teleconverter advice please for sigma 500mm

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burrachaga

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colin
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hi all,

i have been lucky enough recently to pick up a second hand sigma 500mm f4.5 apo ex hsm (non dg) lens. i was thinking of adding a 1.4 converter but after having scoured google i cant find a definitive answer on which type of converter to opt for.

I have sort of dismissed the kenko pro 300 and the sigma but a few people sometimes get good results with the nikon tc-14e but dont really go into any detail. If anyone has used the nikon converter successfully i would be very grateful if you could let me know and whether or not it would need any modifications.

it would be used on a d90 body,

cheers
 
You do need to get a modified Nikon TC - it'll then AF just fine.

Fixation will do the mod for £25 ex VAT.

I had one listed here, last week but there was no interest in it!
 
cheers pd,

thanks for that, i thought you would be the man who would know. i presume you have now sold elsewhere so i'll start my search for a second hand one.
 
burrachaga said:
cheers pd,

thanks for that, i thought you would be the man who would know.
Click to expand...

The older TC-14E is also fine for the mod - just a difference in cosmetics from the TC-14E II, and that takes the mod easily.

You just need to grind away a small tab which is designed to allow only certain AF-S lenses to mount, and you can even fit lenses such as the 24-120 VR or 70-300 VR, as well as Sigma HSM lenses once the mod is done, as well as lenses such as the Nikkor 80-200 f/2.8 AF-D ( but that'll be still manual focus)

http://www.fixationuk.com/Fixation/Repairs.html

ikon Teleconverters;TC14E and TC20E teleconverters are designed to only fit on AFI and AFS series lenses. Experience and customer feedback show these modern converters to be optically superior to the older manual teleconverters, and we are able to modify them to fit onto older AF and manual telephoto lenses, and AF80-200mm f2.8 lenses. The auto-focus function is lost, but full metering telemetry is retained. The modification also enables Nikon teleconverters to be "stacked" together. We charge £25 plus VAT for this work, but if you buy your teleconverter from Fixation, we will do the work free of charge.
 
cool, it would be useful on the 70-300 because the vr is something i miss on the sigma. as long as the light is good 100-420mm becomes much more useful for the birds mid flight.

my hunt begins...
 
It'll fit to the 70-300 VR, and AF and VR still works, but its not a great combo, as the 70-300 VR isn't really good enough on the long end, and optical weaknesses are magnified by the TC.
 
I don't suppose you know if it's possible to mod the Sigma 1.4 do you? I often think that it's an underratted teleconverter (plus the fact that I already have one). It works with my 500 (with metering etc.) but no AF. Manually focusing 700mm is no fun especially when the subject is contantly on the move!
 
dragonfly said:
I don't suppose you know if it's possible to mod the Sigma 1.4 do you? I often think that it's an underratted teleconverter (plus the fact that I already have one). It works with my 500 (with metering etc.) but no AF. Manually focusing 700mm is no fun especially when the subject is contantly on the move!
Click to expand...
I am sure I read somewhere that the failure to AF is caused by the camera's firmware - it refuses to AF with an aperture smaller than f5.6, hence it is and not a problem with the converter?
 
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