100-400L + 1.4 Teleconverter

I have a Canon 40D and have been using a 100-400L lens for wildlife shots, mostly birds. I can do OK with it but at times I still need more reach. I really cannot afford one of the large primes, so was thinking of getting the 1.4 converter. I know the auto focus will not work, but will the picture IQ suffer from this setup? Anyone else using this combo together?

You will notice a slight loss of IQ, but in my experience it's still pretty good. The only thing that puts me off is the loss of AF, but on a static subject you can use live view and get it bang on.

Shouldn't be too bad.
You can use the tape trick to AF, however on the 40D you probably can't use the center AF point. At least, that has been my experience when I used to own the combo.

I use the combo occasionally. I prefer not to use the 1.4x as there is some degradation in the image. But when I do need the extra reach, I do not hesitate to put it on (provided light is sufficient). In my mind it is better to have some image degradation than no image at all.

rdricks wrote in post #7228493
I use the combo occasionally. I prefer not to use the 1.4x as there is some degradation in the image. But when I do need the extra reach, I do not hesitate to put it on (provided light is sufficient). In my mind it is better to have some image degradation than no image at all.

i'd rather crop and have a smaller, sharper image .

ed rader

CaptCrunch wrote in post #7227693
=Capt'Crunch;7227693]I have a Canon 40D and have been using a 100-400L lens for wildlife shots, mostly birds. I can do OK with it but at times I still need more reach. I really cannot afford one of the large primes, so was thinking of getting the 1.4 converter. I know the auto focus will not work, but will the picture IQ suffer from this setup? Anyone else using this combo together?

Shot with this combo:

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Here's my example from 1 December last year. It shows the moon and Venus, just after Venus had reappeared from occultation. Taken with 40D, 560mm, f/8 (i.e. wide open), 1/60, ISO 1600 on a very solid tripod (Manfrotto 058 ), and focussed using Liveview. It is cropped a bit from the original.

I have this combo as well. The previously mentioned items are the same for me ... no AF, some degradation of the image quality. Taping the pins did not work on my 40D (although it did on the XTi - go figure)

I prefer the sharper image and crop method.

I have been wondering how a TC is going to work on a 70-200 f2.8 IS lens I am buying. I know you are contemplating the 100-400 + 1.4x TC, but here is a photo I took with a 100-400 = 2x TC I'll offer to give some idea what a TC can do on that lens, although in theory the 1.4 TC should have better IQ (or so I have been told). I have only had the 2x since last fall and haven't had the opportunity to use it much so I don't have a huge amount of images to offer for examples or to even pass judgment myself about potential IQ. I will say that with manual focus getting these mountain sheep to hold still long enough to frame at 800mm and then focus is not a piece of cake.

All in all, I will have to experiment more with the 100-40 + TC, but so far I am not sold on it from an IQ standpoint. You need a lot of light or high ISO, and enough time to compose and focus, so you will miss a lot of shots where speed counts over the 100-400 without the TC. The 1.4x TC may be a better perfomer than the 2x though, I although I suspect you will have to deal with the issues I mention to some degree.


50D
ISO 1600
1/320 @ f/11
800mm
Full image, some moderate sharpening done in Lightroom and CS4 after size reduction

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Here's a 100% crop with no post processing of a shot taken with a 30D, 100-400, a Sigma 1.4x, a 580EX flash and a Better Beamer.

1/250s f/8.0 at 560.0mm iso400

I had a Sigma that was 170-500mm F6.3 at 500. With a Kenco non-reporting TC it would still autofocus on my 40D with C. point. Sigma and Tamron both have versions of their T/C that do not need tape on the pins, the lens reports the normal F/stop as without a TC.

If you use the tamron 1.4x AF TC you will retain the AF function of tape the three pins on the kenko pro 1.4x tc and you can AF with adequate light.

These two where taken just minutes apart from each other. (40D+100-400)
#1 with out the 1.4 and cropped, #2 with the 1.4.
I have better luck with out the 1.4 and cropping.
#1

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M50D wrote in post #7228902
I have been wondering how a TC is going to work on a 70-200 f2.8 IS lens I am buying.

My 70-200+1.4 works great. No issues with af or sharpness.