canon extender question

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ukphd

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Nancy
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Hello again

I'm toying with the idea of getting a Canon Extender EF 1.4x II Converter to use with my L series canon 100 - 400mm lens (camera is currently a 450d, shortly to be a 550d). I've not used extenders for many many years and the last time I used them was on my old film camera.

I'm just wondering whether this converter will still allow the AF and other things to function normally? I've been checking a number of sites but the advice seems to differ (or perhaps I simply don't understand it!).

Has anyone used one with this lens? Is it worth it? The new one seems to be te mark 2 version, will the mark 1 version also work?

I'm probably going to look for a 2nd hand one on ebay or somewhere rather than shell out for new...

thanks
Nancy :)
 
Hi,

no it won't it will only AF if you use a 1 Series Pro body, you could tape the pins on the TC to fool the camera into not seeing it therfore AF will work, but it's risky as it can burn out the AF motor, and it isn't always successful as it can cause the lens to hunt a lot hence the motor burn out.

Safer ( cheaper ) to just get closer to your subject or just use MF when using a TC with the 100-400 and a xxxd body.

Mike.
 
Nope it wont and as mentioned don't even bother taping the pins. If it does fool the AF it's very very slow.

However, I've used my 100-400 with both the 1.4x and 2x converter using manual focus. If you use liveview and zoom in eithe 5x or 10x you can get critical focus easily.
 
Thanks - I'm glad I've finally got the right info!

Have you tried using MF on wildlife? I mostly shoot wildlife in a tropical forest so it's fast moving and far, hence my reliance on AF a lot of the time.
 
ukphd said:
Thanks - I'm glad I've finally got the right info!

Have you tried using MF on wildlife? I mostly shoot wildlife in a tropical forest so it's fast moving and far, hence my reliance on AF a lot of the time.
Click to expand...

I've used MF on wildlife - back in the pre Eos film days, we didn't have any choice!

It can take a bit of practice, and of course a modern focussing screen isn't built with any MF aids, but it's certainly possible.
 
You might be able to make it work, but it's not a good solution. The AF switches out when the lens gets higher than f/5.6 so you have to tape the pins (google) but that only works on some cameras. For example, it would work, slowly, on my old 350D but wouldn't on my 40D - it would just hunt in vain nine times out of ten. Others have found the same - you'd have to try it.

Optically it's an okay-ish solution, but f/8 isn't very workable and I think you'll find manual focus difficult for wildlife. Depth of field tends to be shallow and you need to work fast. Crop format DSLRs are tricky at the best of times to MF as the focusing screen is not designed for it and the viewfinder image is small.

There's no getting away from the fact that above 400mm things get difficult and expensive. I found I was better off leaving the 100-400L alone and not using an extender, getting as close as possible and then cropping a bit to get the framing. That also has its downsides of course, but like I say there are no easy answers.
 
Thanks.
I think I'll save my money and won't bother with the extender then. I'd love to rely solely on MF but there are so many shots I just wouldn't have got if it weren't for AF so I wouldn't like to be completely without it.

:)
 
You could consider a 1D series body. They are 'relatively' well priced now.... This will give you much more flexibility from an AF point of view.
 
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