I am hungry - new to bird photography

Hi Group,

Recently I have started liking bird photography and following is one such shot. In order to increase the reach I was thinking of buying a teleconverter.

Which one out of Canon / Kenko / 1.4X / 2X combination is good choice to be used with 70-200 F/4 Non IS Canon lens on 40D body?

Thanks for looking and suggestions.

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I am not sure which teleconverter, the kenko one i have used is quite soft, though teleconverters are great if you are on a budget. To be honest i think your best bet is to invest in a birding lens. We use a 300 IS and a 400 non IS ( used roughly 950$ CDN each) that work really well and haven't pulled the kenko out of the bag for a long time. You will loose ur ability to autofocus with a teleconverter depending on the type and the lense you want to put it on. I am not sure for your lens. You can try renting both lenses and teleconverters from a camera rental place and testing them to see what you like best.

Love you picture tho, excellent shot, poor perch never saw it coming!

Welcome, that's a fine shot! I would be really happy getting a good shot like this! Keep them coming.

Great shot, nice and sharp. A Canon or Sigma is a good 1.4x TC and you will keep your auto focus. You lose it at 2X on the 40D.

Only a 1.4X teleconverter will autofocus with the camera and lens you listed. A 2X will work but you will be unable to autofocus with it. Depending on the teleconverter a Kenko 2X, they have several models, might work since it will not communicate with the camera but the lens would not perform well. With a 1.4X you do not lose much IQ and they are always handy to have to add to any future lenses you might buy. Have heard good things about the 400mm f5.6L if looking at upgrading in the future. Nice shot by the way.

I used a Soligor 2x Tcon a while back, with my Tamron 55-200 on the 40D and it focused up to about 335mm. Beyond that it started to hunt, but shorter than that, AF worked pretty well. I was also pleasantly surprised by the IQ. It didn't seem to suffer too much. I did send the Tcon back though and bought the 300 f4...

Oh, and nice shot!

I've used the canon 1.4 on the 70-200 lens w/ great success and highly recommend it. However, you will soon find even that to be inadequate for most bird photography. I started there, then went to a 400 and ultimately a 600 which also works well w/ the 1.4 converter.

always go with Canon, can't go wrong very much, the AF speed it much slower with the 2x, plus 1 full step. the 1.4 is very fast. Havine said all that, you will always 'need' a longer reach!

sorry to step in here.. but i have a teleconverter ? for the 100-400 on a rebel t1i. im about to buy the 100-400 tomorrow and was wondering the same thing about a teleconverter. i know i will go with a canon telec. but will it work just fine with a rebel? i really would rather upgrade lens vs camera. any ideas?

I would normally agree with go with Canon. However, I had both the Canon 1.4x and 2X and neither one were worth a crap. Aside from being way over priced, mine did not give me any images that were worth of anything but plain documentation images. I used them on a D-60, 30D and a 1D Classic, with a 100-400, a 400/5.6 and other Canon lenses I owned at the time. Plus, a 600mm equivalent telescope with an adapter for the EOS lens mount. When I got the Bigma, neither TC would fit it. I traded them for a new set of Sigma 1.4x and 2x TC's, which did fit, and gave a decided increase in IQ. I still have the Sigma 1.4x and use it quite often.

To be fair, I have seen many other Canon TC's used here and the images posted from them which look quite good. And most of those images came from the 1D MkII's or newer bodies. I just think the Canon TC's were made for the Pro bodies. Just my opinion. But you can't really go wrong with the Sigma's either, and they are cheaper.

Welcome to the Bird forum, that image is a great way to get started. I do tend to agree with Mitch (Canonloader) about the 2x canon TC. I own one and I'm not really satisfied with it except in very limited situations.

caspase8 wrote in post #10635100
Hi Group,

Recently I have started liking bird photography and following is one such shot. In order to increase the reach I was thinking of buying a teleconverter.

Which one out of Canon / Kenko / 1.4X / 2X combination is good choice to be used with 70-200 F/4 Non IS Canon lens on 40D body?

Thanks for looking and suggestions.

Fantastic shot and I have to say birding is quite addictive. I missed work just the other day entirely cause I was transfixed on some ospreys etc. lol In all seriousness though great shot and I hope to see more from you soon.

Charlie

I own both the Canon 1.4 and a Kenko 1.5 teleconverter (the Kenko is no longer available) and I've been happy with both of them. The Canon seems to work better at acquiring a target on my 500mm f/4L over the Kenko but I don't see any difference in IQ from either one...the Canon reports it's on and the Kenko doesn't.

I would avoid the 2X converter unless you own a f/2.8 lens.

I agree with Duane N, I've a Kenko 1.5 and it is just great IQ wise...and much less expensive than a Canon..but if you can afford it get the canon 1.4 ...and avoid the 2x...Take care,Steve B.