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Teleconverter for 10D and Sigma 70-300mm lens

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nikrphoto

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Hi Folks,

The reports that I had from you all, seem to be not too positive about the sigma 135-400mm lens. Thanx for the opinions...

So am was thinking of some analternative for enhancing my sigma 70-300mm Macro DL lens using a teleconverter.

Any suggestions on the following:
1. which one to buy - 1.4x or 2 x
2. which company
3. does any of them support auto focus with canon 10D and the sigma lens i have
4. what are the pros and cons
5. cost

thanx,
niraj
 
Niraj said:
1. which one to buy - 1.4x or 2 x
2. which company
3. does any of them support auto focus with canon 10D and the sigma
lens i have
4. what are the pros and cons
5. cost
Click to expand...
Hi Niraj. I recently did a lot of forum archive searching, and then asked direct follow-up questions to a couple of the resident TC experts here. They will probably chime in here, but in case they don't, here is what I ended up with after the research.

Tamron 1.4x (the regular $70 version, not the SP) for my Sigma 50-500. I can foresee buying another TC at some point (maybe Tamron 2x or even Canon 2x)... but that would just be for "fun". By all accounts, the 1.4x gives very good results. 2x starts to see more significant image quality and aperature degradation. And AF is retained.

Hope this heps... even though mine was just ordered yesterday!

Vance
 
Hi Vance,
Many thanks for the useful info.
I will check the Tamron site for more.

regards,
Niraj
Vancemac said:
Niraj said:
1. which one to buy - 1.4x or 2 x
2. which company
3. does any of them support auto focus with canon 10D and the sigma
lens i have
4. what are the pros and cons
5. cost
Click to expand...
Hi Niraj. I recently did a lot of forum archive searching, and then
asked direct follow-up questions to a couple of the resident TC
experts here. They will probably chime in here, but in case they
don't, here is what I ended up with after the research.

Tamron 1.4x (the regular $70 version, not the SP) for my Sigma
50-500. I can foresee buying another TC at some point (maybe
Tamron 2x or even Canon 2x)... but that would just be for "fun".
By all accounts, the 1.4x gives very good results. 2x starts to
see more significant image quality and aperature degradation. And
AF is retained.

Hope this heps... even though mine was just ordered yesterday!

Vance
Click to expand...
 
Vancemac said:
Tamron 1.4x (the regular $70 version, not the SP) for my Sigma
50-500.
Click to expand...
Sad to see that conclusion, it's the one that yields the worst image quality. The only TC I would put on a lens such as the 50-500 (but not the 70-300, for that no TC will cut it anyway) is the Sigma 1.4x original one which doesn't compromise image quality as much. AF isn't retained (at least not in any reliable way) because the aperture of the combination is f/9 (which is even beyond the limit for 1D-series cameras of f/8 and way beyond the f/5.6 limit of the lower specced DSLRs), so manual focusing is a must.

On the Sigma 70-300mm lens AF with a 1.4X TC is probably a bit better than on the 50-500 but still nothing I would use on a regular basis. Still putting a TC on such a lens is worse than upsizing the resulting image in PS, so why bother.
--
regards
Karl Günter Wünsch
 
Agreeing with Karl.

After you get over the initial 'wow' of the longer lens you will find it disappointing in use. Loss of AF and the viewfinder will be so dark as to make manual focus a challenge (esp on APS-c sized sensors!). Better to crop. I suspect the only lense where TCs work (moderately) well would be f2.8 L glass.
 
Hi Karl and GjB,

Hmm.. then what do u guys suggest. Is there any way I can enhance the range of my existing 70-300mm sigma?
Buying a 50-500 means cost and I dont want to shell out another 1000USD.

By the way can you guys point me to some site where I can see the pictures taken using these teleconverters and a similar [if not same] kind of lens.

thanxs,
Niraj
GjB said:
Agreeing with Karl.

After you get over the initial 'wow' of the longer lens you will
find it disappointing in use. Loss of AF and the viewfinder will be
so dark as to make manual focus a challenge (esp on APS-c sized
sensors!). Better to crop. I suspect the only lense where TCs work
(moderately) well would be f2.8 L glass.
Click to expand...
 
