Shake It Up - Canon 400 DO with the 2x Teleconverter

[Marina Scarr]

This past weekend, I did some testing of my Canon 400 DO with a 2x teleconverter. I had had no success in the past shooting at F8. This time I worked solely on a tripod at F11 and I think the images turned out quite well. You really do have to have quite a bit of light though to photograph at F11. This is about a 50% crop. Would have liked a nicer reflection but it wasn't possible and didn't want to crop any more.

Canon 400DO F4 & 2.0 TC @ 800mm
F11, 1/1250sec, ISO 640, manual mode
Feisol tripod, Mongoose head

Any advice would be most welcomed.

Marina Scarr
www.marinascarrphotography.com

[Randy Stout]

Marina:

Fun sometimes to do a controlled experiment, really trying to see what works and what doesn't. I have a similar situation with the Nikon 1.7x TC. I am generally not happy with it at f/8 or below. The difficulty for me is that I shoot so much of the time in dim light for the loons and such, that higher f/stops just aren't possible most of the time.

For this image, the apparent sharpness is good on the head, with that bright red eye ring helping that impression.

I like the color, lighting on the bird, interesting pose.

I keep thinking it needs CCW rotation when I look at it, but I believe this may be mainly an optical illusion caused by the birds angle in the frame.

I like the sense of motion from the curved and slightly blurred feathers on the tail and back.

Cheers

Randy

[Jonathan Ashton]

Love the rich colours and the high contrast, and I also like the pose.
I don't think it is an illusion, I think the image needs a little CCW rotation the ripples are leaning down to the right. (Maybe the bird was on a small hill - just joking!)
I think you have some potential here with the TC, - do you use a Series 1 camera?

[Dumay de Boulle]

Lovely light and the subject pops really nicely from the BG. Great colors and the IQ looks pretty good, needs a bit of a CCW rotation...Lovely image though...You were saying you were struggling with the 2x at f8, what were the issues if you don't mind me asking!

[Marina Scarr]

I forgot to mention this is a Killdeer.

I was using the old 2x TC. The issue at F8 is that the photos were soft and not even worthy of post processing. Then I was told that the sweet spot for this lens and the 2xs was 1 stop over F8, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the results at F11.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

I love the nice deep colors and great detail in this Marina. I liked the discussion we had on these 2x converters and the 'sweet spot" and it really is true. I need to keep at F8 with my 300 to be happy with my images as well. I see the need for a rotation too but not sure if it is an illusion also. Did I mention nice light?

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Marina, nice angles, pose, exposure and colors. what a nice BG..nice pop. IQ looks pretty good to me.

If you look at the refection of the leg, face, I think a little rotation is needed.

[Dan Busby]

I find this a very creative approach to lighting Marina. That dark BG could be a challenge but the beautiful lighting and perfect exposure on the bird really keep the focus where it should be. And the bright piece of water below the bird really anchors everything. And that ruffly feather look just finishes it off nicely.

[dankearl]

The lighting is great, rotation needed as commented on.
The IQ is nice and the pose is really good.

[Dumay de Boulle]

I forgot to mention this is a Killdeer.

I was using the old 2x TC. The issue at F8 is that the photos were soft and not even worthy of post processing. Then I was told that the sweet spot for this lens and the 2xs was 1 stop over F8, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the results at F11.

Oh thats interesting as I have used the 300 f2.8, 500 f4 & 600f4 with the 2x and never had any issues other than the usual IQ loss (but I suppose the tests I did were not that extensive), so I just assumed it would be the same with the 400 DO (That will teach me to 'assume')... Anyway thanks for the info, always like learn more about gear and glad you found the way to get the best from the combo

[Mike Milicia]

Beautiful light, great pose, and excellent exposure!

I always try to stay at least one stop down from wide open when using any converter on any lens.