Nikon AF-S TC20E III Converter

fracster

fracster

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Anyone got on? What are they like? Are they worth the price tag?

http://www.wilkinson.co.uk/nikon-af-s-tc20e-iii-converter.html

Thinking of splashing out on one of these, it would be used with a 70-200 F2.8,300 F4 and a 500 F4. Be interested to hear owners opinions and some sample shots if possible.

It seems an awful lot for a TC, but if they are good enough then maybe the price tag is not as ridiculous as it seems.

Thanks in advance.
 
I have and you know how much I hate teleconverters. This one is worth every penny though, cracking piece of kit :thumbs:
 
On the D700 300 f/2.8

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100% crop

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both sooc via LR
 
Thanks guys.

Ed, that review is most helpful, thanks a lot............:thumbs:
 
I absolutely love this converter. So much so, I sold my 200-400mm.

Kev.
 
If it helps - ask Stuart at DD as he done me a very good deal on my Nikon TC 20E III & it included next day delivery in the price
 
kevshore said:
I absolutely love this converter. So much so, I sold my 200-400mm.

Kev.
Click to expand...

Interesting, which lenses do you use it with Kev? The review linked above give the F4 primes a very low score with this TC.

Trig's said:
If it helps - ask Stuart at DD as he done me a very good deal on my Nikon TC 20E III & it included next day delivery in the price
Click to expand...

I need to make my mind up first mate, it is a lot of money for a TC. I have the 1.4 and the 1.7 and both are fine on my 300/500. I know it is only one review, but he ain`t impressed, be good to hear if anyone has the 500 and uses it with this TC.
 
With any 2x TC, Nikon or otherwise, you are effectively magnifying the image produced by your lens by four times by area. With today's high resolution sensors that's a hell of an ask for any but the finest lenses around, even with the highest quality converter. A converter can't pull detail that isn't there. Add to the fact that two stops are lost, giving a maximum aperture of F8, or F11 at your F4 lenses' likely sweet spot, you're getting into limitations as to when you can actually use it.
 
fracster said:
Interesting, which lenses do you use it with Kev? The review linked above give the F4 primes a very low score with this TC.



I need to make my mind up first mate, it is a lot of money for a TC. I have the 1.4 and the 1.7 and both are fine on my 300/500. I know it is only one review, but he ain`t impressed, be good to hear if anyone has the 500 and uses it with this TC.
Click to expand...

I have :)

Bought one to test after all the rave reviews, tested on the following lens.
70-200vr11
300 vr1
500vr

my findings tested at thruxton and with some wildlife.

the 70-200 worked well, auto focus slowed a little but nothing to be too worried about, contrast and sharpness and colour rendition suffered slightly but with with bigger targets ie motor sport, air shows etc unless you are a pixel peeper it works rather well. Anything a distance with wildlife however showed a distinct drop off in detail much more than my 200-400 VR

300mm VR it worked really well, little loss in detail but again with bigger targets it was acceptable, sharpness was very good considering it became a 600 but did benefit from shooting at F8 autofocus was marginally slower but would lock on things like birds in flight so very usable.

500mm my opinion don't bother, big loss in IQ especially in the fine detail, auto focus slowed to a crawl, viewfinder very dark and keeper rate fell through the floor, would not acquire birds in flight. The other issue was you need to shoot at F11 to pull back some of the quality, couple that with increase shutter speeds because you are at 1000mm full frame or 1400mm crop rendered it pretty much useless hand held and needed to locked down really firm in order to drop shutter speed without inducing camera shake, my point being it is not often you can shoot F11 and 1/1000th sec plus in our lovely UK weather :) I also suspect the same issues with the 300 F4 but have not tried one so cannot really say.

For me I sold it within days, nice to test but it was not an addition worth keeping, however everyone has differing ideas on what is and is not acceptable. For those wanting a 140-400mm zoom or a 600mm on the cheap and I use that term loosely :) then yes it may well be worth a punt. i do however feel it's and improvement on the 1.7x which i do not rate at all. Hope this helps and again this is my opinion and may differ from others.
 
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:eek: spooky thread appearing at the top of new posts - I am sitting here looking at the 120-300 and thinking it is probably time to sell it, it spends months at a time being nothing more than an expensive doorstop and I want to fund an X10 so was wondering about a TC for the 70-200 on those rare occasions these days when I do want something longer :eek:
 
Thanks all.

GPA, I was wondering about the 500 mainly, from the previous review and your findings, I think i`ll save myself some money.

Thanks to all for your input.

YV, I regualarly use a 1.7 on the 70-200, results are OK.
 
Thanks Frac, it would definitely be a toss between a x1.7 and a x2 if I go for it. I don't do regular long length stuff much anymore and what I do do is for my own pleasure, so accept that a TC will affect the image quality to some extent and that's not a problem. Mostly its garden birds, so more about filling the frame than any serious length being required. The odd bit of motorsport very oocasionally, and given the last lot I did was with the 70-200 anyway, preferring a bit of scenery with my cars these days instead of in-yer-face frame fillers, it is not really an issue and explains why a perfect good lens is sitting around unusued :|
 
fracster said:
Interesting, which lenses do you use it with Kev? The review linked above give the F4 primes a very low score with this TC.
Click to expand...


I use it with the 70-200mm vrII and the 300mm 2.8. I seriously can't fault it. I also had the 1.4 and the 1.7. I sold the 1.7 and never really use the 1.4 since I've bought this one. I had plenty of examples posted on here. Until Village Photos went pop and I lost all of my image hosting.
Still trying to find another decent site.

Kev.
 
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