Kenko 1.4XTC, 1DX/800 Combo Revelation

[Arthur Morris]

I was stunned to learn that not only did the Kenko 1.4X Teleplus Pro 300 (teleconverter) for Canon autofocus with the 800 and the 1DX (it does not work with the 5D III and the 800), but that I had access to all the AF sensors and all of the AF Area Selection modes. And best of all AF was fast, responsive, and accurate. And the images and image quality were all excellent by my standards. See and read the whole story here. The blog post includes lots on the phenomenal 1DX.

Preening adult Semipalmated Plover: Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the Kenko 1.4X Teleplus Pro 300 (teleconverter) and the EOS-1DX.

Do note that the metering is screwed up; everything is one stop too light. This is a very small price to pay for superb AF at 1120mm.

ISO 800: 1/1000 sec. at f/9.

Don't be shy: all honest comments are welcome.

ps: Though I am the guy who writes, says, and teaches: 99.9% of successful images of preening birds have the bird's face parallel to the imaging sensor and a good view of the eye the unique pose and the feather in the bill puts this one well into the .01% for me . Image made possible by the 12 fps frame rate.

ps: almost fogot--the Kenko 1.4X works (of course) with the MIV and the 800 but get this: you get all focus points. Pretty amazing if you ask me.

[Jack Breakfast]

Wonderful light, striking detail, and a great pose. I'm glad to hear the Kenko TC is working out for you. I have one of them also and have found it to be as good on AF and IQ as the Canon version. 99.9% is a slight exaggeration, I think...I'm sure closer study might bring the number down to 99% even...maybe...

[Arthur Morris]

Wonderful light, striking detail, and a great pose. I'm glad to hear the Kenko TC is working out for you. I have one of them also and have found it to be as good on AF and IQ as the Canon version. 99.9% is a slight exaggeration, I think...I'm sure closer study might bring the number down to 99% even...maybe...

Thanks Jack. With the amazing speed of the 1DX capturing poses that I never even see I am thinking that 99% might be more accurate .

[Karl Egressy]

Great low shooting angle, excellent light and great IQ.
Kenko is the way to go.
I ordered a Kenko 1.4x Teleplus Pro 300 and tried it on a 70-300 f4.0-5.6 L IS.
It worked but was hunting, so I had to send it back.

[Arthur Morris]

Great low shooting angle, excellent light and great IQ.
Kenko is the way to go.
I ordered a Kenko 1.4x Teleplus Pro 300 and tried it on a 70-300 f4.0-5.6 L IS.
It worked but was hunting, so I had to send it back.

Thanks, and thanks for that info Karl. By itself, that lens is killer for flight and focuses incredibly well and fast.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Artie, a sweet image indeed and glad to see the 1DX has finally arrived. Great detail as expected and I love the way the plumage splays out in layers, giving that 'depth' you can plunge your hands into and the tones give a nice richness to the image. Good to see you are enjoying the kit, personally I think it gives the best colour rendition to date, but cannot speak for the 5DMKIII.

I may have missed it, but if not, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on using 'face recognition' for BIF.

Interesting blog, thanks.

TFS
Steve

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Arthur, beautiful pose...love the head angle!

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Artie, a sweet image indeed and glad to see the 1DX has finally arrived. Great detail as expected and I love the way the plumage splays out in layers, giving that 'depth' you can plunge your hands into and the tones give a nice richness to the image. Good to see you are enjoying the kit, personally I think it gives the best colour rendition to date, but cannot speak for the 5DMKIII.

I may have missed it, but if not, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on using 'face recognition' for BIF.

Interesting blog, thanks.

TFS
Steve

Thanks Steve on all counts. I need to learn about and read up on that... Can you give us a quick primer here??? Did you see the ISO 10000 image on the blog? I am loving the 1DX; it is changing my life. I am gonna try a new trick this afternoon....

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Arthur, beautiful pose...love the head angle!

Thanks Andrew. That would be the neck angle!

[Grace Scalzo]

Sweet pose indeed. And a great discovery to boot. Might be an optical illusion, but would not a cw rotation be in order ?

[Munish Kaushik]

Beautiful pose & Love the tones & layers of the feathers. Thanks for sharing Guru ji

[Arthur Morris]

Sweet pose indeed. And a great discovery to boot. Might be an optical illusion, but would not a cw rotation be in order ?

That would be a yes; thanks for the extra pair of eyes. I am headed back to Nickerson late today: bad winds for flight = good winds for sunset stuff...

[Arthur Morris]

Beautiful pose & Love the tones & layers of the feathers. Thanks for sharing Guru ji

Thanks Munish. Do you post in Avian?

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Artie, still trying to get my head around this one, plus limited BIF at present, too.

Might find that Quick mode might be the better option and if you are using AF then a rough twist to manually locate the subject helps to lock on. I was actually having a conversation the other day with another member Austin T, from this I understand it locks to the colours and means it can track easier, hope I'm right.

