lense extenders

[theflyingkiwi]

Hi,

I am looking at getting a 10d. The first lense that I was looking at buying is the Canon EF 70-200mm F4L USM, is this lense worth the buy?

and if so, how good are is the Canon Extender EF 2x II?

Thanks

[justme_dc]

The canon 70-200mm f4L is an amazing lens! I would whole heartedly recommend that lens. If I didn't already own the 2.8L version I'd buy the f4L in a second. It's opitcs are on par with the f2.8L versions. I have shot with both lenses and the f4L is lighter by almost a pound and much easier to hoist around all day. If you don't need the extra stop of light then there is really no reason at all to buy the much more expensive 2.8L version.

Starting off with a great lens like that is really smart. A lot of people spend all of their money on a camera body and don't buget any for a good quality lens which is a shame. The 10D really shines when you shoot with high quality glass.

As to the canon 2X extender... It is also a really good product. Be aware that the extender does lower the quality of the images you'll take a little bit. You'll lose some sharpness and some contrast but that happens with all extenders to some degree. Canon's versions are on top of the heap optically. You might wanna consider the 1.4X extender, it causes almost no degradation of the image quality and if you figure in the 1.6 image crop of the smaller sensor you'll get about the same view as a 2X extender.

Anyway good luck to you on your purchases.

[Cal Maier]

I fully agree with justme concerning the quality of the 70-200L f/4 lens and the 2X tele-extender. One thing you may want to take note of, is that you will probably have to use manual focus if you use the 2X with the f/4 lens. You will lose two stops when the tele-extender is used, that means the maximum aperture will be f/8. I believe that the 10D's autofocus will not operate very well at apertures less than f/5.6 so before you buy the 2X extender I think you would be wise to check this out.

You will only lose 1 stop with the 1.4X tele-extender.

Good Luck and have fun!

Cal

[Jeppe]

If you need 400mm or longer.. Better go with the EF 300/4L and a 1.4x extender.. That will turn out as a whopping 672/5.6 (35mm-equivalent).

[theflyingkiwi]

Thanks for the info. I thing that I have found when going the SLR road is no so much the camera, but the lense.

This is the hardest part to figure out what I wont.

A friend brought his film SLR camera to work today, as he has got a 70-200mm lense and found that better to use.

Just being able to control everything on the camera for the shot is one of the things that I am looking for.

I can't wait to get the 10D :)

[photography By Evangelos]

I have the 70-200 F2.8 L and also want the 2X ectender any one also ueing this set up and how dose it work?

[Morden]

I have the 70-200 F2.8 L and also want the 2X ectender any one also ueing this set up and how dose it work?
It works well; the 2x converter means that the 2.8 widest aperture becomes 5.6, but the camera will still autofocus at 5.6. As with all converters such as this, some sharpness is lost, but the effective 640 mm on a D30/D60/10D is awesome!

[CyberDyneSystems]

I have the same set-up. A 70-200mm f/2.8 and a 2X telextender. (o-kay I'll admit that I have Sigma lenses :( )

They work great together! I will eventually get the 1.4 extender as well, but the 10D handles that set up perfectly in daylight. With the Canon lenses I am sure that it will really shine. I have actually heard many say that the 70-200 f/2.8 performs better than other Canon lenses with the 1.4X and 2 X extenders.

[mwind13]

I have this setup with the D60 (the predecessor of the 10D) and it works great!! 200 x 2 x 1.6 = 640

Have some really cool mountain shots made with combination...

[John57]

I have a 2x extender on a 70-200L IS 2.8 lens and it works well - no problems on a 10D. It slows the focusing and hunts more than the 1.4x but is quite acceptable depending on your target. It is quite long though which doesn't do anything to help the handling of an already heavy lens. The 1.4x is much more manageable and I don't actually notice this one on the lens whereas I know the 2x is always there!

The 2x does reduce sharpness but considering what it's doing it is OK. I can't say i have noticed the 1.4x having much effect on sharpness at all.

Hope this helps