400mm f5.6 + 1.4tc Problem

I have taken several ok shots with the 400mm f5.6 + 1.4tc (both canon and Kenko pro tc's with the pins taped) on my 30D and 40D but they have all been when the bird has been fairly close (the attached was taken just last week). My problem is when the bird is further away I cannot get a sharp,detailed shot shot. I am using a Manfrotto 055 ProB Tripod with 488RC2 ball head. My question is, would I be better off with a tripod and head upgrade as I can only think that the problem is camera shake.

Further to the above, I have been looking at something like a Feisol CT-3372 pod and maybe a The Manfrotto 393 / Bogen 3421 head - would this combo be a overkill for the 400mm f5.6?

Can you show a shot that you think is unacceptable?

DDCSD wrote in post #6870257
Can you show a shot that you think is unacceptable?

No, I tend to delete them all as I go. Maybe I should keep some next time as an example.

By the sound of it you have already decided to go the new tripod route, having done your research.

However I might guess that on the further away shots you are cropping the images to enlarge the subject and it is this which is giving the impression of unsharpness, not the lens + 1.4x combination.

So no, a new tripod won't help at all, what you really need is a longer lens!

this is just the same with the 500f4isL in fact any lens will act this way because there is a point were you carnt colect fine detail because the distance is too far Then when you crop in it just goes worse.
this is found very quickly when shooting birds over say a building as the feathes are so fine.
Rob.
Eddit
when i first got the 500 i thought it was going to make such a vast diffrence lol it does let you be further away from the bird But if your at the point your talking about it makes No diffrence at all, closeness is the key .
Its just that the 500 gives more to play with and thats what makes my shots so good

Thanks for the feedback guys, sounds like I should go the digiscoping way
I was just wondering if my tripod/head was the weak link.
I find the 400mm f5.6 such a good lens on its own but for birding I have concluded that adding a tc is a waste of time as you can get better results by cropping from the bare lens.

PaulB wrote in post #6870443
However I might guess that on the further away shots you are cropping the images to enlarge the subject and it is this which is giving the impression of unsharpness, not the lens + 1.4x combination.

You could well be right there Paul, it is just that the bare lens gives you so much cropability.

I have had excellent results using the 400L and a 2.0x tc, and sometimes stacked 2.0x and 1.4x. however, the object must be close enough to fill most of the frame, and even then the IQ is not as good as a bare lens. but with a little PP they come out well within my acceptable standards. I am using the tamron tc's fwiw.

I'll bet the loss of resolution has nothing to do with your tripod or head. I can get great results just leaning against a tree. Using TCs on the 400 is pushing the limits remember.

I frequently take heavy crops from the bare lens and get acceptable results for web images (with a bit of P&P).
The attached shot is typical (in this case 100% crop). But if I were to take the same shot with a 1.4tc on the results would be very poor (even though I would not have had to crop so heavily) Even if I were half the distance away, a shot with the 1.4tc would not crop nearly as good. This is what I find strange.

The 400L F5.6 + converter has been my favorite setup shooting with a 1dmarkII. I always use a tripod-ballhead combo. I would keep the ballhead loose and just hold the lens very gently for each shot. I have very good result. The following shot was taken around early Oct. The warbler occupied about 30% of the frame.

Uncropped.

Limit? Nah.....I couldn't tell the difference between shots taken with or without converter on the 400L F5.6. It may just have to do with the AF on his 30D.

gasrocks wrote in post #6871156
I'll bet the loss of resolution has nothing to do with your tripod or head. I can get great results just leaning against a tree. Using TCs on the 400 is pushing the limits remember.

TooManyShots wrote in post #6872921
Limit? Nah.....I couldn't tell the difference between shots taken with or without converter on the 400L F5.6. It may just have to do with the AF on his 30D.

I get the same results on both my 30D and 40D and with both manual and auto focusing. If I am fairly close to the bird the converter gives me good images but if I am at the kind of distance shown in the photo of my last post the image with tc is poor (when cropped a bit).
I have even got good shots with stacked 1.4 and 2x tc's when the bird is almost filling the frame, but that is not when I need a tc. Maybe I am just expecting too much.

TooManyShots wrote in post #6872913
The 400L F5.6 + converter has been my favorite setup shooting with a 1dmarkII. I always use a tripod-ballhead combo. I would keep the ballhead loose and just hold the lens very gently for each shot. I have very good result. The following shot was taken around early Oct. The warbler occupied about 30% of the frame.

Uncropped.

After PP and cropping.

That's nice but I am looking at birds that are smaller in the frame to begin with, as per my example above. Am I expecting too much to be able to crop from that distance from a tc shot?