Kenko SGT-20 PRO 37mm 2.0X Telephoto Hi-Resolution Lens Review

I did a comparison of the Kenko SGT-20Hi with the Sony VCL-R2037, and the Kenko had the superior optics. Flare and coma were much smaller in the Kenko SGT-20Hi. Looking at Jupiter at night, the Kenko was able to resolve one of Jupiter's moons to a pixel, while with the Sony the moon appeared only sporadically. Chromatic aberration was a bit less in the Kenko. The vignetting that all the telephoto lenses have when the camcorder is in its wide angle zoom was slightly greater on the Kenko.

With a Sony CCD-TR500 camcorder, some telephoto lenses have a problem of being "near sighted"---unable to focus beyond about 50 feet when the camera is zoomed. This problem occurs with the Sunpak CAL-1160 and Kenko SGT-20 lenses, but is not a problem with Kenko SGT-20Hi or the Sony VCL-R2037 lenses, which have enough leeway in the focus to even accommodate far-spectrum red lights.

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Canon TCDC10 Tele Converter for the S60, S70 & S80 Digital Cameras Review

While, it hasn't changed my life, I have absolutely enjoy using this lens along with my Powershot S70. It's a great tool when it's used as intended. This lens is designed to extend your camera's optical zoom by 2X. This is very useful if you're shooting in Camera RAW. The S70 doesn't enable digital zoom when shooting in RAW. Please keep in mind that this lens is for distance and landscape shots. It's not an alternative to your regular optical zoom. Nor is it for indoor pictures. You should use your regular zoom in these instances. People have commented that using the flash with this lens will create a goofy blur on your photo. This is true. But, you shouldn't be using your flash anyway. When taking a picture of a mountain, the little flash bulb isn't going to help if there isn't enough natural light. So, turn the flash off and try not to wait until nightfall to start taking pictures. You'll find that this is a great lens for those of us who want a little more zoom and are just not ready to swallow the cost of a good DSLR.

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Kenko 2X Teleplus - 4 Element DG Auto Focus-SONY/Minolta Review

Placed between the camera body and lens, a teleconverter contains a set of optics that will effectively increase the focal length of any lens it is used with. The Kenko AF Teleplus converter MC4 also has genuine Gate Array IC same as the model MC7 and the computer designed 4-element tele-converter provides incomparable performance in 2x telephoto.







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Sony VCL-DH1758 Tele Conversion Lens for DSCH1 Digital Camera Review

I recently bought this lens for a fuji s100fs camera. It works pretty well on this camera. I had to use a 67-58 step-down adaptor ring for it to adapt on the camera and due to vignetting at the wide angle it is not too useful until I zoom to about 200mm. But from 200-400 it is nice and clear. I have already gotten some real good moon shots with this combination and am looking forward to using it for pictures of birds. It is light enough to not be too heavy on my camera when fully zoomed. It is not advertised for this camera much but it works really well. I think Sony is putting some good glass in these tcons for the money.Fujifilm Finepix S100fs 11.1MP Digital Camera with 14.3x Wide Angle Dual Image Stabilized Optical Zoom

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Canon TL30.5 1.9x Extended MagnificationTeleConverter for ZR 80/85/90 Review

Not enough zoom? Make those distant scenes closer to you by extending your telephoto capabilities with Canon optics by using the 1.9X tele-converter. Never miss a shot again.







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Kenko 2X Teleplus - 7 Element DG- Nikon Auto Focus Review

The Kenko Teleplus MC 7 AF converter has the effect of doubling the focal length of your lens. For example, using the MC 7 AF teleconverter with a 300 mm lens will effectively increase the focal length to 600 mm. Placed between the camera body and lens, a teleconverter contains a set of optics that will effectively increase the focal length of any lens it is used with. The Kenko Teleplus MC 7 AF converter has the effect of doubling the focal length of your lens. For example, using the MC 7 AF teleconverter with a 300 mm lens will effectively increase the focal length to 600 mm.







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Kenko 2X Teleplus - 7 Element DG- Pentax Auto Focus Review

I've only been using this product for one day but so far I think it's wonderful. As with many amateur photographers I'm on a very tight budget when it comes to gear so I did lots and lots of research before purchasing the MC-7 (2X) teleconverter. What I found after reviewing many images (found on Google) taken with the MC-4 and the MC-7 was that the MC-7 is significantly higher quality than the MC-4 and well worth the extra money.

For the record I'm using my MC-7 on a Pentax K200D with a Tamron AF70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di LD Macro 1:2 (Model A17). With the teleconverter attached my 70-300mm f/4-5.6 becomes a 140-600mm f/8-11. One big advantage to a teleconverter is that it doubles the magnification while keeping the minimum focal distance the same. On my first use this enabled me to take a picture of a dragonfly at about 3 feet and 180mm which filled the entire frame. I've upload this image as a reference. Some detail was lost in the resizing for Amazon.com but you'll get the idea.

