500f4 with Canon 2x III

My 500f4 performs very well on my 6D with a 1.4x III ....How well does the 500f4 perform with the latest canon 2x ?..
Would be used mostly for small birds etc..

don1163 wrote in post #17914775
My 500f4 performs very well on my 6D with a 1.4x III ....How well does the 500f4 perform with the latest canon 2x ?..
Would be used mostly for small birds etc..

I'm not sure about 500mm, but I used to have 600mm f4 IS mark 1 and with 2X Tc III and the results were far below my expectation. I was using 5D3 so it still can AF at f8, but the AF and IQ degrade dramatically to my liking.

You might be able to take good pics of static object, but definitely not for BIF.

The 500 f/4 II performs well with the 2X. Rarely use it handheld where as I handhold that lens with the 1.4X often for BIFs.
As you would expect, the autofocus slows more with the 2X.

Thanks for the your replies guys.....mine is the 500f4 mkI, so would probably not perform as well as the mkII...I think I will try and borrow one from the local camera shop and check the results before buying..
Many thanks..

As mentioned, on a 6D, no AF,
That said, I do use the 2X MkII on my 500mm often enough. One must stop down a bit to get decent results.

I consider the 2X to be a sort of last ditch tool of necessity, but it certainly is better than not having a 2X IMHO.

Having only owned the 2X MkII (and MkI) I do not have any first hand knowledge if the MkIII offers any optical improvement over the MkII on the Version 1 IS lens.


Taken with 2X on 1D3

IMAGE LINK: http://jakehegnauer.ze​nfolio.com/p482779207/​e1d6570b6

I am not too familiar with the 500 F4 L IS (Mk1), I have used them, and like them, but never owned one. I used to have the Canon 600 F4 L IS Mk1 which is not quite as sharp as the 500 but I could still get good results with the Canon 2 x Mk3 extender in good (fairly contrasty) light. You will certainly loose IQ with the 2 x Mk3 (don't bother with the earlier models!) and the AF will get a bit sluggish - but it can and frequently does work well.
As Cyberdyne says "I consider the 2X to be a sort of last ditch tool of necessity" - this is true in my experience. However he uses the Mk2, I have found the MK3 to be significantly better - so much so that it is actually useful and worth buying!
But only use a 2 x when there is simply no alternative and stop down to at least F11.

Thanks John..

I recently bought a 2X III for use with my 500 f4L IS VI and I am very impressed with how it has performed. You do need good light, but it has done pretty well for me so far. Here are a couple examples:

I use mine occasionally with the 2X III. Stopping down a little helps. Good light helps. It takes good technique but if you are careful you can get some very good shots.

Although I have the new sigma x2TC rather than the canon, I believe they are quite similar. In that case I think the optical improvement is not limited to just the vII supertele's and it is definitely a step up from the vII (which I did have). It seems that the 1.4TC are not optically very different, but the 2x have gotten better with each iteration.