Review Canon 1.4X EF11 Teleconverter

CT

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Well the Canon 1.4X EF11 teleconverter arrived this morning.

converter.jpg


First impressions - it's subtantially made in metal, and finished in white which matches and compliments the Canon 100-400L I'll be primarily using it with. It has a real quality feel about it, weighing 200 grams or a little under half a pound. In the box comes a nice little leather pouch to store it in. Another one which wont come out of the box again - I never seem to use these things. This new version, the EF11, is claimed to be weather resistant, and there is a rubber seal on the surface which mounts to the lens throat on the camera body. There's no such seal on the lens side of the converter, but of course, the corresponding seal on the lens (assuming it's a weatherproof lens) mates with this surface to complete sealing. It has the usual red index dot for mounting alignment which you get on Canon lenses. There's nothing at all to play with apart from a sliding release lock button on the side of the converter body. Mounted on the camera with the lens in place, it all feels quite secure with only slight play between the lens and the converter. I suspect a weatherproof lens with the rubber seal would remove play altogether.

The converter preserves AF in lenses having a max aperture of f4 or larger with none 1 series cameras ( 20D, 350D etc) or lens having a max aperture of f8 or larger on 1 series cameras. Image stabilisation is preserved on all cameras if the lens has it. The effective aperture is reduced by just one stop.

Fitting the converter and 100-400L to the 20D quickly confirmed that AF no longer works, so after mounting the lens and converter on the 1D MK2, I grabbed the tripod and went out to try some test shots. Wouldn't you know it - a miserable gloomy day, but Yay!... the AF was as smooth and snappy with the converter in place as without it, so that's my first major concern out of the way. Canon say it's slower, and I'm sure it is.. but the difference is negligable. With the converter fitted, only the centre AF point can be enabled, but that's the main one anyway, so it's a small price to pay.

In the end I only managed one shot, which was taken at 400mm, so with the 40% effective increase in focal length, it was the equivalent of 560mm. Of course there's no actual increase, the converter is just a sophisticated magnifying glass between the lens and camera body. The minimum focusing distance remains unchanged. ISO was 400, 1/125th of a second at f8. (The new effective max aperture). I'd have dearly liked a bit quicker shutter speed but I didn't want to increase the ISO any further.

This is the full frame shot - reduced for web viewing.

converter-full-frame.jpg



This is a 1:1 crop from the original.

converter-crop.jpg


I'm pretty pleased with the results - ecstatic in fact. I've always been a bit suspicious of converters, particularly when used with a zoom lens, having experienced bad ones in the past, but I must say Canon have really produced a cracker with this converter which seems to have little negative impact on the original image and offers an alternative to spending a fortune on the really long lenses which a lot of wildlife photography demands.
 
Very nice. Did you look at the options available, say the Kenko Pro, for example which also gets a good review?
 
I didn't actually Doddy, although I know the Kenco is rated. To be honest, given the choice (and the ackers) I'll always go for the Canon stuff, particularly something which has to mate with the system as intricately as a converter. Probably just me being anally retentive. :)

I did get the chance to use it this morning with the 180L Macro so it looks like I also gain a pretty useful 252mm prime. The bokeh isn't quite as nice as the 100-400L, and IS would be nice, but hey... it aint bad! :shrug:

squirrelmacro.jpg
 
CT said:
but hey... it aint bad! :shrug:
Looks pretty good from here (y)
 
Impressive stuff CT ... and a decent review ... (y)

I am awaiting a Kenco at the moment ... sad thing for me is the 1.4 Tele Converter I had ordered would not work with my lenses ... :bang:

First time I have been disappointed by the big N ... :shake:

The 1.4 by Kenco, however does work ... or so I am assured so I will let you know next week when it arrives !

Because of this I was not brave enough to go for the Pro version as it was loads more dosh ... :shrug:

Anyway, back to your postings ... some corker shots from the new combo CT ... you sound really pleased ...good on yer m8 ... ;)
 
I am pleased with it Rog.. it gives me the choice of filling the frame a little more, or sometimes working from a more discreet distance. It'll do until I can afford a 600mm to stick in front of it, and that day might be a long time coming. :shrug:
 
The 1.4 TC II is fab. Thanks for confirmign this. I borrowed a friends and compared it to my 2x TC mark I and it was much better than I expected. Size, rubber sealing did it for me (plus it's white!). lol
 
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