Bottom line...this teleconverter does an acceptable job even with a relatively slow lens. If your using a similar lens plan to use a tripod, use auto-focus but fine tune manually, and you may notice some over or under exposure from time to time. You should expect better performance from a faster f/4 or f/2.8 lens. Personally I'm holding out for the yet-to-be-released Tamron SP AF70-200mm F/2.8 Di LD (IF) Macro (Model A001), but that's a story for another time.

Pentax K200D 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens
Tamron AF70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di LD Macro Lens with hood for Pentax DSLR Cameras

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Kenko 1.5X Teleplus - 4 Element DG Auto Focus-Canon EOS Review

This product definitely does extend the range of my lenses, but it does not perform at all well on the auto-focus function except on large targets in bright light. It is virtually useless in low-light situations, or with smaller targets unless tripod mounted even in good light. We were shooting water birds at some distance, and I was trying to use this tele-converter with both my 18-200 and 70-300 Tamron lenses, but I had to shoot everything on manual, because the auto-focus could not lock on. So I'm definitely disappointed.



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Canon Tele-Converter TL-H34 for the Elura 80/85/90 and Optura 50/60 Review

Canon TL-H34 tele-converter increases the focal length by 1.5x. Image resolution may be lower at the telephoto side.







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Canon TL34 TeleConverter 1.7x extended magnification Review

The TL-34 extends your telephoto viewing by a factor of 1.7x, to the 35 mm equivalent of 816 mm on the Optura 200MC when shooting video. This accessory lens screws onto the front of the camera's zoom lens.







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Sigma 824110 1.4x DG EX APO Teleconverter for Sigma SLR Cameras Review

Didn't actually use the teleconverter because it did not fit any of my lenses. I was in a hurry and just figured it would work with my Sigma 70-300mm DG, f4-5.6 --- or at least some of my other lenses such as the Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8. NOT. Has a very limited set of compatible lenses; check on the Signma site (not listed on the Amazon site). I would have been shooting in bright sunlight, so was not concerned with the loss of a stop.
On the plus side, Amazon was great. Paid for return postage and quickly credited my purchase.

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Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG for Minolta and Sony Mount Lenses Review

Didn't actually use the teleconverter because it did not fit any of my lenses. I was in a hurry and just figured it would work with my Sigma 70-300mm DG, f4-5.6 --- or at least some of my other lenses such as the Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8. NOT. Has a very limited set of compatible lenses; check on the Signma site (not listed on the Amazon site). I would have been shooting in bright sunlight, so was not concerned with the loss of a stop.
On the plus side, Amazon was great. Paid for return postage and quickly credited my purchase.

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Sigma APO Teleconverter 2x EX DG for Sigma SLR Cameras Review

First, to set things straight: this TC is intended for only Canon cameras, and for Sigma lenses that mount on a Canon camera. Anything else, you're taking your chances. Second, there are optical laws that invariably predict a 2-stop decrease in the amount of light hitting the sensor. And finally, glass, no matter which brand or how many exotic elements in it, has undesirable characteristics and you will always lose some amount of clarity, saturation and perceived quality (how much varies from lens to lens and eye to eye).

Now that those fundamentals are out of the way, the results and recommendations. I took several photos using this TC mounted on my Sigma 70-200/2.8 and my Sigma 150-500/5.6~6.3. I also attempted to mount my Canon 28-70/2.8L on it, but the fit did not work (it scrapes and sticks and will not lock into place), and thus I believe they are incompatible. I did not test it with my Sigma 10-20/4.5~5.6 for obvious reasons.

AF is maintained throughout the entire range of the 70-200/2.8, as advertised in Sigma's compatibility chart. MF is engaged electronically for the entire range on the 150-500/5.6~6.3, again per the chart. AF through the 70-200 is solid, accurate, and has no degradation of speed. MF through the 150-500 @ 500 is, as one should understand, a touchy process, though it's aided considerably by the optical stabilization function.

Image quality @ 500mm (really, 1000mm) is not spectacular (though what does one expect, given a maximum aperture of about f/12.9). I didn't expect wonders but I had hopes of better. Some of this is inevitably due to my challenge in focusing, which is difficult without a split-prism finder. The image quality is still fairly bright and saturated, but somewhat noisy-looking. Exposure was accurate. I need to test on monochromatic surfaces to determine what's going on with the noise.

Tripod-mounting the camera, lens and TC for the 1000mm (500mm doubled) test shots produced the best results, improving further with MLU enabled and use of an IR remote. Image quality @ 400mm (200mm doubled) is acceptable and this should be the recommended pairing of lens and teleconverter (70-200/2.8 with this TC). This pairing results in a decent-quality 400/5.6 for well below the price of Canon's prime and zoom lenses in this range. I won't claim that the image quality is better; just, it's decent, and you save a lot of money.

