nikon 200-400vr and tc14 eII sharpness

I apologize if this issue has been covered previously in threads.

Ive been shooting with the 200-400 for about a month in a half now. Overall, I'm pretty happy. The lens itself though I believe is a bit lacking in sharpness. Tripod, VR, good light....all that stuff - still a bit soft. For the most part though this was easily corected with unsharp mask.

I just purchased a tc14 for it however, and have been greatly disapointed.

I am checking my focus in the viewfinder, using a sturdy tripod, and vr...... same results. I noticed this the first day I attatched to the tc. I was photographing backlit black bears..... Now this was a tricky lighting situation that coud easily fool my d300's AF, especially considering that the bears were in tall grass. So no problem, I figured I would try something a bit different. I went then to an osprey nest. Birds were about 25 yards away, blue sky, frontal lighting, good contrast. Same results.

Have others experienced this problem?

Jared

Many people are finding af on bif is not good when you add a tc to a Nikon telephoto.

jared,

With the x1.4 I hardly see much of a difference with the 200-400vr on my D3 or D2x. Have no problems with sharpness either...hmmmmm.

I see you have the D300, try the AF Fine Tune both for the lens alone and the lens with the x1.4. You can save your tweaks for both.

Sorry - I meant to add I had a D300 in my post but did not.

It is specific for the distance at which you are tuning.

I have been experimenting with this issue and have found that the sharpness is distance related. Photographing a barred owl on a branch about 25 feet away produced good results...and this was handheld. Shore birds that were accustomed to people and were about 20 ft away - again no problem. A flock of white ibises probing the mud at 40 yards - terrible.

Does this still sound like a problem that can be fixed with fine tune? Or is this possibly something I need to get Nikon to take a look at?

Jared

I too recently got the 200-400 f4 and have had no issues with sharpness using my D3. I would concur with the others that possibly doing a fine tune in the D300 menus for that lens may help solve your problem. Have you tried doing some test patterns to determine if you are dealing with a front focus or back focus problem? I also have the TC 1.4 and have used it a few times with the 200-400 and not found it to detract from the sharpness of the image much at all.

Hopefully you will solve your problems soon as this really is a great lens. For the short while that I have been using it (about a week) I have found it to be quite exceptional. I am also only using it on a Gitzo tripod with a Wimberley 2 mount which makes it very stable. Haven't tried many shots handheld but have heard of many who have used it handheld without encountering any problems. The lens with respect to weight is likely just on the edge limit for handheld ablitiy. Anything bigger and heavier would likely be a problem. The VR also helps with this.

Good Luck
Bob

I was amazed to discover that I could open the aperture to only f/5.6 with the TC1.4, and to only f/8 with the 2.0.
This limitation is not mentioned in the accompanying literature.
Am I doing something wrong, or not doing something right?
Your comments will be sincerely appreciated.

Hi James,

that's correct. The TC 1.4 needs one stop of light and the TC 2.0 needs two. therefore, an e.g. 4.0/500 will be a 5.6/700 with the TC 1.4 and a 8/1000 with a TC 2.0.

Regards

Bernd

Bernd,
Thanks so much for the valuable information.
Regards,
James Graham

Use the 200-400 VR and find it the sharpest lens that I have ever used with my D3 and D2X. The other thing I like about this lens is that the colours seem to really be accurate with this lens in comparison to my other lenses.
One question I have for you are you using this lens on the tripod with the VR on if so this could be a cause for your perceived softness of the lens. What mount are you using on your tripod? What camera are you using with the lens?