Tc-20e Iii (3 Viewers)

[Dave Williams]

£399.00 inc vat at Clifton Cameras, prices now reducing!!

That's good news, someone has broken the £400 price point but having said that they haven't got any yet as seems to be the case everywhere in the UK !
Generally speaking Simply Electronics have by far the cheapest prices for TC's but this one is an exception as yet.l

 

[Neil]

looks very acceptable, mind you the noise management of the D3 may help a tad, do you have a D300 that you could try with it (especially with the 500/4)
Look forward to some more examples

Unfortunately not. I have a D2x which I will try with tomorrow. All the images posted have been "noisewared" . I also use Coloramancer. At least one of the images has been "washed" with a light Noiseware and then Colormancer. They were processed from Raw originals .
Neil.

 

[Sprigo]

I agree with Nirofo in that Nikon say that AF will only work on lenses faster than f/8.0

I have used the older x2 with my Nikon 200-400mm and only really have problems with AF in low light conditions.

 

[Neil]

That's good news, someone has broken the £400 price point but having said that they haven't got any yet as seems to be the case everywhere in the UK !
Generally speaking Simply Electronics have by far the cheapest prices for TC's but this one is an exception as yet.l

I paid HK$3,800 or US$487 in Hong Kong.
Neil.

 

[Duke Leto]

Neil, D2X is okay as long as its not a D3, D3s or D3x, thanks

 

[Neil]

Lousy light but tested the new TC111 2x on my mates 500/4 AFS while I was using the 300/2.8 AFS VR. Required iso down to 3200 in the morning. Achieved AF slowly in these conditions and not reliable on fast action. I missed some good images of the Bluetail early on as it wouldn't find focus until it had settled down in the water. After focusing on the Bluetail I switched to Manual Focus for a series of images otherwise it kept losing focus.
After midday the light improved and the AF locked onto the dove (last image) reasonably quickly.
Neil
ps the second Magpie Robin (iso 3200 ) has be run through Colormancer noise software

Nikon D3 and Nikon 500/4 AFS and Nikon 20E TC111

Hong Kong,
China.
February 2010

 

[Dave Williams]

Thanks Neil, it's much as I would expect. The 2.0TC would be used only on static subjects and wouldn't always be available for use if the light wasn't up to it, however, there are occasions when 1000mm is better than the maximum 850mm I can get to now !
With a D300 the maximum ISO I have found I can use is 800 without a fair amount of noise but the less cropping the better.
What sort of crops did you apply on those shots Neil ?
cheers
Dave

 

[Neil]

Thanks Neil, it's much as I would expect. The 2.0TC would be used only on static subjects and wouldn't always be available for use if the light wasn't up to it, however, there are occasions when 1000mm is better than the maximum 850mm I can get to now !
With a D300 the maximum ISO I have found I can use is 800 without a fair amount of noise but the less cropping the better.
What sort of crops did you apply on those shots Neil ?
cheers
Dave

Dave,
It's iso 800 with the D2x too, but the D3 is iso 1600. The new D3s will be iso 6400.
This image is typical of the subject size around the garden.
Neil

 

[Dave Williams]

Are you saying the images are not cropped at all Neil ?
cheers
Dave

 

[Neil]

Dave,
It's iso 800 with the D2x too, but the D3 is iso 1600. The new D3s will be iso 6400.
This image is typical of the subject size around the garden.
Neil

Dave,
Normally just a little off the sides if it requires a vertical format. If the bird pose is low eg the bluetail bathing I would take a little off the top and bottom as well. The Red-whiskered Bulbul image is full frame. The dove has some off the sides and top.
The distance is from 3 - 5 meters.
Neil

 

[Dave Williams]

Dave,
Normally just a little off the sides if it requires a vertical format. If the bird pose is low eg the bluetail bathing I would take a little off the top and bottom as well. The Red-whiskered Bulbul image is full frame. The dove has some off the sides and top.
The distance is from 3 - 5 meters.
Neil

Thanks Neil.
Incidentally, I would be very happy with those shots !!!!
Dave

 

[Derry]

Neil, they look good,, how did they look directly out of camera without any sharpening or rework,,??

there is a thread going over on Fred Miranda with the new TC on a D3 and 500V lens,,

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/863215

Derry

 

[Neil]

Neil, they look good,, how did they look directly out of camera without any sharpening or rework,,??

there is a thread going over on Fred Miranda with the new TC on a D3 and 500V lens,,

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/863215

Derry

Derry,
This is a large file straight out of the camera
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4070/4333041419_3fcb17ebbb_o.jpg

Neil

 

[RJM]

I am using the TC-20EIII on the Nikon 300mm F2.8 VR now on my bird tour of Hokkaido. Pretty thrilled with yesterday's results!