Build quality of the TC is fine and nothing is worth further comment other than that it's a solid, well-built TC with multicoated elements.

I wavered between a 3-star and 4-star rating. I have owned two other TCs, and they were unquestionably 1-star at best. I went with four for this one because of its good performance with the 70-200/2.8, maintaining AF with that lens, and having pleasing build quality (I have no concerns about taking it out and using it frequently). I am however disappointed about the performance with the 150-500/4.5~5.6. I would give it a 3-star for its performance with the 150-500. I think it should at least attempt AF, and if the user has to give up and set it to MF, fine. Here, we don't even have that luxury, and there's no explanation on Sigma's website or the product literature. So, if you are considering this to get yourself a cheap 1000mm lens, be aware of the drawbacks (full-time MF, somewhat noisy images, and challenging focusing in even overcast light). If you're wanting to extend a 70-200, this is the sweet-spot.

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Canon TL-28 TeleConverter Lens Attachment for ZR 100/200/300 & Elura 40MC/50 Camcorders Review

Screwed onto camcorder okay -- brought image somewhat closer -- when zoomed all the way up the image wouldn't focus clearly.

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Canon TL-H43 Tele-Converter Lens for the Canon HV Series Camcorders Review

If you are considering this lens, you should know four things about it to avoid disappointment:

1) It's large and heavy enough to change the balance of the camcorder -- it's the same weight as the WD-H43 Canon wide angle teleconverter, about which you read the same comments.

2) It will block the edges of the field when you zoom out. That is, some of the image will be black when you zoom out. Because of this, you will need to remove the teleconverter for near or large subjects.

3) Color fringes at high-contrast edges will be larger, and the TL-H43 reduces color saturation and shifts the color balance. If you see color fringes around objects such as branches and roofs without the teleconverter, they will be larger with it.

4) Use of a serious tripod is almost mandatory with the TL-H43. The HV20's image stabilization is clearly optimized for the standard lens, and the use of this teleconverter results in not just the normal amplification of image movement, but also a stuttering kind of image distortion, possibly related to the interframe compression used by high-definition camcorders. The HV20 needs a very stable platform to yield good results with the teleconverter.

Despite these limitations, I've been reasonably satisfied with the TL-H43 and continue to use it for birds and distant subjects. Quite to my surprise and amazement, I was able to capture Jupiter's four Galilean moons with it -- not bad for eleven ounces of glass. But don't expect the TL-H43 to break the laws of physics and give you perfect images, either, or you will be disappointed.

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Kenko 1.4X PRO 300 TeleconverterDG-Canon EOS Review

This Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DG AF 1.4x Teleconverter works well with my Canon EOS 40D with Auto Focus/Manual Focus of the following lenses: Canon EF 70-300mm f4.0-5.6 IS USM, EF 70-200mm f2.8 IS USM, Canon EF 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM, and Tamron 28-75mm f2.8. It is well-built and it is on par with Canon 1.4 extender in performance. Given with enough light source, you can get better and sharper images for Canon EF 70-300mm f4.0-5.6 and 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 (at f/11-f/16) and EF 70-200mm f2.8 IS USM and Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 (at f5.6-f/8). I have not tried this TC with lenses above 300mm focal length.


On the other, the problem that I have using this Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DG AF 1.4x Teleconverter is that the camera cannot register automatically in the EXIF data the correct focal length and aperture setting of the aforementioned lenses. However, it is understood that using such TC 1.4x like this a one f/stop loss and 1.4x increase in focal length of the lens being used are expected. But on the other after manually adjusting the aperture setting which is required to get sharper images, the camera can identify now and register the adjusted aperture setting as reflected in the later EXIF data. This is only a minor problem which has nothing to do with image quality of our taken pictures and which can be ignored.


As of the moment, I am happy with this Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DG AF 1.4x Teleconverter which is giving me an added range for my lenses without suffering the loss of image quality of my pictures.


I highly recommend this TC for your added range.


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Kenko 2.0X PRO 300 TeleconverterDG-Canon- EOS Review

I bought this to go between my D80 & my Nikon 80-200 AF 2.8D when I need extra focal length. Other than quickly confirming that AF & metering works with all my lenses, I have not used it with any other camera/lens combination. There is a noticeable loss of sharpness when using the converter, but that's compared to a very sharp lens without the converter. Overall, image quality is satisfactory.

If your reason for choosing this over the Nikon converter is autofocus on AF lenses, then you should be aware that autofocus only works well in very bright lighting. Autofocus does not work in low light, such as poorly lit rooms and twilight hours. The camera tries but focus lock is never achieved. It works slowly and inaccurately in moderate light, such overcast days. Focus locks, but it's often not sharp. It's possible that my camera is to blame, but you should expect to focus manually much of the time with this converter. However, if your use will be mostly outdoors in good weather then the autofocus will likely meet your needs.

