Does anyone have any experience with this combination? I intend to use for daytime sports...baseball. Wondering if the quality would be terribly compromised. Thanks for input. Paxton
Fantastic combination! Nikon states that this combo will not autofocus. Mine does in daylight. It is a bit slower than the Nikkor 300mm f4 AF-S alone. However, the image quality is fantastic and not compromised by the teleconverter. You also notice the added 510 mm reach. If you are shooting under bright conditions (daylight) it is certainly worth it.
+1 several times! I've sold my D300, but used that combo for wild life & some shots from the 3rd level at Minute Maid park(Astros). No IQ compromise whatsoever!!! A great cheaper 500 combo!
OldProf wrote:
Fantastic combination! Nikon states that this combo will not autofocus. Mine does in daylight. It is a bit slower than the Nikkor 300mm f4 AF-S alone. However, the image quality is fantastic and not compromised by the teleconverter. You also notice the added 510 mm reach. If you are shooting under bright conditions (daylight) it is certainly worth it.
I have to agree I have this combo and it autofocuses on both my D300 & D700 in daylightit is a killer
the statements above mentioning IQ not being compromised by the 1.7X converter is madness. that is literally impossible.
I shot thousands of bird photos with the 1.7X and the 1.4X converter. IQ is compromised less so by the 1.4, which is actually pretty darn good, even wide open. however adding the 1.7X does degrade IQ a fair bit as compared to the naked lens.
however, this is the cheapest way to get to '500mm' using a Nikkor and really not a bad way to do so. you just need to be aware of significant light loss with the 1.7X (f6.7 min) and the need for higher shutter speeds when hand holding. on a crop body you will probably want at least 1/750th to get good results.
I'm very curious about this also. Eventually, I want to pick up the 300mm f/4, but first I may get the TC (for my 70-200mm vr1) and I'm not sure whether to get the 1.4 or the 1.7. I've read a few places that suggest cropping with the 1.4 might be better than the 1.7, but never have found a general consensus. Every time I think I've decided I read/see something that changes my mind. I think the light loss may be difficult on a crop body, but using at least a monopod isn't probably a bad idea in general...
This topic comes up from time to time so these pics have been posted before but here are some sport photos taken with what is now baumgarten0712 reacquired 300 f4 and my 1.7 TC.
Its a great combo
These are all wide open on an overcast day using a D700
It is true that, in principle, adding the extra glass elements of the TC must degrade the image quality somewhat! But there are optical illusions that also have to be taken into consideration. For example the IQ might degrade but if the degradation is less than the center of confusion then it will not be noticed by the naked eye. On the other hand in going from the 300mm to 510mm gives you greater reach and detail. This gives the illusion the the picture is better! The most important thing is that you are personally satisfied with the outcome. Most of the time I use the 300mmTC1.7 combo and I am very happy with the results. This is what ultimately counts.
On the other hand I am pondering the 300mm with the new Aspherical TC 2xIIIE!
I've shot the 300mm f/4 with 1.4x and 1.7x TCs (not at the same time of course ) on the D200, D300 and D700. The IQ was acceptable on all bodies with either TC mounted and the AF was accurate even after the sun had gone down below the horizon. However, the 1.7x on DX can be a tricky combo. Since there's no VR, you need to keep shutter speeds up and unless you're shooting in direct sunlight, that means you'll have to bump up your ISO. Heck, even in daytime, if you mount a polarizer on the lens you'll likely be above base ISO. If you have a good tripod or monopod, that'd help although I personally didn't like using a monopod and didn't find the results all that impressive. YMMV.
You're going to notice a lot of degradation if you shoot very fine-detail stuff like birds and you have to crop heavily - which is usually the case with birding. (we just can't get a break, can we?)
For non super-fine detail stuff, it's a good combo.
cputeq wrote:
You're going to notice a lot of degradation if you shoot very fine-detail stuff like birds and you have to crop heavily - which is usually the case with birding. (we just can't get a break, can we?)
For non super-fine detail stuff, it's a good combo.
I disagree these were shot with the combo and all are at best a 70% crop
I do not see "a lot" of degradation
I can provide full size files if needed but I would say any degradation in these is due to jpeg compression and my poor downsizing techniques
Yes they are good, and what I mean by "a lot" is relative to the performance of the 300mm f/4 bare, which is excruciatingly sharp; not to imply that one's IQ of the combo is bad in the grand scheme of things.
And of course, "a lot" is subjective, and also subject to equipment and technique variables
Again, i shot birds like mad with the combo of lens and teleconverter. one day i took it off and couldn't believe how sharp the naked lens was!
There is a definite difference.
i've since sold the 300mm and moved on to the 500mm VR and even on the 9K CDN piece of glass there is a difference in IQ with the 1.7X TC in place on both crop and full frame bodies. There is very little degradation with the 1.4X.
As good as the 500mm f4 and 600mm f4 VRs are... I think the 300mm AF-S f/4 take a teleconverter with a much smaller IQ hit. When using the 500 f4 with a 1.7 I noticed a huge difference.
To maintain the high IQ with the teleconverter, fine tune the autofocus of the combo. In my case there was one unit of difference. My D300 also recognizes the combo and designates it as 300x1.7
