I picked up the 70-200 F2.8 IS II last week, along with the TC2 III. My original thought was to check out the 70-200 with the TC2 to see if I would be comfortable with the combination enough to sell my 70-200 F4 IS and 400 F5.6. The first test shots I took were of black text on white paper, it was pretty clear that the 400mm had better contrast and overall IQ than the Zoom/TC combo. Was thinking the zoom/TC combo wasn't going to cut it, so I was going to keep the zoom but send the TC2 back.
Going to a subject with color and less contrast than black and white gave me a more realistic idea of how the TC2III would work on the zoom. I am impressed, enough so that there is no question I'll be keeping the TC2III. I really considered the 300 F4 IS for close up flower photography because of it's short MFD. With the 70-200/TC2 combo I get 140-400 at f5.6 (I generally shoot flowers at 5.6 - 8 anyway).
After testing the zoom/TC2 combo I decided to see how the 400 F5.6 with the TC2 would work. No auto focus (not even AF lock sound like a manual only lens) and no faster than F11, but usable for shots of the moon, landscapes and other stationary objects. I think the results of the 400/TC2 are pretty sweet, enough for me to keep the 400 f5.6 for sports, birding and with the TC2, for stationary objects, etc. As much as I love the 70-200 F4 IS, it's going to be moved.
I'll be adding to this thread with posts of test shots as I go along. I've started with the 400mm/TC2 combo because it's what I've just finished.
The comparison tests are obviously not scientific, but enough for me to be able to determine whether to shell out $499 on a teleconverter and make some choices on lenses. The shooting distances I've chosen are those that I would expect to be at when utilizing the lens combination's.
I will be trying combination's on a 7D and 40D. Poor weather outside is limiting me to what subject and what light I can shoot in. Let me know if you have any questions or if there is a combination you are interested in trying and I'll see what I can do.
5DII
400 f5.6 w/TC2 III
F5.6
ISO 400
Flash
Shooting Distance 20ft
Some capture sharpening and output sharpening, but not much.
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) to combine with this lens. I am interested in doing some birding to (The birds will be mostly stationary, many are beach walking birds). In your opinion, would I be able to use this combination for that purpose, or do you think the 400 f5.6 would be better fit for the purpose? I always like the ease of zooming for framing, then again, the only prime i have used is a 50 f1.8, so i can't really speak from experience. Any advice you could give me would be really appreciated.