Niraj said:
Hi Karl and GjB,

Hmm.. then what do u guys suggest. Is there any way I can enhance
the range of my existing 70-300mm sigma?
Click to expand...
IMHO this is something of last resort. The only person I know of that has good success (against the plethora of people without) is Daniella (look for her, she's posting here often).
nikrphoto said:
Buying a 50-500 means cost and I dont want to shell out another
1000USD.
Click to expand...
If you really need that 400-500mm then shelling out the money is unfortunately the only option which will lead to some sort of satisfactory result. I have been using the Canon 1.4x Extender on my 100-400L with manual focus and have had acceptable results:



--
regards
Karl Günter Wünsch
 
GjB wrote:
"I couldn't imagine using TC on those lenses."

That's too bad. Because to me, photography is FUN. And sometimes that fun is about getting flawless, poster-size prints and agonizing over every single pixel. But sometimes it has nothing to do with that. Sometimes it is about experimentation, wow factor, exploring the limitations of your equipment. The fact that I will lose an f stop and maybe a smidgeon of image sharpness hardly concerns me when gaining 40% reach... especially when it's for a measly $70!
 
hi Vance,
can u send in some sample pics with ur TC. which camera do u use? is it a canon?

niraj
Vancemac said:
GjB wrote:
"I couldn't imagine using TC on those lenses."

That's too bad. Because to me, photography is FUN. And sometimes
that fun is about getting flawless, poster-size prints and
agonizing over every single pixel. But sometimes it has nothing to
do with that. Sometimes it is about experimentation, wow factor,
exploring the limitations of your equipment. The fact that I will
lose an f stop and maybe a smidgeon of image sharpness hardly
concerns me when gaining 40% reach... especially when it's for a
measly $70!
Click to expand...
 
Niraj said:
hi Vance,
can u send in some sample pics with ur TC. which camera do u use?
is it a canon?
Click to expand...
It can't be a Canon as the Canon (or Sigma for that matter) have protuding front elements which will not fit most lenses (only L primes over 100mm and a few selected zooms are supported).
--
regards
Karl Günter Wünsch
 
Hi Karl,

i checked the tamron TC site [ http://www.tamron.com/lenses/prod/teles.asp] and its compatible with canon mount. I have a canon 10D. So do u think that would be fine?

niraj
Karl Günter Wünsch said:
Niraj said:
hi Vance,
can u send in some sample pics with ur TC. which camera do u use?
is it a canon?
Click to expand...
It can't be a Canon as the Canon (or Sigma for that matter) have
protuding front elements which will not fit most lenses (only L
primes over 100mm and a few selected zooms are supported).
--
regards
Karl Günter Wünsch
Click to expand...
 
Here is a shot taken with my 10D+Tamron 2xTC , on the Sigma 70-300DL Lens. I had to MF with it, but the lens will AF with the Tamron 1.4TC. The darker shading on the left side of the image was from a tree trunk I was hiding behind to take this. The image isn't all that bad for a cheap lens. I bought my Bigma, to replace the 70-300.



Rocky
Niraj said:
Hi Folks,

The reports that I had from you all, seem to be not too positive
about the sigma 135-400mm lens. Thanx for the opinions...

So am was thinking of some analternative for enhancing my sigma
70-300mm Macro DL lens using a teleconverter.

Any suggestions on the following:
1. which one to buy - 1.4x or 2 x
2. which company
3. does any of them support auto focus with canon 10D and the sigma
lens i have
4. what are the pros and cons
5. cost

thanx,
niraj
Click to expand...
--
http://rockyc.smugmug.com/
http://www.pbase.com/rockyc2

 
Hey Rocky thats a great shot! i was planning the 1.4xTamron. Would like to know if the telecon causes any damage to the canon or the sigma lens mount points over a period of time.

One more thing, the sigma 70-300 macro is a macro in 200-300mm range. Does attacching the TC affect the minimum macro distance?

the bigma should definitey be a better choice if one has the money to spend :-).. guess not for me for some more time..

niraj
Rocky II said:


Rocky
Niraj said:
Hi Folks,

The reports that I had from you all, seem to be not too positive
about the sigma 135-400mm lens. Thanx for the opinions...

So am was thinking of some analternative for enhancing my sigma
70-300mm Macro DL lens using a teleconverter.

Any suggestions on the following:
1. which one to buy - 1.4x or 2 x
2. which company
3. does any of them support auto focus with canon 10D and the sigma
lens i have
4. what are the pros and cons
5. cost

thanx,
niraj
Click to expand...
--
http://rockyc.smugmug.com/
http://www.pbase.com/rockyc2

Click to expand...
 
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