KENKO PRO 1,4 TC

[Tomasz Dziechciarz]

Hi,

I would like to buy TC. I checked and there are two chooises.

Canon 1,4 TC II ---470 USD
Kenko 1,4 TC - --- 280 USD


For me Kenko is the best chooise cos the price but what about quality ......

Any advice will be very helpfull ....

BTW

I am going to spend a few days in London and in Ireland - Dublin, Kerry, Cliffs of Moher , Killarney, etc....

What kind of lens shall I take?

[condyk]

I had a Kenko Pro 1.4x and it is very good, but it's a personal choice if you want to pay more for the Canon! User review sites have both scoring almost identical. The Kenko is more flexible as can be used with a wider range of lenses!

As to lenses ... I'd pick the 17-40, Tamron (or 50mm 1.4 as prefered) and 70-200mm personally. I wouldn't take the grip as battery recharge is easy. London's not like the African bush :lol: :lol: Killarney is another matter :p

[Tomasz Dziechciarz]

Many thanks .....
So I will order Kenko.... before I go to UK.

Do You have any reviews on the KENKO?

[condyk]

http://www.photographyreview.com/cat/lenses/35mm-converters/kenko/PRD_85102_3132crx.aspx

Scores 4.86/5 ... not bad :lol: :lol:

[Dante King]

Kenko is definately pretty cheap alternative to canon. happy with mine

[scottbergerphoto]

The Kenko and Tamron 1.4 are the same. They are of equal quality to the Canon and offer the aded advantage of maintaining AF on lenses that would not otherwise AF with the Canon 1.4 due to the aperture limit. The Kenko and Tamron do not tell the camera there is an additional F stop to add so the limit is only applied to the lens. Exposure is not affected.

[Camo 757]

You can get the CANON 1.4x for $279 USD at BHphoto.com

I did.

[CyberDyneSystems]

The Canon would be a better choice for your 70-200mm... but given the prices you are faced with.. I think I might try the Tamron/Kenko as well.

[JAZZ D.P.G.]

If you have the time, the Hong Kong supplier on e-bay delivered mine in 8 days by post, just last week. US$130 with shipping. His rating on e-bay is very good, reseller is good. and i can tell you that his delvery was good.

I've only had a chance to play with it, no serious testing yet, like what I've seen. Got sent out of town on an emergency call for work, unexpectedly. No time for much fun. (Chippewa Falls, WI)

Plan had been to test sharpness, AF and aperature changes between 1.4 and none on the 70-300 DO.

Da*n this working for a living stuff :-(

[ttmatsu]

The Canon would be a better choice for your 70-200mm... but given the prices you are faced with.. I think I might try the Tamron/Kenko as well.

Since weather sealing isn't an issue with the 70-200 the question of which is a better choice comes down to whether you have a FF or APS sensor. If you have a FF, then the Canon is the better choice as it is supposed to have better corner sharpness. If you have an APS sensor (1.3 or 1.6 crop factor), then the Kenko is the better choice because of the price and eliminating most of the outside edges that would show up on a FF sensor. The center sharpness is basically identical between the Canon and Kenko. I have a 20D so the supposed advantage of the Canon in the corners doesn't really apply to me.

[CyberDyneSystems]

If you honestly think that the Kenko will give results as good as the Canon 1.4X TC on a Canon 70-200mm lens.. then I guess your right.

Personally,. I do not agree with that belief.

[chansh]

Plan had been to test sharpness, AF and aperature changes between 1.4 and none on the 70-300 DO.

Da*n this working for a living stuff :-(

I've just ordered the 70-300 DO. Love to see the results of your test.

[ttmatsu]

If you honestly think that the Kenko will give results as good as the Canon 1.4X TC on a Canon 70-200mm lens.. then I guess your right.

Personally,. I do not agree with that belief.

You can see the results for yourself in this thread:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1029&message=13859754

Not only does Lee Jay show his results, but Brian also shows his results - both using 70-200 f2.8 IS lenses. Both test Canon and Kenko Pro TCs against each other. Lee Jay only shows center crops while Brian shows both center and edge.

