Honestly I am not happy at all with 1.4tc performance on 500L, lot of light loss not as perfect AF, loss of contrast and chroma is very noticible in many cases. Much less keepers than without 1.4tc. Not even close to 300/F2.8L IS + 1.4tc results, on same apertures. I talked to PetKal already he is not using 1.4tc since AF speed loss....

How about you?

Note: I am using Canon 1.4tc and mk III.

No one currently using 1.4tc on 500L/F4IS?

i know plenty of people use the combo, and I've seen great photos from it. Do you have the version II of the 1.4x? Also, once in a while I do hear about people sending them in to get looked at and they come back a lot better.

Will Patterson wrote:
i know plenty of people use the combo, and I've seen great photos from it. Do you have the version II of the 1.4x? Also, once in a while I do hear about people sending them in to get looked at and they come back a lot better.


Do you mean they are sending tc for service? That might be good idea, I have latest version II but about 3.5 years old.

Kenko 1.4 tc served me pretty well here with the 500

http://adamlawler.smugmug.com/Holidays/South-Africa/Kruger-National-Park/9964679_M9guP#680694557_6EgxG

I'm no pixel peeper - I'm only interested in the final shot, and I was pretty happy with a lot of those images.

Practically, I didn't see any loss in IQ when used in combo with this lens. The AF is just a tad slower but still very responsive. Optically, both versions are the same but version II has weather sealing.

I usually have to look at the image info on my 1dsIII to see if it was used or not the quality is so similar. Mine does take a different micro adjust than the strait 5 so you might want to look at that. Also I have herd of (no surprise) copy variations but, have been happy with the couple I've had.
Af is slower so you have to be careful with that but, no less accurate.
my .02

The 500 f/4L + Canon 1.4xII combo works great for me. AF is slightly slower, but not bad, and IQ is still excellent.
-Matt

Breitling65 wrote:
Honestly I am not happy at all with 1.4tc performance on 500L, lot of light loss not as perfect AF, loss of contrast and chroma is very noticible in many cases. Much less keepers than without 1.4tc. Not even close to 300/F2.8L IS + 1.4tc results, on same apertures. I talked to PetKal already he is not using 1.4tc since AF speed loss....

How about you?

Note: I am using Canon 1.4tc and mk III.

500 + 1.4x should be superb, 500 + 2x should be very good.

These are wide open shots with 500 + 2x on the lowly 1D II

Sounds like something is wrong with your setup. You should notice hardly a difference with the 1.4x. Stopping down a tad when using a TC also helps.

Yup, there is definitely something wrong with your setup. If your 500mm by itself generates great images then your TC is out of whack . This one was taken at wide open aperture (effective f/5.6) using that combo on a 1D Mark III:

Breitling65 wrote:
Will Patterson wrote:
i know plenty of people use the combo, and I've seen great photos from it. Do you have the version II of the 1.4x? Also, once in a while I do hear about people sending them in to get looked at and they come back a lot better.


Do you mean they are sending tc for service? That might be good idea, I have latest version II but about 3.5 years old.


Yea, I wouldn't hesitate sending it in. Wouldn't even be expensive.

Here's 1 w the 500L + 1.4tc combo at 1/250s on a 40d. It is a killer combo..IQ is brilliant and the focus is still faster than the bare 1-400 IS lens

Here is one with my 1.4 TC wide open. It is not as sharp as the 500L without an extender but is certainly acceptable.



Lance
www.lancemoreland.com

All with converter on and shot them with 1dmarkIII.

I'd like to see some action shots with and without the TC, I've personally have never been happy with my shots using a TC. Full stop less (f5.6), lets in half the light as f4

mrogers wrote:
I'd like to see some action shots with and without the TC, I've personally have never been happy with my shots using a TC. Full stop less (f5.6), lets in half the light as f4


What scares me most that it is not as noticeable as on my 300/F2.8L IS probably because of superior optics and faster lens or maybe some design limits of 500L.

Pixel Perfect wrote:
Breitling65 wrote:
Honestly I am not happy at all with 1.4tc performance on 500L, lot of light loss not as perfect AF, loss of contrast and chroma is very noticible in many cases. Much less keepers than without 1.4tc. Not even close to 300/F2.8L IS + 1.4tc results, on same apertures. I talked to PetKal already he is not using 1.4tc since AF speed loss....

How about you?

Note: I am using Canon 1.4tc and mk III.

500 + 1.4x should be superb, 500 + 2x should be very good.

These are wide open shots with 500 + 2x on the lowly 1D II

Nello Milanese wrote:
Here's 1 w the 500L + 1.4tc combo at 1/250s on a 40d. It is a killer combo..IQ is brilliant and the focus is still faster than the bare 1-400 IS lens

Paul Tessier wrote:
I usually have to look at the image info on my 1dsIII to see if it was used or not the quality is so similar. Mine does take a different micro adjust than the strait 5 so you might want to look at that. Also I have herd of (no surprise) copy variations but, have been happy with the couple I've had.
Af is slower so you have to be careful with that but, no less accurate.
my .02



I might need to MA bit too, I noticed difference on mk III and 5DmkII already. Thanks!

Dear Breitling:

When I had a Canon EF 500/ F4L IS USM (the "500") I didn't notice any difference in image quality when using it with a Canon Mk II 1.4 TC. I used the 500 with a Canon 1D Mk III; and the images were very sharp and the color rendition was excellent. Like the other posters, I think you may need to send your TC in or to try some MAs with your cameras.

Good luck.

Best regards,

Roman

Thanks, I hope that is the case. My 1.4tc is 4 years old, used on several lenses and I never checked it before. I will drive this week to Canon/NJ hope that will be not as expensive procedure



PORSCHE917 wrote:
Dear Breitling:

When I had a Canon EF 500/ F4L IS USM (the "500") I didn't notice any difference in image quality when using it with a Canon Mk II 1.4 TC. I used the 500 with a Canon 1D Mk III; and the images were very sharp and the color rendition was excellent. Like the other posters, I think you may need to send your TC in or to try some MAs with your cameras.

Good luck.

Best regards,

Roman

Update: I took my 1.4tc to the Canon/NJ and paid $64.00 for replaced mount pin cleaning and adjustments. Will re-test lens soon and update agan.

Question: Could broken 1.4tc mount pin causing such problems? Anyone with same broken pin problem? It seem like tc become easy to brake part when used with large lenses.

I doubt the pin could cause this.

I didn't get terrific results with the same combo either, though the bare lens was fine. Not until the AF on my 500 crapped out and had to be replaced. Then the 1.4X worked much much better. Hope you don't have a similar issue.

Gen e

GeneO wrote:
I doubt the pin could cause this.

I didn't get terrific results with the same combo either, though the bare lens was fine. Not until the AF on my 500 crapped out and had to be replaced. Then the 1.4X worked much much better. Hope you don't have a similar issue.

Gen e


I will give it more tests and bring it to Canon with my mk III which is actually never been a problem with another lenses.