I finally bought a 200mm f/2.8

[jaypie77]

Thanks for the advice (everybody who gave it) I finally picked this up before the crash and have been having a great time. I'm now working on a new project to take photos of every single species of bird known to live in New England - even ocean birds!

I have two questions though:

1. Anybody have experience with this lens and the 1.4 or 2x TC's? Comments?

2. I would love to put up some of my favorite shots with the 200, but I can't get Exhibit fully setup yet - if you are handy with computers or EE, please go check out the EE discussion forum for my question: EE Forum (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=50305)

[roanjohn]

Congrats on the new lens!!! A 1.4X TC should not affect your image quality that much..........and this is a PRIME lens so it should be sharp even wide open!!!

........about your other request......wish I could help.

:-(

Ro1

[jaypie77]

I have heard this a lot, "not affect image quality that much"

What does that mean exactly? Are there any tests that show the comparison between a regular lens, a 1.4x tc, and a 2x tc? I would love to see this image quality degradation if possible, but anybody with experience is welcome to chime in.

Also, I updated the information about my EE problem in the above linked thread, PLEASE HELP!

[PacAce]

The 200 f/2.8 with the 1.4x should work out very well for you. However, you may notice image degradation if you go with the 2x based on what I've read (don't have any personal experience with the 2x although I do have a 1.4x).

If you are planning to take pictures of all the species of birds in your state, you may find that using the 200mm may pose some challenges as the 200mm really won't be near long enough of a lens for most but the bigger birds. I have a 100-400 and even that at 400 isn't enough for the smaller birds unless I can get very close to it.

[jaypie77]

I know that 200 doesn't have enough reach for some birds, thus I'll be buying a 600 in 6 months (I hope), but the 200 is working surprisingly well so far. Being that it is winter, a steady supply of birdfood and a home-devised hiding method have been facilitating my photography well.

I'd also note that squirrels have been the most frequent birds to cross in front of my lens.

[PacAce]

I know that 200 doesn't have enough reach for some birds, thus I'll be buying a 600 in 6 months (I hope), but the 200 is working surprisingly well so far. Being that it is winter, a steady supply of birdfood and a home-devised hiding method have been facilitating my photography well.

I'd also note that squirrels have been the most frequent birds to cross in front of my lens.

LOL :D :D :D Aint that the truth. I'm still looking for that perfect squirrel-proof feeder. I'm sure whoever invents it will make a fortune. :)

[jaypie77]

There's no squirrel-proof feeder, but there is a solution: scatter a ton of sunflower seeds on the ground away from the feeders and the squirrels won't go to the feeders. I've got about a dozen squirrels RIGHT NOW at my squirrel-field and none at the feeders. Now there is another problem - the squirrels are smarter than most birds and they work together so when a squirrel spots me, he goes up in a tree and starts making warning sounds and then other squirrels join in and the birds stay away for a while. I have some pictures of one squirrel, right above me in a tree, staring dead into my eyes and making his calls, it's pretty cool. I learned about this type of thing from Sir David Attenborough of course.

Still no news on Imagemagick? Don't worry, I have the best tech-people in the world on the case: my friends.

[tommykjensen]

LOL :D :D Aint that the truth. I'm still looking for that perfect squirrel-proof feeder. I'm sure whoever invents it will make a fortune. :)Ha ha yeah the squirrels are winning the battle so far :D

[drisley]

I use the 1.4x extender with the 135F2L routinely. I can see no difference in image quality at all, even at 100% in PS.
I have posted comparisons before, and in some cases people thought the pictures using the extender were sharper than those without (which isn't possible, but just goes to show how good the quality is).
The only real difference is that the auto focus is slightly slower with the extender.
It makes the prime's AF about the same speed as a fast zoom (like the 70-200F4L)

[jaypie77]

drisley - interesting findings, any experience with the 2x?

[Groundworxs]

Congrats on an awesome lens. Go ahead and get the 1.4 TC there will be no loss in image quality or af speed. Don't get the 2x TC. I have not had one but a good friend of mine one of Canadas most respected wild life photographers (45 years in the biz) recently bought one and turned it in weeks later. The 2x TC would not produce a sharp image. Not worth the money. As nice as it may be to have the 200 you may find the range not long enough. The good news is you could probably get a 300 2.8 and a 1.4 TC for your 200 and still have some cash left over. Let me know if you want to sell it. Until then enjoy.

Cheers
Happy holidays

[cmM]

can't wait to see some shots with this lens. I've been eyeballing it for a while (have other priorities at the moment, however before this one).

Let me know how you like it.

[drisley]

drisley - interesting findings, any experience with the 2x?Sorry, no, I haven't used the 2x.
Groundworx, you say there is no loss in image quality or AF speed.
I agree with the image quality part, but there definately is a slight loss in AF speed.
My 135F2L is much faster at AF than my old 70-200F4L. When I attach the 1.4x extender, AF speed slows down to be about the same as the 70-200F4L. It's still very fast, but noticably slower than without the extender.