Due to the price difference and lack of autofocus with AF lenses, I didn't investigate the Nikon converter. Had I known that I would focus manually on 80% of my shots with the Kenko converter, I would have tried the Nikon to see how the picture quality compared.

One additional note: While I only tried a couple test shots and would not recommend counting on this, in bright light this converter worked with my 18-135 f3.5-5.6 kit lens & my 70-300 f4-5.6 VR lens (for a 35mm equivalent of 900mm f11). Nikon's guidance that autofocus and metering only work at effective apertures of 5.6 or larger appears not to be set in stone. I plan to play more with the 300mm. I'll try to remember to post how it works out.

Update: I recently did some experimentation with the 70-300. Metering worked fine, but the autofocus was consistently off just a little bit. I did get some nice shots using manual focus though. I wouldn't buy this for use with an f5.6 lens, but that doesn't mean you can't get some use out of it if it's in your bag for other reasons.

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Canon TC-DC58C Tele Converter Lens for Canon A650IS, G7 & G9 Digital Cameras Review

Maybe it can't be done, or maybe there isn't enough money in it, because if it could be done or if there were enough money in it, surely the Canon lens development engineers would have already done it to complement and enhance their very exceptional peerless point-and-shoot digital camera, the G9.

The Canon G9...used by photographic novices like myself who want more than only simple point-and-shoot good-but-not-great pictures, yet still want a digital camera of much better quality with more features and capabilities that takes great-not-good exceptionally high-resolution pictures, but want a camera is still relatively small and relatively light and relatively inexpensive, but aren't ready or willing to take the big step into the heavy-duty big league digital cameras used by serious professional photographers with seriously deep pockets or credit card balances) is not a good camera...it is a great camera.

The Canon TC-DC58C Teleconverter lens is a good quality accessory lens with very nice optics for the Canon G9 Digital Camera, and, yes, it does what a teleconverter lens is supposed to do - allow you to zoom even closer and take very nice high-resolution pictures when attached to the G9 of subjects and views that are far away.

The teleconverter lens attaches to the G9 via a required lens adapter. Canon offers a plastic lens adapter - the LA-DC58H, but don't buy it...it's plastic for crying out loud. Lensmate makes a much more durable aluminum Canon G9/G7 58mm lens adapter that is of MUCH better quality - [...]

So, that's all good, but there are two somewhat annoying things about this teleconverter lens:

[1] Why are there no threads on the business end of the lens to accomodate attachment of a UV filter to protect the lens? It certainly can't be a difficult thing to engineer. The absence of threads on the lens body so owners can put on a UV filter - my gosh, that has to be an inexpensive and simple beyond description thing to do - is a seriously glaring design deficiency.

[2] With the teleconverter lens attached and the G9 zoom pulled back it looks like you are looking down a black tube with the subject or view you want to get a shot of showing up as a circle in the center of the view - which, or course, you are looking down a black tube. To be fair, the reason you attach a teleconverter lens is so that you can use the zoom to get even closer to the subject or view you want to get a picture of, and the black tube effect does go away when you use the G9 zoom to get closer to what you want a shot of. And for that, the teleconverter lens works as it should and gives you really nice pictures of further way subjects and views that you can't get with the G9 alone. However, it would sure be handy and nice and appreciated if the creative and very smart Canon lens engineers would bring a teleconverter lens that would allow G9 users who have the teleconverter lens attached to have the flexibility to take full-field-of-view pictures with the zoom pulled all the way back, and then be able to use the lens for its real purpose of extending the G9's zoom for those further-away shots.

Maybe solving the looking-down-a-black-tube thing is too much to expect, maybe it is optically and physically impossible to resolve. And it that's the case, fine...if it is becomse so annoying that a G9 owner can't get past it then there is always the bigger camera - bigger bucks - bigger lens path to take.

All in all, and mainly because of these two things, this teleconverter lens is just sorta ok for an add-on lens for a "tweener" digital camera like the G9 that is easily the best of the point-and-shoot digitals but doesn't reach the level of the big-time digital SLR's.

But I am just sure there are a lot of creative and really smart engineers at Canon, and if the MBA bean-counters would let them, they could come up with a much better and more elegant solution to solve these two annoying things about their teleconverter lens and still extend the optical reach of the otherwise exceptionally excellent Canon G9 digital camera and show the MBA bean-counters at Canon that their overly conservative sales and revenue estimates for G9 teleconverter lens were way too low.


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Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG for Pentax Mount Lenses Review

Didn't actually use the teleconverter because it did not fit any of my lenses. I was in a hurry and just figured it would work with my Sigma 70-300mm DG, f4-5.6 --- or at least some of my other lenses such as the Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8. NOT. Has a very limited set of compatible lenses; check on the Signma site (not listed on the Amazon site). I would have been shooting in bright sunlight, so was not concerned with the loss of a stop.
On the plus side, Amazon was great. Paid for return postage and quickly credited my purchase.

