help with using extenders

[pictish]

Hi all,
I am currently trying to get the hang of manual focus using extenders canon 2x/ sigma 1.5x. I can get some reasonable results with the sigma 1.5x but having real problems with teh canon 2x. Equipments - 5d, 100-400 is and the above extenders.

Any tips I have included photos below first ones poor result second ones reasonable. these were with the sigma 1.5x

[glsammy]

I'm afraid your just like the rest of us. Using a 2X on anything less than a top quality fast prime lens is just asking for poor images. I tried a 2X on my Sigma 50-500mm, the results were shockingly bad.

[Geoff F]

You need good light and above all else, a sturdy tripod with cable release. Don't use the lens wide open, reduce to say F8 and increase ISO to give sufficient shutter speed.

And, yes, I find manual focus difficult. It takes me around 5 secs of twiddling before I am happy with the results. Even then I am often shocked by the poor quality of what I felt sure was correctly focused.

I was planning to ask others for their tips on quick manual focus. I tried 80 shots of fast moving bees recently. They were reduced to 20 before uploading and I eventually kept 6 but I wasn't over keen on these.

The one thing which I have found to help speed up the operation is to tie the cable release button to my tripod handle so it is always within easy reach.

[GerryNick2]

Experimented with extenders earlier in the year with both the 30D and 40D using them in conjunction with several Canon lenses including the 100-400mm and the Sigma 50-500mm. To be quite honest I was not at all impressed with the results, the 2X was a complete waste of time. Best results although not brilliant were achieved with the Canon 1.4x with the lens stopped down to f8 and camera mounted on a tripod.

Gerry

[Words]

I've had mixed results with the Kenko 1.4TC and the Canon 100-400mm. Good light and a rock-solid base seem to be the key (IS plays up rotten with my 400D and the TC). Here's one of a series I took over a few weeks of some herring gull chicks.

[pictish]

Did some more practicing using iso ect getting better, Using a tripod not really an option so using beanbag/ rucksack or just bracing myself as best as can. Alot of the seals have gone so think they may have moved up the coast to where the puffins are or teh salmon fisherman have got them.

Going to get a bird book and start working on the birds as theres at least 4-5 types of gulls and ducks with chicks as well as puffins, razorbills and lots of waders. Swans also got young at the moment.

Still trying to get the high speed dog as well, has anyone seen many butterflys this year as I havnt had any yet and there is normally alot around here. There has been some strange critters on the beech though to make up for it found live pipefish and starfish washed up this last week. the rock pools are also full of live jellyfish which are good to watch but a nightmare to take pictures of.

here is some more shots using the sigma 1.5.

[BruceP]

Long Zoom lenses normally require stopping down before they become sharp at the long end, and teleconvertors also need stopping down by a stop to improve sharpness, on top of the stop of light that a 1.4x losses so your 400mm f5.6 ideally needs to be stopped down by 3 stops to be f16 to get real sharpness, which isn't really an option very often as you still need to keep the iso low to reduce noise and the shutter speed high to minimise blur.

Teleconverters are ideal for "record" shots, and I normally carry a 1.4x and 2x as I would rather grab a bad shot than no shot, as I can always strive to get better shots later. Using long prime lenses with convertors does work ok as they are very sharp to start with. This was taken with a 500mm prime and 1.4xTC



I normally shoot with canon bodies, but rather than use teleconvertors I've just bought a four thirds system body (olympus) specifically for the 2x magnification factor of the sensor which I intend to couple to a sigma 50-500. It may not be the best setup optically, but I think it is still better than using the 100-400 with a convertor, and it gives me about another 100mm of reach on a body canon body with the 1.6 crop factor.

[nightshade]

Not being an Ace photographer I usually try and find out where the lense gives its best results at (in my case ) 300, 200 etc. at 200 it is as already stated around f8-f9 so my prime lense is at its optimum so that the 1.4 Kenko I use gives of its best in the combination