Anyone have experience with this combo for soccer? I don't have the 1.4XIII yet, but I have been really pleased with the 5DIII + 70-200II. Will the autofocus speed be noticeably slowed? How about IQ--will it suffer? -Jason
Depends on the age and gender of the players....I have shot many games using that combo but anymore I usually grab the 1dmkIV as I like the higher frame rates. But the AF in that combo is hard to beat with a zoom and a tele combo.
Jason Stein wrote:
Anyone have experience with this combo for soccer? I don't have the 1.4XIII yet, but I have been really pleased with the 5DIII + 70-200II. Will the autofocus speed be noticeably slowed? How about IQ--will it suffer? -Jason
I'd rather use a used 300 f/4 non-IS than the 70-200+1.4x TC. The latter should work though. A 70-300L would be a bit better too than that combo too with about 50% faster AF and better IQ.
AF speed does slow down (using the Canon or fully reporting TCs, with some third party it might not slow any but I'm sure the AF precision would go down a bit), regardless of what some others are saying, the 70-200 f/4 IS+1.4x TC is same speed as a bare Tamron 70-300 VC. I forget, but I think I timed it to be 50% slower than the bare 70-200 f/4 IS. Still definitely usable in terms of AF and IQ but not ideal.
Still, it would give better AF (and even image quality near the long end, wide open) than a 70-300 non-L.
I use the 70-200 IS II plus 1.4x TC III on a 1D4. Never really noticed any AF slowdown and the IQ has always been outstanding. Of course, I'm shooting a 1.3 crop body so I'm not seeing the edge performance. 6FPS is the biggest drawback to the 5D3 for sports.
The 1.4 III is a waste of money if you're using it on anything but the brand new super-tele's like the 300 II, 400 II, 500 II, or 600 II. The chip they put in the new extender allows for better AF with those lenses only. It does do the same with the 70-200 II, unfortunately.
I shoot adult-level "professional" kickball on a nightly basis with my 1DX, the 70-200 II, and a 1.4x II. It does great. As long as the focus distance is somewhere near the subject, it'll lock on and do a fine job tracking. Only issue is when I let the camera down and the focus ring gets turned a little, when I pick the camera back up and look through the view finder everything is way out of focus, and the camera takes its time re-acquiring focus. But like I said, once it locks it stays locked and does a great job.
I use this exact combination for both men's and women's D1 and pro-level soccer. It works great! Absolutely no problem with the AF or AF speed - I certainly don't notice the teleconverter making the AF speed any slower. I don't mind the rather minor hit to image quality. The 5D Mk III fps also is fine by me.
I also have the 300 f/4 IS. I prefer the 70-200 f/2.8 Mk II with the 1.4 over the 300. They both AF fine, the image quality is fine with both - its just that having the zoom capability is so nice.
I also have the 1.4x II teleconverter. From an image quality standpoint I agree the III is a waste of money versus the II. The only real advantage I have, and reason I always use the 1.4x III is that it actually has a slightly greater magnification. I don't know how much - maybe 5% or so.
I also have a Canon 7D and find the 7D with 70-200 f/2.8 Mk II /1.4x Mk III works just fine too. I generally prefer using the 7D because of its greater 'reach' but the 5D Mk III is just fine too.
One of the guys I shoot with uses the Sigma 120-300 f/2.8. Its a bit more expensive than the 70-200 f/2.8 Mk II and the 1.4x III. The extra stop is very nice - especially when shooting night games. The Sigma lens is a lot heavier than what I want to use, and this Sigma lens has a history of a lot of mechanical problems. Perhaps when the revised 120-300 comes out this mechanical reliability issue will be solved.
Jim
PS: An interesting review of the 1.4x III can be found here.