Yes saw the blog, have personally only gone to 6400 and IQ is superb, like Chas 800 seems to be the default setting now, but as you say, this camera certainly has opened up a lot more avenues with no hesitation, just need more hours under my belt with this baby.

Sounds like it might be more static birds rather than BIF from your note above?

Steve
BTW Still owe you a reply to your reply of an email

[Marina Scarr]

Love the behavior and details in this one. Seems to need some rotation CW, although I just saw that Grace already mentioned it. Those almost look like white feathers just behind the bird, but not quite sure. Your BG is really stunning.

[Munish Kaushik]

Thanks Munish. Do you post in Avian?

I do post in Avian but its been a while since I posted.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Artie, incredible IQ, and just love the light and colours. Your low angle works well, and the BG is simply superb. One day when I grow up, I will shoot with a 1DX and 800mm.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Look at that BG! Great preening pose, I got some similar ones recently with a Least Sandpiper...always fun to photograph some preening behaviour as you never know what surprising pose you may end up with Your discovery is sure making lots of people (and Kenko!) happy...

[gail bisson]

This is lovely Artie.
I like the pose and the feather between the bill.
Great BG as well. Nice low POV and I like the OOF feather on the ground.
Am glad for you re: your discovery.
Gail

[Martin Lord]

I am sorry if I missed it but it seems like we still do not know about the Kenko 2x + 600 II + 1dx?

Unless I hear shortly that it does now work, I'll give it a try and order the 2x now.

The IQ with this combo and the canon 2x III (with contrast AF in live view) is very good so this may work.

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Wonderful image! It would be interesting to see the frame before and after (two frames you wouldn't get if you could only shoot at 6 fps!). The only thing I think this image needs is a touch of CW rotation

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Hey Art. I really love the low angle and colors here as well as the pose. I don't mind the HA at all but wish for just a little more peek of that eye

[MohsenVahedipour]

Congratulation for new body Artie. Love the pose, ,great IQ, low shooting angle & BG. I saw the ISO 10000 image in your blog. That's so wonderful.

[Shawn Zierman]

Awesome image. Great light, and I love seeing the feather in the bill's grasp like this. Definitely something that is hard to see with the naked eye. Another vote for a little clock wise rotation.

[Ofer Levy]

Super sweet image! Great news regarding the Kenko! Looking forward to hearing some more about the 1DX+800+1.4 kenko combo as I put buying the 5D3 on hold....

[Arthur Morris]

Hey Steve,

I am very confused :)

re:

still trying to get my head around this one

Which one, face recognition???

plus limited BIF at present, too.

Might find that Quick mode might be the better option and if you are using AF then a rough twist to manually locate the subject helps to lock on.

Now I am really confused. Quick Mode AF is with Live View....

I was actually having a conversation the other day with another member Austin T, from this I understand it locks to the colours and means it can track easier, hope I'm right.

Me too if I figure out what you are talking about...

Yes saw the blog, have personally only gone to 6400 and IQ is superb, like Chas 800 seems to be the default setting now, but as you say, this camera certainly has opened up a lot more avenues with no hesitation, just need more hours under my belt with this baby.

Me too.

Sounds like it might be more static birds rather than BIF from your note above?


What might be more static birds rather than BIF??? With the Kenko 1.4X AF is surely fast enough for BIF....

BTW Still owe you a reply to your reply of an email.

​You and dozens of others :) What was the topic???

[Steve Kaluski]

Artie, still trying to get my head around how the Face recognition works too, as BIF in central London can be very hard to come by, apart from the fat pigeons.

The conversation with Austin was how it all works and from what he was saying. the camera identifies by colour when you lock on the target, therefore when it tracks or hunts it looks for the colour.

You were saying that there was a storm or high winds coming in, so I thought that the choice of going for BIF yesterday might not be on the cards and that waders or tidal birds would be the species to go for.

The discusion was on sharpening.

Hope that clarifies.

[Frank Schauf]

Great quality for that combination.

[Ignacio Yufera]

I had a 1.4x Kenko sleeping at the bottom of a drawer, that's great news! Thanks for the info, and the image speaks for itself.

[Arthur Morris]

Artie, still trying to get my head around how the Face recognition works too, as BIF in central London can be very hard to come by, apart from the fat pigeons.

The conversation with Austin was how it all works and from what he was saying. the camera identifies by colour when you lock on the target, therefore when it tracks or hunts it looks for the colour.

You were saying that there was a storm or high winds coming in, so I thought that the choice of going for BIF yesterday might not be on the cards and that waders or tidal birds would be the species to go for.

The discusion was on sharpening.

Hope that clarifies.

Thanks Steve. When did I mention a storm coming? The weather has been benign though it is cloudy today; a good thing as I need to pack up for my flight tomorrow and send a ton of stuff home via UPS ground as I brought two big lenses to NY.

[Arthur Morris]

I had a 1.4x Kenko sleeping at the bottom of a drawer, that's great news! Thanks for the info, and the image speaks for itself.

You are most welcome. Thanks for your kind words.