I have herd many times that Teleconverter are useless, they take away too much from the lens native abilities. I agree that they do take away a lot, but I also believe that the Canon EF 2x II Extender has a place in my camera bag. Think of the price of an entry level 800mm lens, now think of the price of a Canon EF 2x II Extender coupled with my Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM Lens…
The major drawbacks I experienced are:
- A loss of about 2 stops
- Loss of auto focus
- Extra weight of 280g
- Compatible with selected EF lenses
- Needs a support to be useful (Bean Bag, Tripod, …)
The major advantages are:
- Far cheaper than having to buy a specialised lens
- L lens with fluoride optics
- Easy to mount
- Doubles the selected lens’ reach
It is a “speciality” piece of equipment, getting used to it and it’s acceptable use can be difficult, even with a Image Stabilised Lens such as the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM Lens. So what can it be used for? Any photography where a support can be used, I personally used it for bird, sky photography, paparazzi style photography and the odd wildlife photography but the latter is rather difficult as I used it with a bean bag in the past, I have bought a Car Window Mount since, though I have not field tested it yet.
The major advantage is the reach, with a 400mm lens you will achieve 800mm, however couple with an APS-C camera that brings it to a whopping 1280mm, for birding and sky photography it’s absolutely brilliant and a tripod can (should) be used in both these activities.
Here are some shots done with a Canon 400D, a Canon EF 2x II Extender and a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM Lens.
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As you can see a Teleconverter when used for the right reason can be very useful.
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Tags: Photography