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Sigma APO Teleconverter 2x EX DG for Pentax Mount Lenses Review

First, to set things straight: this TC is intended for only Canon cameras, and for Sigma lenses that mount on a Canon camera. Anything else, you're taking your chances. Second, there are optical laws that invariably predict a 2-stop decrease in the amount of light hitting the sensor. And finally, glass, no matter which brand or how many exotic elements in it, has undesirable characteristics and you will always lose some amount of clarity, saturation and perceived quality (how much varies from lens to lens and eye to eye).

Now that those fundamentals are out of the way, the results and recommendations. I took several photos using this TC mounted on my Sigma 70-200/2.8 and my Sigma 150-500/5.6~6.3. I also attempted to mount my Canon 28-70/2.8L on it, but the fit did not work (it scrapes and sticks and will not lock into place), and thus I believe they are incompatible. I did not test it with my Sigma 10-20/4.5~5.6 for obvious reasons.

AF is maintained throughout the entire range of the 70-200/2.8, as advertised in Sigma's compatibility chart. MF is engaged electronically for the entire range on the 150-500/5.6~6.3, again per the chart. AF through the 70-200 is solid, accurate, and has no degradation of speed. MF through the 150-500 @ 500 is, as one should understand, a touchy process, though it's aided considerably by the optical stabilization function.

Image quality @ 500mm (really, 1000mm) is not spectacular (though what does one expect, given a maximum aperture of about f/12.9). I didn't expect wonders but I had hopes of better. Some of this is inevitably due to my challenge in focusing, which is difficult without a split-prism finder. The image quality is still fairly bright and saturated, but somewhat noisy-looking. Exposure was accurate. I need to test on monochromatic surfaces to determine what's going on with the noise.

Tripod-mounting the camera, lens and TC for the 1000mm (500mm doubled) test shots produced the best results, improving further with MLU enabled and use of an IR remote. Image quality @ 400mm (200mm doubled) is acceptable and this should be the recommended pairing of lens and teleconverter (70-200/2.8 with this TC). This pairing results in a decent-quality 400/5.6 for well below the price of Canon's prime and zoom lenses in this range. I won't claim that the image quality is better; just, it's decent, and you save a lot of money.

Build quality of the TC is fine and nothing is worth further comment other than that it's a solid, well-built TC with multicoated elements.

I wavered between a 3-star and 4-star rating. I have owned two other TCs, and they were unquestionably 1-star at best. I went with four for this one because of its good performance with the 70-200/2.8, maintaining AF with that lens, and having pleasing build quality (I have no concerns about taking it out and using it frequently). I am however disappointed about the performance with the 150-500/4.5~5.6. I would give it a 3-star for its performance with the 150-500. I think it should at least attempt AF, and if the user has to give up and set it to MF, fine. Here, we don't even have that luxury, and there's no explanation on Sigma's website or the product literature. So, if you are considering this to get yourself a cheap 1000mm lens, be aware of the drawbacks (full-time MF, somewhat noisy images, and challenging focusing in even overcast light). If you're wanting to extend a 70-200, this is the sweet-spot.

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Tamron SP AF 1.4x Pro Teleconverter for Nikon Mount Lenses Review

I have been shopping for a fast (large apperature=small number) longer lens than a nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D that I use. I have a longer sigma lens, but it has a slower apperature (f/5.6-6.3). Fast lenses are quite expensive, so I looked at other approaches & arrived at teleconverters to extend the length of my 80-200mm lens. I read a lot online (the above review was not helpful, no offense) prior to deciding to give this tamron SP pro 1.4X TC a trial.
First off, I found it used at a reputable on-line camera outlet for about $50 less than the $180-$190 retail price as of late 2008.
Basically, it works OK -- Using a D-300, I've tried it with the 80-200mm f/2.8 (which turns it into roughly a 112-300mm f/4 lens) and the autofocus is still very quick. The quality of hte photo appears about normal (a steady tripod would probably be very helpful; i was using a monopod).
Though not recommended for lenses "slower" (larger number) than f/2.8, I tried w/ a Nikon 70-300mm, f/4.5-5.6, AF-S VR lens and was pleasantly surprised that it took decent photos --it focused OK, the VR seemed to remain operational, and the quality was OK-- as long as there was sufficient light. I did note the lens hunting for focus more in low light, but i was able to manually focus when necessary. Finally I tried the TC on an old manual focus Nikon 100mm f/2.5 lens (adapted for use w/ current Nikon DSLRs) and liked the quality, but need to further try this combo to better discuss.
Some considerations: the 1.4x multiplication of focal length comes at the expense of one stop (e.g. f/2.8 becomes f/4-- not as quick). Also, the EXIF data (camera metadata) reports the f-stop and focal length as if the teleconverter wasn't there-- at least on the lenses i tried the TC with. So, when looking via view finder, I still saw "f/2.8", though I knew in reality that meant "f/4"-- a little confusing.
Anyway, I think the TC will be a helpfult tool, as i learn to use it more.
Just wanted to add somehting to the discussion that might be helpful to you as you ponder how to "stretch" your photography "wants" in light of your real-life budget... Take care.
Pablo

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Sony SAL-20TC 2.0x Teleconverter Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera Review

This little guy is compact and lightweight. I added it to my G series 70-200mm lens. A few preconceived notions I had were dispelled almost immediately. They said the f stops would need to drop by two by adding this. I thought I would have to make manual adjustments. I did not. When you power on, the lowest two fstops are removed as an option, and even in auto exposure, the pictures are exposed properly. Excellent shots with this fitted behind the G series lens.

