I have seen a lot of 300 2.8 +tc threads lately,
but I want to know how the 200 1.8 handles tc's
I recently bought a used copy and I am excited for it to arrive but I am curious about stacking tc's on it it could be a versitle set up cover 280 f2.5 and 400mm f3.6 and possibly 560mm stacked tc's (f7.1)
I use mine in all combinations, never with worry about quality. Focus is a bit slower - as to be expected with TCs - but not even noticable unless you test for it.
The nice thing about the 200/f1.8 and the 1.4xII TC is that you keep that wonderful bokeh even with the added reach provided by the TC. As stated, the AF slows (just noticeably) with the 1.4x and much more noticeably with a 2XII. I did some comparisons a year or two ago between the 300/f2.8 and 200/f1.8+1.4xII so I'll look for them in my archives when I get a chance. Anyway you slice it, the 200/f1.8 seriously rocks!
Since I mostly only shoot wide open, the 200 + 1.4x is more than serviceable (ie at least the same as the 300/2.8) wide open; the 200+2x wide open is OK (there's some degradation there, stopping down helps).
You can stack the 1.4x + 2x but (at least with my copy) it only gets acceptable once you stop it down to 5.6 (ie effective f8)
All in all I would say that the 200 can function as an (almost) 300/2.8 and a 400/4 but that's as far as things go.
I have been less than impressed with the IQ of the 200 f/1.8 + 1.4xTC combo.
The 300 f/2.8 IS performs better than that combo on several counts: sharper, faster AF, lighter and has IS.
A good copy of the 200 f/1.8 is peerless at 200mm......that's how I use it.
PetKal wrote:
I have been less than impressed with the IQ of the 200 f/1.8 + 1.4xTC combo.
The 300 f/2.8 IS performs better than that combo on several counts: sharper, faster AF, lighter and has IS.
A good copy of the 200 f/1.8 is peerless at 200mm......that's how I use it.
That's as silly as saying the 300 2.8 with a 1.4 is not as sharp as the 400 2.8 it's not an equal equation
I have plenty of photographs with the 200 1.4 combo showing undetectable degradation with exceptional resolution, try another TC maybe.
ISO speed: 100
Exposure time: 1/1000 sec
Aperture: f 5.6
Focal length: 280 mm
The AF on your 1D3 will slow down if you use a TC. It has little or nothing to do with the available light and contrast - it is a Canon pro camera thing. AF slows down whenever a TC is detected whether or not it needs to slow down.
TCs magnify the original image optically and in so doing they slightly reduce contrast and hence resolution. It's hard to see how they can ruin image quality if the bare lens is good enough. So long as you have a lens with excellent contrast and a focal length of 200mm or more you will get very good results even though they are a little bit worse than the bare lens. They'll certainly be better than magnifying the image digitally and it will certainly cheaper than buying a longer lens.
As for versatility, sometimes you'll be better off with two lenses and two cameras. It depends how often and in what conditions you need to add or remove the TC.
