Soccer with a 70-200 mm USM and x2 extender -- why results are so bad?

Hi there,
so after being relatively succesful with several categories of photography, my son is growing older and joined soccer and is quite competitive. I was asked to take images for him, and also his group that get coached regulalrly.

great fun but not the owner of any long lenses except the 70-200 which is a bit short for soccer.
so i went to buy the extender x2 as i thought i try that out first before i splash a lot of dough on a lens which i would only use sometimes.

I have here 3 of the better images: (only refer to image quality, not composition nor subjects etc.
https://www.flickr.com …marcoveringa/16​865119008/
https://www.flickr.com …marcoveringa/16​430463434/
https://www.flickr.com …marcoveringa/17​051434062/

a few really bad ones:
https://www.flickr.com …marcoveringa/16​847514027/
https://www.flickr.com …marcoveringa/16​868699599/

as you see nothing seems sharp, lots of CA if you ask me. at a shutter of 2500/sec i would expect that sharpness should be a no brainer at F5.6, but what i see is .....erhm embarassing at most. the images were taken while i was seated on a stable stool, and using a sturdy monopod.

is it me? or should i throw the xtender out and start saving for a long long prime? problem with that is in the 300-400 ranges primes that are fast are way beyond my reach, especially since i do not see myself earn any money with sports photography. I do earn with food photography, but not enough to cover another hobby

A used/refurbed 100-400?

sorry fixed now forgot to set them public

In hind sight i am thinking as it says it slows down AF, and i was using servo mode, so never get confirmation whether focus is locked on or not......tomorrow i shall try with normal one shot AF, and see the results when i get focus confirmation. but that still doesnt help the massive CA

Depending on the 2X TC, they can affect IQ, maybe even AF. If you're going to be doing much of this kind of shooting, save up for more length.

Yeah, 2X TCs will cause a decrease in AF speed/accuracy and sharpness and add some CA, while 1.4X TCs are much less detrimental. Despite that, the fact that your portrait shot (standing still) is relatively sharp tells me that you're likely missing focus on the rest. That may just be you, or a combination of you and the decreased AF performance and/or bad AF settings. You made no mention of what body is being used and the EXIF is gone so it would be difficult to say one way or the other.

Did you turn the IS off if this is the IS version? Never used an extender, but it does make me wonder about the wisdom. I'd heard the teleconverters work best on prime lenses, so never bought one for my 70-200.

Questions:
- what type of camera
- what were your AI Servo settings

Hi again,sorry for not providing enough info. I used a canon 5d Mark II, no IS on my lens, used servo focus and center AF focus point. i will try again today with single shot focus and try up my shutter even further se how that goes.

To me it just looks like focus was missed.

There is a momentary lag before the focus locks on even without an extender. I regularly shoot football (sorry, soccer) and I just use a 70-200 on a 1.3x. You have to wait until the action comes to you, so I guess with kids you would need to move position to try to capture as many players as possible. Little kids play on half-size pitches, so it should be even easier.

Some examples here http://photodiva.zenfo​lio.com/f1042934768

thanks guys, after another trial, i gave it 5 minutes, i threw off the extx2 and just shot with the 70-200, and all my problems faded away.

some samples here: https://www.flickr.com​/photos/marcoveringa/

thanks for all comments! guess i wasted my momney.

I used to by happy with the canon TC's but since I bought a 70-200 f/2.8 II it's so sharp I can't stand using my 2X or 1.4X, both III models.

macobee wrote in post #17507152
Hi again,sorry for not providing enough info. I used a canon 5d Mark II, no IS on my lens, used servo focus and center AF focus point. i will try again today with single shot focus and try up my shutter even further se how that goes.

Have you noticed a difference at higher f-stops? Mine (non-IS) doesn't get acceptably sharp until f/11 effective.

Hi, i didnt even try, as it would defeat the purpose .....being distracted by fences/audiences etc in the background