The fox is out of the camera and the whited-tailed eagle pair is ~200% crop, both resized for upload.

cheers,
Rick

 

[lozninja]

Nikon Or Sigma

You Seem To Be having Good Results With This Tec3 20x converter.
Nikon Lens Or sigma

Thats The trouble . There are a few good reviews on the tc3 converter .

But The nikon 70-200mm f2.8 Vr lens With The above Teleconverter .

OR

The Sigma 120-400mm f4.5 os hsm .

Its just which should give the best picture quality out of these two lenses ????

 

[RJM]

I also have the Sigma 150-500 OS HSM as well as the Sigma TC1.4x DG EX. IQ is hit or miss with that TC. AF is also only possible with a tape mod to the TC. AF can then work OK in good light but lens aperture is not reported correctly so it tends to overexpose.

The TC-20EIII does NOT work with the Sigma 150-500 lens at all. Wrong electrical contacts. Since the 120-400 is of the same mold, it probably won't work either.

If you can afford the 70-200 2.8 then that would be the best choice.

Rick

 

[lozninja]

Sorry Appoligise For the confusion

I wasn't very clear with what i meant .

I own the 70-200mm vr f2.8 vr
I also own the sigma 120-400mm os sigma.

I am thimking of selling the sigma to buy the new TC3 20x teleconverter .

I was wondering if this was a good idea .

Do you think the quality of the Nikon with the new converter ,would equal or be better than the sigma lens ???

 

[nirofo]

You Seem To Be having Good Results With This Tec3 20x converter.
Nikon Lens Or sigma

Thats The trouble . There are a few good reviews on the tc3 converter .

But The nikon 70-200mm f2.8 Vr lens With The above Teleconverter .

OR

The Sigma 120-400mm f4.5 os hsm .

Its just which should give the best picture quality out of these two lenses ????

Do you really need to ask? The Nikon 70-200 f2.8 constant aperture is a pro quality lens and is in a different league to the Sigma. The only advantage the Sigma would have is the extra focal length, but then because the aperture changes to a smaller aperture as the lens is zoomed out, that would be negated by the equivalent drop in shutter speed. The Nikon lens + 2X converter on the other hand maintains a constant aperture of f5.6 at all zoomed focal lengths.

nirofo.

 

[Neil]

I was lucky to find nesting Great Crested Grebes on my recent trip to Sydney ( 15 pairs) so was able to set up and test my teleconverters from distances of 20 - 30 meters. I used the D2x and D3 and the new 2x and 1.7x teles on the 500/4 AFS VR.
With the grebes swimming slowly around the AF using the 2x was a bit hit and miss. For good AF the sun had to be out and the grebe going slowly. The number of keepers with the 1.7x was much higher and sharper.
The first image was taken with the D2x and 2x ( 1400 mm ).
The second image with the D2x and 1.7x (1050 mm )
The third image with the D2x and 2x ( 1400 mm )
The fourth image with the D3 and 1.7x ( 800 mm)
The fifth image with the D3 and 2.0x ( 1000 mm ) - not a grebe.

I would have liked to have been a bit closer to have the birds fill more of the frame but with nests in the area I didn't want to disturb them (some were still sitting on eggs , usually 4 ).
Neil.

 

[CactusD]

I'm interested in this for my 600f4 (esp. if I go for a D3S |:d|) but results seem mixed. Very important to stop down, but that of course necessitates good light or high ISO (or both :eek!.
For uk pricing on all camera gear, inc. now TCs, it's worth keeping an eye on
http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/prod1228.html