One nice thing I did not know about is that they include a bag that fits this teleconverter snugly. I thought I would be stuck finding a really small bag to put it in.

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Canon EF 2X II Extender Telephoto Accessory Review

Will this get the same results as a dedicated 400/500/600mm prime lens..?
Nope.

Did I expect it to..?
Nope.

It's a great thing to leave in the bag for those times when 200mm is just not quite enough or you didn't feel like lugging the 300 f/2.8 (or longer) around.

OK, so it drops my 70-200 down to f/5.6 but I can live with that if it means the difference between getting a shot or going home empty handed.

The difference in sharpness in prints is only slight and only found IF you're looking for it. Most people will never see the difference. That said, care needs to be taken. Using a tripod is almost a must. (FWIW I use one a lot and for ANYTHING shot at 300mm or greater.) Hand holding a 400mm lens is a bit dodgy at the best of times IMO.

Most of the complaints I see for this are by people that either didn't take the time to check which lenses it will work on or figure that they'll get exactly the same results using a 70-200 f/4 (or lesser) as they would if they had chosen a fast 400mm in the first place. Not going to happen. Canon is very specific about which lenses can use this...and the body focus specs aren't exactly hidden either...

If you're looking for a quick and easy way to increase the reach of an already SHARP compatible lens then go for it. If you think you're going to get Canon 400mm f/2.8L performance for [...] bucks... Well, sorry but, time for a reality check.

So why 4 stars instead of 5?
I don't want to skew the results and make people think this is something that they must have or can't live without. IF you can use it, know it's limitations, and HOW to use it...well then it's a nice addition to the kit. OTOH, it's not the end all be all accessory that many people hope/wish/think that it is.

Like I said up top, it's a great thing to keep in the bag.

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Sigma APO Teleconverter 2x EX DG for Nikon Mount Lenses Review

First, to set things straight: this TC is intended for only Canon cameras, and for Sigma lenses that mount on a Canon camera. Anything else, you're taking your chances. Second, there are optical laws that invariably predict a 2-stop decrease in the amount of light hitting the sensor. And finally, glass, no matter which brand or how many exotic elements in it, has undesirable characteristics and you will always lose some amount of clarity, saturation and perceived quality (how much varies from lens to lens and eye to eye).

Now that those fundamentals are out of the way, the results and recommendations. I took several photos using this TC mounted on my Sigma 70-200/2.8 and my Sigma 150-500/5.6~6.3. I also attempted to mount my Canon 28-70/2.8L on it, but the fit did not work (it scrapes and sticks and will not lock into place), and thus I believe they are incompatible. I did not test it with my Sigma 10-20/4.5~5.6 for obvious reasons.

AF is maintained throughout the entire range of the 70-200/2.8, as advertised in Sigma's compatibility chart. MF is engaged electronically for the entire range on the 150-500/5.6~6.3, again per the chart. AF through the 70-200 is solid, accurate, and has no degradation of speed. MF through the 150-500 @ 500 is, as one should understand, a touchy process, though it's aided considerably by the optical stabilization function.

Image quality @ 500mm (really, 1000mm) is not spectacular (though what does one expect, given a maximum aperture of about f/12.9). I didn't expect wonders but I had hopes of better. Some of this is inevitably due to my challenge in focusing, which is difficult without a split-prism finder. The image quality is still fairly bright and saturated, but somewhat noisy-looking. Exposure was accurate. I need to test on monochromatic surfaces to determine what's going on with the noise.

Tripod-mounting the camera, lens and TC for the 1000mm (500mm doubled) test shots produced the best results, improving further with MLU enabled and use of an IR remote. Image quality @ 400mm (200mm doubled) is acceptable and this should be the recommended pairing of lens and teleconverter (70-200/2.8 with this TC). This pairing results in a decent-quality 400/5.6 for well below the price of Canon's prime and zoom lenses in this range. I won't claim that the image quality is better; just, it's decent, and you save a lot of money.

Build quality of the TC is fine and nothing is worth further comment other than that it's a solid, well-built TC with multicoated elements.