I also tested the Canon against the Kenko at the camera store shooting on a tripod out the open door of the store using my 20d and non IS 70-200 f2.8 and I could not tell the difference between the Canon and the Kenko results...neither could the store personnel and a couple of customers (we used the store's Apple with cinema screen and photoshop cs to view).

Are your thoughts based on personal experience or are they simply conjecture that a 3rd party product can not be as good as the camera body manufacturer's product? You are right that it is my belief but it is backed by what I saw and what other people saw in the store with me. The interpretation of the results is personal perception, not scientific and open to different perceptions by different people. The 6 people that looked at the results in the store all came to the same conclusion - no difference in performance between the Kenko Pro 300 1.4X DG and the Canon.

Reading other posts comparing TCs, it would seem that several companies make comparable 1.4X products (in the pro line). Canon seems to have an edge in the 2X model but not the 1.4X (this is conjecture as I have not tested this but that is what other people that have tested reported).

[CyberDyneSystems]

It's not so much Canon Vs. 3rd party as it is a specific product made to work with a very small select number of lenses very well Vs. one that is made to work with just about any lens you attach it too.... and therefore is not so specific to the lenses I won (including the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS)


There are a lot of third party lenses and adapters I like,. I feel the Sigma 1.4X is very close to the Canon... but oddly I find the Sigma works better with Sigma lenses and the Canon better with Canon lenses..

On the 70-200mm I was indeed hard pressed to see a differnce between the Canon and Sigma 1.4X t-cons... So I may be clouding the issue by looking through a bigger picture (forest for the trees type of thing ;) )

Because On my 200mm f/1.8L I could see the difference indeed... given the better resolution of the big prime it was easier to discern the impact of the T-con that was not "matched". Likewise.. I like the Sigma 1.4X on the Sigma 500mm f/4.5EX better than the Canon.. and the Canon works better on my EF 500mm f/4L... etc etc

I'll try the Kenko out though soon enough. I want to get one to play nice with my 70-300mm DO.. something the Canon's (and Sigma's for that matter) won't do.

[csnudelman]

I only use the 1.4X TC with my 135L. If I had other lenses I was going to use it with that the Canon TC won't accomdate I might consider Kenko. But, being that I only use it with the 135L and that there is only $85 difference in cost, I feel more comfortable using Canon.

[ttmatsu]

CyberDyneSystems,
I'd have to agree with you on the lens to lens variation in performance. I've read the same thing by other people and I think Bob Atkins (or another one of the more "reputable" reviewers) found that his cheapie Tamron worked better on one particular lens better than the Canon TC but only one that one particular lens. I haven't had the need to build an inventory like you. I only use the TC on my 70-200. I did a lot of online research before doing the actual physical test (I didn't want to test 5 different TCs). If I had a slew of Canon primes, I might have spent double to get the Canon TC ($140 for Kenko from ebay Hong Kong dealer versus $285 for Canon from Canoga Camera - both prices includes S&H).

[ttmatsu]

I only use the 1.4X TC with my 135L. If I had other lenses I was going to use it with that the Canon TC won't accomdate I might consider Kenko. But, being that I only use it with the 135L and that there is only $85 difference in cost, I feel more comfortable using Canon.

I understand about comfort. I spent $400 more to get the Canon 70-200 over the Sigma. I had a Sigma lens become obsolete when I changed film bodies when I was shooting Nikon and my old body died. The chip compatibility issue with Sigma has definitely scared me off that brand. The Sigma 24-70 f2.8 and 18-50 f2.8 both had to be rechipped for the 20d. I don't need that type of headache. I got my Kenko for $140 S&H included so I saved $145 over the Canon and with enough reports of other users with 70-200s and my own testing, I was comfortable with the Kenko purchase.

[Sprout Crumble]

Its a decision I'm about to make. Personally, the Kenko wins for me. I've seen no conclusive proof the Canon is superior let alone vastly so and the difference in price is £195 versus £80. Sorry, but IMO, thats a no-brainer.

[blackviolet]

i've been very very happy with the kenko/tamron pro 1.4 - it works well with every lens, and there is no noticeable difference (to me) between that and the Canon. it's head and shoulders better than the standard kenko.

definitely go for it! you won't be sorry

edit: the only downside is the white isn't quite the same colour as canon's white :)