USE of 2 x converters

[drandy]

I recently purchased my D60 and a couple of lenses :
28-70mm f/2.8L and 70-200mm f/4L. Everything is great so far - sharpness, etc and all that. My question concerns entry into the 200-400mm arena. I am not keen to shell out another $1-2K (and more) to get specific lenses for this region. Does anyone have experience of converters with these lenses? How are the images affected vs. a dedicated lens. What would be a good make of converter - stay with Canon or would a Sigma/Tamron be as good? Any comments welcome.

[traveler]

I have a 1D and half a dozen L lenses, several of which include the 70-200 2.8L IS, and 100-400L. I use both of these from time to time with the 1.4xII teleconverter, and find that there is virtually NO degradation of the output in any way. This is NOT the case with the 2.0xII teleconverter. Consider first of all on your D60 you will lose autofocus altogether. Then there is the 1 Stop loss of light with the 1.4 and the 2 stop loss of light with the 2.0x. There is no free lunch, but you can easily get away with an optical boost using them, you just have to realize the cost there is in doing so.

I had a D30 previously and found that the 1.4 did a good job, but indeed the 2.0 caused significant issues. It is also well documented that a 70-200 lens with a 2.0x converter on it will NOT equal the optical output of a 100-400L with NO converter on it. There have been a lot of folks that thought they could save by not buying another lens to cover that 400mm slot. It isn't wise to skimp, unless of course you're not that picky. It's really your call in the end. As far as Sigma and Tamron, the long and short of it is NO they are not equivalent to the finer Canon lenses, but have several very worthy models to consider. The one's I have tested that fall in this catagory would be the following:

* Sigma 70-200 2.8 EX HSM
* Sigma 15-30 DG
* Sigma 50-500 APO EX HSM
* Tamron 28-200 and 300

Otherwise I'd suggest you stick with Canon lenses in general. The Sigma Teleconverters work well with their lenses though, this I can say. The most amazing deal of ALL of the large lenses I've tested to date is without a doubt the 50-500APO EX HSM from Sigma. It can be had for $735.00 USD from Delta International here in the U.S. and is virtually as sharp and contrasty as the 100-400L Canon lens at half the price. It is superbly well built and they seem to be a very consistent model in performance. Image Stabilization is worth it's weight in gold and that's the premium you pay for the Canon. Hope this helps...

[JR92]

Traveler;

I have the Sigma 50-500 lens you are speaking of and was going to get rid of it for the Canon L 100-400. Do you think I should save the $1500+ and stick with the Sigma or go for the Canon. If they produce the same quality, I know what I will do I just want the advise from someone else who has used both lenses.
Thanks for your input, JR92.

[traveler]

When I tested that lens for a vendor I have a special relationship with, I found it to be remarkable. The ONLY reason I kept my 100-400L instead of going with one of the Sigma's is that under extremely close scrutiny (not what a normal person under normal circumstances would likely see) we found that wide open at F5.6 400mm in comparison, the Sigma has a very ( and I mean very) small light falloff towards the edges. Not a big deal really. Also of course in the absence of IS you can't hand hold the Sigma unless you are using some reasonably fast shutter speeds, and expect to get top notch sharpness. The Canon can easily be handheld with a 2.0xII teleconverter on it all the way out (eq. 800mm+) wide open and get a very sharp image. That's why I decided to keep it. In the right conditions though that Sigma is astounding. It's a tough decision indeed, but considering they are about $735 vs. $1340 respectively, for many it's an easier decision. You can see 2 pictures I took of both of those lenses when I tested them last summer in Scottsdale side by side at my Len Test gallery at my site http://www.pbase.com/traveler if you're interested.....