I wavered between a 3-star and 4-star rating. I have owned two other TCs, and they were unquestionably 1-star at best. I went with four for this one because of its good performance with the 70-200/2.8, maintaining AF with that lens, and having pleasing build quality (I have no concerns about taking it out and using it frequently). I am however disappointed about the performance with the 150-500/4.5~5.6. I would give it a 3-star for its performance with the 150-500. I think it should at least attempt AF, and if the user has to give up and set it to MF, fine. Here, we don't even have that luxury, and there's no explanation on Sigma's website or the product literature. So, if you are considering this to get yourself a cheap 1000mm lens, be aware of the drawbacks (full-time MF, somewhat noisy images, and challenging focusing in even overcast light). If you're wanting to extend a 70-200, this is the sweet-spot.

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Tamron AF 2x Teleconverter for Nikon Mount Lenses Review

This is a very good solution if u dont want to spend $$ for long telephoto. This can be used on Digital SLR I use it with D80 one of the reviewer has mentioned mumbo jumbo written by Tamron which they have to because this is not designed for digital camera but that doesnt mean it can not be used. AF will work but will be slow and hunt so be prepared to do manual focusing. I use it for nature and wildlife photography and has clicked descent quality pictures with my skill level. I use it with Tamron 75-300 mm and this teleconverter makes it 600mm pretty descent range for the purpose of wildlife photography. It will slow down lens by 2 f stops so u will need very low shutter speeds or pretty good light.

In short it can be used effectively if you really know what you are doing and obviously something like this is difficult to use at 600 mm handheld so more often than not you will have to use tripod but when you compare the cost advantage it is a no brainer for a newbie or a hobbyist not wanting to spend too much.

4 starts because it is not a perfect solution but it is not even supposed to be so read it as 5 stars if you understand the limitations of this thing.

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Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG for Canon Mount Lenses Review

Didn't actually use the teleconverter because it did not fit any of my lenses. I was in a hurry and just figured it would work with my Sigma 70-300mm DG, f4-5.6 --- or at least some of my other lenses such as the Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8. NOT. Has a very limited set of compatible lenses; check on the Signma site (not listed on the Amazon site). I would have been shooting in bright sunlight, so was not concerned with the loss of a stop.
On the plus side, Amazon was great. Paid for return postage and quickly credited my purchase.

Buy it here now!

Sigma APO Teleconverter 2x EX DG for Canon Mount Lenses Review

First, to set things straight: this TC is intended for only Canon cameras, and for Sigma lenses that mount on a Canon camera. Anything else, you're taking your chances. Second, there are optical laws that invariably predict a 2-stop decrease in the amount of light hitting the sensor. And finally, glass, no matter which brand or how many exotic elements in it, has undesirable characteristics and you will always lose some amount of clarity, saturation and perceived quality (how much varies from lens to lens and eye to eye).

Now that those fundamentals are out of the way, the results and recommendations. I took several photos using this TC mounted on my Sigma 70-200/2.8 and my Sigma 150-500/5.6~6.3. I also attempted to mount my Canon 28-70/2.8L on it, but the fit did not work (it scrapes and sticks and will not lock into place), and thus I believe they are incompatible. I did not test it with my Sigma 10-20/4.5~5.6 for obvious reasons.

AF is maintained throughout the entire range of the 70-200/2.8, as advertised in Sigma's compatibility chart. MF is engaged electronically for the entire range on the 150-500/5.6~6.3, again per the chart. AF through the 70-200 is solid, accurate, and has no degradation of speed. MF through the 150-500 @ 500 is, as one should understand, a touchy process, though it's aided considerably by the optical stabilization function.

Image quality @ 500mm (really, 1000mm) is not spectacular (though what does one expect, given a maximum aperture of about f/12.9). I didn't expect wonders but I had hopes of better. Some of this is inevitably due to my challenge in focusing, which is difficult without a split-prism finder. The image quality is still fairly bright and saturated, but somewhat noisy-looking. Exposure was accurate. I need to test on monochromatic surfaces to determine what's going on with the noise.

Tripod-mounting the camera, lens and TC for the 1000mm (500mm doubled) test shots produced the best results, improving further with MLU enabled and use of an IR remote. Image quality @ 400mm (200mm doubled) is acceptable and this should be the recommended pairing of lens and teleconverter (70-200/2.8 with this TC). This pairing results in a decent-quality 400/5.6 for well below the price of Canon's prime and zoom lenses in this range. I won't claim that the image quality is better; just, it's decent, and you save a lot of money.

Build quality of the TC is fine and nothing is worth further comment other than that it's a solid, well-built TC with multicoated elements.

I wavered between a 3-star and 4-star rating. I have owned two other TCs, and they were unquestionably 1-star at best. I went with four for this one because of its good performance with the 70-200/2.8, maintaining AF with that lens, and having pleasing build quality (I have no concerns about taking it out and using it frequently). I am however disappointed about the performance with the 150-500/4.5~5.6. I would give it a 3-star for its performance with the 150-500. I think it should at least attempt AF, and if the user has to give up and set it to MF, fine. Here, we don't even have that luxury, and there's no explanation on Sigma's website or the product literature. So, if you are considering this to get yourself a cheap 1000mm lens, be aware of the drawbacks (full-time MF, somewhat noisy images, and challenging focusing in even overcast light). If you're wanting to extend a 70-200, this is the sweet-spot.

