1.4 tc with EF 400 f/5.6L

[rw2]

I have a 350d and am looking at buying a Canon Telephoto EF 400mm f/5.6L. If I do I would like to add a 1.4 tc. What tc would alow me to retain autofocus and have good IQ?

[SoaringUSAEagle]

Well the 1.4 shouldnt take away all autofocusing capabilities. There really isnt a tc out there that wont have at least a little bit of an effect on the lens.

[LightRules]

I have a 350d and am looking at buying a Canon Telephoto EF 400mm f/5.6L. If I do I would like to add a 1.4 tc. What tc would alow me to retain autofocus and have good IQ?


The cheaper Tamron 1.4x black "F" TC will work (Daniella over at DPR uses this combo a lot), and the Kenko Pro and Tamron SP 1.4x TCs will work but you might have to tape the 3 left pins. This one is the cheaper, black Tamron that will work fine, and it's quite a good price in fact: http://cgi.ebay.com/Tamron-1-4x-AF-Teleconverter-for-Canon-EOS-NEW_W0QQitemZ260029458646QQihZ016QQcategoryZ30059Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[matman1975]

The EF 400mm f.5/6 L + 1.4X MKII combination is definitely a winner.
I used this setup on a safari trip in Tanzania for wildlife photography and the results were excellent.
I also use an eos 350d, so I lost autofocus but image quality was top, which made me ignore this autofocus...issue!

Greetings from Greece

Teo

[pingtang]

As a few of the other guys have said, you will lose AF ability with the 1.4x II, but you can use the tape trick. It basically stops the lens from reporting the aperture value so the camera will still allow AF.

IQ with the 1.4x is still excellent. You do lose a bit of IQ, but it's really a negligable loss. Haven't used any of the non canon TC's but I've heard good things about some of them. As with anything, you seem to get what you pay for...

[Canon Bob]

Hi,

I posted some shots a while back using Canon EF1.4II, Kenko 1.4 PRO 300 DG and Sigma 1.4 EX DG on my EF300. Same shot, tripod mounted, same setup.

Opinions seem to be that the Canon gave the best IQ/contrast etc but the Kenko had a slight advantage on fine detail.

The EF2xII has it's uses but can't compete with any of the 1.4's on IQ

Bob

[water_boy]

I have a 350d and am looking at buying a Canon Telephoto EF 400mm f/5.6L. If I do I would like to add a 1.4 tc. What tc would alow me to retain autofocus and have good IQ?


Only 1D series retain Autofocus to F8

As a few of the other guys have said, you will lose AF ability with the 1.4x II, but you can use the tape trick. It basically stops the lens from reporting the aperture value so the camera will still allow AF.


Be carefull using tape. In low light it will hunt like crazy, the motor will work harder than required and potentialy stuff it up.