Subject is secondary - IQ with 2x TC

[Ed Vatza]

Experimenting with the Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS with the Canon 2x TC. What do you think of the IQ here?

Canon 30D and aforementioned lens - tripod-mounted.

1/500 sec @ f/5.6; ISO 800; 0 EV; Focal length 600mm

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s1/EdV_02/036-Edit-2.jpg

[Alfred Forns]

That is a sharp combo Ed !! No concerns there It will slow down the AF but will give you a better response than any other lens !!! btw remember the crop factor in determining your focal length !!! Keep it steady at the low shutter speed used !!!

Fill flash would have helped here Need more shadow detail !!! Would also remove the oof grass in the bg The two by the tail are particularly eye grabbers !!!

[Lance Peters]

Hi - IQ looks good to me - gorgeous BG.

Removed the OOF Grasses (Quick and dirty - cloning marks left behind etc), S/H - sharpened the eye.

:)

[Nicki Gwynn Jones]

Hi Ed, Lovely image - Lance did a great job with the repost - now that BG is really stunning!!

[Doug Brown]

It's pretty sharp Ed. But I think sharpness would be significantly better if you stopped down to f/8 or so with a 2x.

[Ed Vatza]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the feedback here.

My primary concern was IQ with the 2x TC. I have not been more than a rare user of TCs in the past primarily because the lenses I used at that time were the best for combination with a TC - lens like the Canon 70-300 f/4-5.6. I would lose AF, etc. etc.

Anyway, I just got the 300 and the 2x last week. I went with the 300mm f/2.8L IS because I believed it was my most versatile alternative. I could have a 300 f/2.8 or 420 f/4 with a 1.4x TC or 600 f/5.6 with a 2x TC. I would lose AF with my 30D. all would be great assuming IQ would hold.

In all my research, it seemed that if IQ with a 2x was going to hold with any lens, it would be with a 300 2.8.

Anyway, I was just experimenting last night in order to check out IQ. It looked good to me but I wanted to hear what others had to say.

It was late in the day (less than an hour before dark) and I was losing light and gaining shadows. I could have used some fill flash. I had a flash, beamer and bracket with me but just didn't decide to use it in this case since i was just "foolin' around". Same goes for the excess reeds. I was more interested in capturing some images to check IQ than getting a perfect background. I could have cloned the oof reeds out but I figured it was too much trouble so I decided to wait for Lance to do it! :D:D:D;) Thanks, Lance. Appreciate your efforts. The image does look much better. Can I send all my images over to you for PP? :eek:

I know I am getting wordy and some of this goes beyond the pale of this particular forum but I wanted to spell out where I was coming from with this image.

Again thanks. Other comments? Anybody?

[Lance Peters]

Hey Ed - no prolems my friend - only real quick fixes not perfect by any means.

Intresting combo - think you could hand hold it?? Reason I ask is I am looking at a Sigma 300 F2.8 with a 2X converter and wondering if it would e possile to get sharp shots handheld. The canon has IS were the sigma does not.

Look forward to seeing more from this combo :)

[Nonda Surratt]

Ed,

Nice image! Nice re-post Lance

I use the 300f2.8+2x a bunch, in fact most of the images I've put up on this forum and originally it was used with the 30D. While I have used it at f5.6, I have found the sweet spot with mine to be f7.1 for detail+shutter speed. The only real up side using it with the MIII is it does AF faster. While you probably already know this using the distance switch on the 300 is vital to getting the best AF performance with the 300+2x.

Your path to the 300+2x is exactly the same one I took and for the same reasons. I wanted versatile in the field (hiking) since I'm rarely in a situation where I can just set up in one spot and didn't weigh a ton, I have been more than pleased with the combo.

Big congrats on the new equipment!

[Alfred Forns]

Ed I think lots of the bad press with converters has to do with the operator. Any converter will have some image degradation but they are plenty good. I use my wide open for the most part but will stop down a tad if I'm able.

On the Nikon side the 2.0X was supposed to be unusable but once the new bodies came out with better ISO so we could crank it up and new lenses with VR ... then they seem to work !!!

[Julie Kenward]

Love the repost...it's so much stronger all cleaned up.