knew that I wasn't "spending money only to lose image quality".

Bill

A timely thread, as I was thinking about the same purchase for use in exactly the same way as the OP, although my 7D is matched with a 100-400L.

Be interested to hear opinions.

Richard

Bill

If your going to stick with the 650d then the Kenko gets just as good reviews optically as the Canon and micro adjustment is not possible with the 650d. If you are going to use third party lenses then your probably are better with the Kenko.

I started my journey in bird photography with the 650d but I have just upgraded to the 7d for the much better autofocus and I love the camera. If you go down the same road I found that all my lenses needed some micro adjustment and my reading suggests this is even more likely with an extender Because the Kenko does not report as an extender it is not possible to store the adjustment in the camera. The Canon extenders are recognised by the camera and so an MA for the lens and a separate MA for the Lens plus extender are storable.

You can of course just remember the values and adjust them in the menu on the fly. I'm sure I would constantly have it set incorrectly which is why I'm thinking of buying the Canon 1.4.

I had another look at my test shots this afternoon and the IQ is very slightly better with the Kenko than the crop of the bare lens with the 400 f5.6 so I doubt you see a loss of quality just not a massive improvement. You do of course lose a stop of aperture which here in the UK can be significant on duller days.

Hope this helps

Steve

Whatever tc you use you are bound to lose IQ from the bare lens. I have had both Canon mkII and Kenko pro (both used with a 400/5.6) and there is not much difference between them IMO. You can improve things by stopping down one but that would mean shooting effectively at f11. I doubt you will find much difference between the Kenko, Canon 1.4x mkII or the Canon 1.4x MkIII.
Having said that using a tc will always yield more detail than cropping with the bare lens.
Attached is a shot taken with the 400/5.6 and Canon 1.4x mkII tc to give you an idea of IQ with the combo - taken with live view AF on the 7D and stopped down to f9.

Roy - IQ looks very nice on this shot.

Steve - You've got me thinking about camera bodies now. I just learned that I'm getting a bonus at work that would cover a new body. Completely unexpected news. I could be the responsible adult and use it for something practical, or...

I love my 650D. I'm not keen on giving up the articulating touch screen. No matter what I do, I will keep the 650D as a second camera. There's a lot of instances where I'd like to have a 2nd doing video while I am shooting stills, or setup for time-lapses and long exposures while I'm shooting other things.

I really like the idea of a new 6D. So. I have a lot to think about and maybe the TC can/should wait for later.

Bill

Fantastic. I am almost certainly going to get a 6d for my other main interest shooting music gigs, which require low light performance. This is not a great strength of the 7d.

It all great fun!

Best Wishes

Steve

I am sure you will like the 6D Bill. After shooting the 7D for over three years (and loving it) I have just gone full frame with the 5D3, I cannot see my self using the 7D much now but will keep it for a while. I thought long and hard between the 6D and 5D3 and in the end decided that apart from landscapes, still-life etc the 5D3 would also serve as a wildlife/action lens with its superior AF. The 5D3 will also AF at f8 which helps.

I use exactly the same combo as you do and the TC stays in the bag 98% of the time due to the effect on image quality. IMHO you're better off cropping as the 400mm resolves images really well.

I don't see any difference in IQ between the Kenko Pro DGX 1.4 and the Canon 1.4 Mk3
When used with a 400mm f5.6 and a 5D3. The Canon does autofocus faster, but that won't happen on your Rebel.
I did use the Kenko a little with a 500D and the 400mm. The combo would autofocus in good light, but it really wasn't that reliable so I didn't use it very much.