1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
Doing a test with the version iii extender would be the best way for you to decide if the upgrade is worth it for you.
With current sensors, you really have to decide whether you are better off cropping versus using an extender. I am going to be shooting some outside stuff later today and for fun shot the same subject from the same distance using an EF 400 f2.8 IS II with and without the version II 1.4X extender. Here are a couple of comparison shots below with the bare lens cropped to basically the same subject size for both conditions.
The EF 400 f2.8 is one of optically sharpest lenses Canon makes so even with the degradation via the extender it is still sharp but the results are noticeable. This was using my 1DX III, the same setup with my 5DS R would likely bias the results even more towards cropping.
Just a little more data to help you decide whether it is worthwhile to upgrade from an early to later version of an extender. The better high ISO performance of newer bodies helps offset the old problem of losing a stop with the 1.4X but with the denser/higher MP sensor it makes cropping a much more viable option also.
First image is bare EF 400 f2.8 IS II, the second with the 1.4X and both were shot from exactly the same location. The last image shows why the loss of depth of field is a drawback to the use of the extender, only about a 3" loss for this combination at the distance I was shooting but if I had used the extender with the last image it would have been an issue.
Rodger
Gerry,
I was using single point spot AF and I shifted the camera right before that shot so the focus point is just inward of the leading edge of the roof, basically the vertical plane would be the middle of the head of the bird sitting on the left edge of the feeder.
I was using a 1DX III which has no problem doing AF with the 1.4X. Since this is the EF 400 f2.8, the 1DX III will AF with both the 1.4X and 2X extenders and PROBABLY could do with both in use simultaneously since the AF will work at f8 but I have never tried that combination.
These are a couple of shots taken with the EF 400 f2.8 with 2X and heavily cropped, still usable but the extender takes a toll. The cat photo has the AF point at the bottom corner of the image and is at ISO 1250 which has a very minor impact upon detail, the moon has the AF point on the center of the moon and is at ISO 400.
The final image is with the EF 800 f5.6, same focal length and aperture as the EF 400 f2.8 plus 2X combination. Image quality wise it performs a bit better than the 400 plus 2X. Some lenses do take a converter well but not all of them and especially the 2X. I used a 400 f5.6 for many years and I as much as I tried I could never capture what I felt was a really good image using it with a 2X converter while the 400 f2.8 plus 2X is a fairly usable combination as long as you don't critically compare it to the bare 400 lens.
Extenders do work and provide usable images but when you directly compare an image with the bare lens versus the extended version, the loss of quality is there. There are times that the extender is definitely useful but I think with the higher res sensors we have now, many of us who relied upon them a lot in the past will need to re-evaluate. I don't think the choice is as clear or easy a decision as it was 10 years ago.
Rodger
Ernie,
Those sparrows were heavily cropped shot from too far away hand held in a strong wind so one word for those conditions would be sub-optimal but in reality they were pretty typical. I was curious how the setup would do with and without a telecon in pretty typical conditions where you aren't as close as you would like to be.
And I think I am entering my sub-optimal photography phase. I have been stalking an extremely shy woodpecker who refuses to let me get anywhere close and he also loves to be strongly backlit, maybe the bugs are closer to the surface on the shaded side of a tree. These were shot with a 5DS and EF 800 and cropped from about 10% of the sensor area. I am sure that at some point he will decide to actually pose for me. At least my washing machine transmission repair went well today so maybe I can take that up as my new calling 🙂
Rodger
You are welcome and that field has beautiful color, great job of capturing Bambi in it! Maybe I need to go out and find a nice friendly group of deer.
My woodpecker is taunting me. He often is plying his trade on one English walnut near the west edge of my property so I set the a tripod up for it to see if he would show and within 20 minutes I heard his unmistakable tapping noise coming from almost directly overhead. I was located under a tall hackberry tree and he was near the top. Although a 2 foot long, 11 pound EF 800 f5.6 isn't great for handheld use I released it from the tripod and got a few photos of him before he flew elsewhere.
He is an interesting bird and our mutual behavior is amusing to my daughter. She told me that she can already see what some psychologist will write in the future: the subject was already becoming unhinged from the lack of sports shooting due to the pandemic and then he begin to imagine that the birds were conspiring to work against him and that is what pushed him over the edge into full blown insanity 🙂
Rodger
The woodpeckers in my area are very elusive as well, my attempts to photograph them in the trees so far have been dismal, but I managed to capture one interesting snap of a wood pecker and his victim insect meal on the ground. -Gerry