Buy it here now!

Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG for Nikon Mount Lenses Review

Didn't actually use the teleconverter because it did not fit any of my lenses. I was in a hurry and just figured it would work with my Sigma 70-300mm DG, f4-5.6 --- or at least some of my other lenses such as the Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8. NOT. Has a very limited set of compatible lenses; check on the Signma site (not listed on the Amazon site). I would have been shooting in bright sunlight, so was not concerned with the loss of a stop.
On the plus side, Amazon was great. Paid for return postage and quickly credited my purchase.

Buy it here now!

Tamron AF 1.4x Teleconverter for Canon Mount Lenses Review

I have been using the 1.4 teleconverter with a Tamron 75-300 lens that's pretty slow (f5.6 at 300), so I can only use manual focus. I have read that teleconverters will give images that are no better than what you would get by cropping and then enlarging with a regular telephoto. I am glad to say that I have found the images with this teleconverter to be much better than that. When I was cropping and enlarging images taken at 300 mm, I was able to see identifying marks on birds but the images themselves were really bad. The images with this teleconverter are much better, though it's true that I've only used it in daylight and with a fairly high ISO to get a decent shurtter speed. I find some of the images to be a bit soft around the edges, but am overall quite pleased with this relatively inexpensive solution to needing more reach to take pictures of birds and wildlife. Someday I hope to be able to afford a really good, really long telephoto. Until then, this teleconverter and the Tamron 75-300 together cost about one fourth the cost of the cheapest good long telephoto I've seen.

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Tamron SP AF 2x Pro Teleconverter for Canon Mount Lenses Review

I realize now that I probably would have been fine with the non-PRO version of the teleconverter -- I'm not certain whether the differences between the PRO and standard actually justify the extra cost (unless you use Canon L lenses perhaps). But that is neither here nor there.

The Tamron SP Autofocus 2x Pro Teleconverter doubles your lens' focal length and adds two f-stops (meaning you'll be getting 1/4 the light with the teleconverter). This is the same for all 2X teleconverters. The addition 2 f-stops will make it difficult to use autofocus unless you have a fast lens and lots of light to work with. You'll also want to use the teleconverter with a long telephoto lens.

The Tamron SP Autofocus 2x Pro Teleconverter works as advertised with 35mm and digital cameras. I've had no problems using a Tamron 70-300mm lens with this teleconverter on a Rebel XT aside from the expected auto-focus issues. There are a few issues I noticed though beyond the typical problems found with any 2X teleconverter:

(1) The teleconverter causes autofocus to misbehave with some lenses. The only lens I've ever had this happen with is a Sigma High Speed 28-70mm f2.8-4 zoom. It wasn't just that the autofocus couldn't achieve a lock but seemed to be more of an incompatibility issue with the lens focusing in and out nonstop.

(2) The Canon Rebel XT kit lens - and probably all EF-S lenses - will not phyically FIT into this teleconverter. The EOS digital-only EF-S mount lenses won't physically fit in standard 35mm cameras either so this isn't a total surprise.

(3) Using this teleconverter with a non-auto-focus manual-only lens (or a telescope) will stop the shutter release button from functioning. I understand this is a fairly common problem with teleconverters. The solution is, when attaching the teleconverter to the camera, to avoid rotating the teleconverter completely so that it does not lock in place. This ensures that the camera and teleconverter electrical contacts are not engaged.

I find the Tamron SP Autofocus 2x Pro Teleconverter quite useful though perhaps a bit overpriced for those of us without premium lenses.

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Tamron SP AF 2x Pro Teleconverter for Nikon Mount Lenses Review

This teleconverter was given to me as a gift, and I eagerly looked forward to using it. However, when I connected it between my Nikon D300 and my Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 lens, absolutely nothing happened. No auto-focus. So I disconnected it and then reconnected and still no autofocus ability. I then confirmed all settings and it still would not work. So I went to manual mode, and was able to zoom in and out by hand, but when I went to take a picture, the picture was solid black--no picture came through.

So if you are considering this product for a Nikon D300, you may want to pass.

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Tamron AF 2X Teleconverter for Canon Mount Lenses Review

I purchased this for astrophotography purposes, I'm using it with a Canon Rebel XSi (EOS 450D).

As the description says, using this costs you 2 stops. Autofocus has been hit and miss for me; my 50mm prime searches a bit, but usually focuses fine. My Tamron 70-300mm Di LD lens won't autofocus at all.

Quality-wise, I get noticable purple fringing in some images, but nothing that's uncorrectable.

I'm definitely recommend this to anybody searching for a cheap teleconverter - If you want quality though, get the Canon version.

Buy it here now!