Canon 2X III Extender test photo - 1 Mb.

I prefer real world test photos of lenses. The 2X III Canon Extender works well and now I can enjoy having a 1000mm lens. The only downside is that it has to be manually focussed on most cameras except the 1D series professional cameras. That isn't so easy because using live view and 10X magnification the slightest turn left or right blurs the image. Canon has to work on making these big lenses easier to focus. Using the viewfinder is unacceptable for my vision. If it is windy you won't be able to focus the lens at all.

The photo was taken from Blues Point in Sydney and is about 650 metres away from the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The angle up would increase that distance a little. This is the first time I have been able to clearly see the people doing the Harbour Bridge Climb. I used the 60D for the additional effective reach making this a virtual 1600mm lens. No processing done on the photo. f/10 @ 1/400sec with cable release and live view.

I highly recommend this extender on the large glass telephoto lenses.

Vince

I may be wrong, but any lens with an constant aperture of f/2.8 with the 2X extenders, will auto focus on any cameras, it's when you use a lens that has a narrower aperture than f/2.8.

Bernard

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I measure my success in life not by my awards, but by the amount of smiles, hugs and kisses I get from my family on a daily basis !

Of course you are right. I was referring to f/4 lenses. The 60D and 5DII will not autofocus @ f/8.

The 300 and 400mm f/2.8 lenses will autofocus with the 2XIII extender.
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OvinceZ at Flickr

Second sample photo up at Smugmug.



Go here to see the original photo. http://ovincez.smugmug.com/Lenses/Canon-Extender-2X-III/17987280_RFDxsg#1377877458_nsSBvm6-O-LB

Vince
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OvinceZ at Flickr

This photo amazed me. Taken after sunset using 500mm lens and 2XIII extender on Canon 60D. 1/2 second exposure from 1200 away is incredible. Tricky to precisely focus the lens using live view. This is not the original size.

Vince



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OvinceZ at Flickr

The Barrenjoey Lighthouse at Palm Beach in Sydney's north. Taken from West Head Lookout 2 km away. 60D with 500mm lens plus 2X III Extender. The detail is excellent and most of the roof grooves are revealed here. Very impressed with this extender. Now if we had autofocus at f/8 it would be even better.

Vince



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OvinceZ at Flickr

I have used this sign to check resolution of various lenses and sensors. This is by far the clearest view I have seen yet. Quite impressive and a credit to Canon lens division. Canon 60D with 500f/4 lens and 2XIII Extender. Sign is at Luna Park in North Sydney and I was shooting from Blues Point 550 m away. Measured with ruler in Google Earth.



Vince
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OvinceZ at Flickr

Without knowing how heavily these shots have been cropped, it is a bit difficult to judge them, but even if they are at 100% I find the sharpness on several of them less than impressive, despite the apparent appearance of over-sharpening artifacts – look at the letters on the signs, or the edge of the railings on the bridge-climbers shot. And just for the record, I am viewing them on a Dell U2711, so this is not a monitor issue.

The Bridge Climb photo is 100% crop. So is the sign. The other photos have the full size originals on my Smugmug site. I did absolutely no sharpening. What I am claiming is that these photos reveal more detail than any I have taken with the 60D or 5DII with the 500mm lens and/or 1.4 Extender. The 2XIII Extender seems as good as the 1.4II which is a surprise.

Vince
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OvinceZ at Flickr

I think the detail is very nice in all your shots, considering the cropping and distance to target. Atmospherical conditions also start to affect the photo with such long focal lengths.

ukkisavosta said:

Atmospherical conditions also start to affect the photo with such long focal lengths.

Click to expand...

I'd say they do more than start to affect image quality at these distances and focal lengths they are the predominant factor. I'd say the images look very good for the conditions he's testing at..... I fight atmospheric abberations all the time with my EF800mm F5.6L especially on warm sunny days...

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D. Robert Franz
http://www.franzfoto.com

I agree that the new Canon 2X TC III is an improvement. Your photos are quite good considering the atmospherics involved.

This is one of the photos that convinced me of the goodness of this new TC. My old 2X TC II was very disappointing and never ever gave results like this.



--
Fred Lord

Nice shot . I was considering getting the 1.4 , but that would only give me 1 more stop . Not really worth it on the 70-200 , but it might have been on the 35-350 - if I could get it to AF .

From what I have read it would not and have not had a chance to go to photo store to check out . But theory and real life are different .
Sorry , I do have the 2 X III .
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1st it's a hobby
7D gripped XTI gripped
Canon - efs 10-22 , 17-55 , ef 18-55 IS
EF 28-90 , 28 @ 2.8 , 50 @1.8 , 28-135 IS
L's 35-350 , 70-200 MK II IS
Quantaray lens 70-300 macro
Sigma 135 - 400
2X III , Life Size converter
KSM filters for all
kenko auto tubes , EF 25

fredlord said:

I agree that the new Canon 2X TC III is an improvement. Your photos are quite good considering the atmospherics involved.

This is one of the photos that convinced me of the goodness of this new TC. My old 2X TC II was very disappointing and never ever gave results like this.



--
Fred Lord

Click to expand...

was that on a 300 2.8 IS?

could you post a 100% crop of the sharpest part.

that looks great at web size, curious how the 100% view compares to my copy

bronxbombers said:

fredlord said:

I agree that the new Canon 2X TC III is an improvement. Your photos are quite good considering the atmospherics involved.

This is one of the photos that convinced me of the goodness of this new TC. My old 2X TC II was very disappointing and never ever gave results like this.

--
Fred Lord

Click to expand...

was that on a 300 2.8 IS?

Click to expand...

The photo was shot with a 500L IS f/4 on a 1D MK IV.

bronxbombers said:

could you post a 100% crop of the sharpest part.

Click to expand...

Here is another photo from the same shoot plus another from a day later with a second copy of the 2X TC III. They are at 100%.

bronxbombers said:

that looks great at web size, curious how the 100% view compares to my copy

Click to expand...

I'd be interested to read how it compares. I had two different copies during this trip. I borrowed one from CPS and then immediately bought my own when I saw what it could do.
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Fred Lord