A Western grebe family from this morning using stacked TCs. That FE 1.4X TC was mounted on the body, an extension tube on the top of it and the FE 2.0X TC before the GM 600mm lens was mounted. That's the only way the two TCs can be stacked at this point. The effective focal length is 1,680mm and the effective aperture is f/11. Please note that only the 1.4X TC is reported to the camera, hence the exif data is showing only 840mm as the focal length but f/8 as the aperture. The image was cropped a little, yielding an effective FL of approximately 1,800-1900mm or so.
AGeoJO wrote:
A Western grebe family from this morning using stacked TCs. That FE 1.4X TC was mounted on the body, an extension tube on the top of it and the FE 2.0X TC before the GM 600mm lens was mounted. That's the only way the two TCs can be stacked at this point. The effective focal length is 1,680mm and the effective aperture is f/11. Please note that only the 1.4X TC is reported to the camera, hence the exif data is showing only 840mm and f/5.6. The image was cropped a little, yielding an effective FL of approximately 1,800-1900mm or so. ...Show more →
Thanks Joshua. Great technique and terrific image.
Question, how far can this setup focus?
Also, if you use IS, do you manually have to enter the focal length?
dclark wrote:
Nice photo.
One is a Western and the other is a Clark's.
Dave
Thank you, Dave! Which one is which, please? You know, I always mix them up but they are just one species, just a variety, hence the ability between them to reproduce, right?
k-h.a.w wrote:
Thanks Joshua. Great technique and terrific image.
Question, how far can this setup focus?
Also, if you use IS, do you manually have to enter the focal length?
TIA. K-H.
Thank you, Karl-Heinz! Approximately, 600 feet or so but I am not sure. But a shooting buddy of mine had a Sony GM 400mm f/2.8 and we tried my extension tube plus my 1.4X TC on her setup. But it didn't want to focus, not even manually. So, I am sure it has to do with the FL since that's the only factor that's different between my setup and hers. And yes, I used the IS at Mode II and the AF works fine. And no, the focal length is recorded automatically by the 1.4X TC although the aperture seems to be recorded based on the effective aperture of the 2X TC.
Hope this helps,
Joshua
Edit - I corrected the distance that the stack TCs can focus. It is somewhere around 500-600 feet. I made a mistake before by not adding enough "0" and apparently that number stuck with me.
AGeoJO wrote:
Thank you, Karl-Heinz! Approximately, 60feet or so. But a shooting buddy of mine had a Sony GM 400mm f/2.8 and we tried my extension tube plus my 1.4X TC on her setup. But it didn't want to focus. So, I am sure it has to do with the FL since that's the only factor that's different between my setup and hers. And yes, I used the IS at Mode II and the AF works fine. And no, the focal length is recorded automatically by the 1.4X TC although the aperture seems to be recorded based on the effective aperture of the 2X TC.
AGeoJO wrote:
Thank you, Dave! Which one is which, please? You know, I always mix them up but they are just one species, just a variety, hence the ability between them to reproduce, right?
Western on the left, Clark's on the right.
Dark under eye stripe on Western, but this is not 100% reliable since Clark's can seasonally have some dark under eye.
Small strip of yellow connects eye to bill for Clark's. Again not 100% reliable ID.
Width of black stripe on back of neck is a weak indicator.
Black vs gray back for Western vs Clark, but again sometimes not easy to differentiate.
Most reliable indicator is the color of the bill. Western is yellow-green hue, Clark's is Orange-red.
k-h.a.w wrote:
Thanks Joshua. One more question.
What’s the thickness of your extension tube in mm?
TIA Karl-Heinz.
I bought a set of cheapo tubes of 2 early on. One is a 12mm and the other a 16mm. I didn't try them on until later after the return period expired and the shorter one doesn't work. It doesn't transmit the electronics contacts, a complete dud, in other words. I lost the thicker cap of my TC in Peru and now, I am using the other extension tube, the 16mm as a front cap. And also for allowing me to stack TCs .
Kenko makes better extension tubes of the same thickness, 12 and 16mm. Their tubes have a rectangular baffle on the inside, which works great to prevent flares but in order for you to use a Kenko tube for stacking TCs, you have to cut/shave the baffle a little. Just FYI.
Western and Clark’s Grebes are both in the genus Aechmophorus, but are different species. They are known to hybridize.
AGeoJO wrote:
Thank you, Dave! Which one is which, please? You know, I always mix them up but they are just one species, just a variety, hence the ability between them to reproduce, right?
AGeoJO wrote:
I bought a set of cheapo tubes of 2 early on. One is a 12mm and the other a 16mm. I didn't try them on until later after the return period expired and the shorter one doesn't work. It doesn't transmit the electronics contacts, a complete dud, in other words. I lost the thicker cap of my TC in Peru and now, I am using the other extension tube, the 16mm as a front cap. And also for allowing me to stack TCs .
Kenko makes better extension tubes of the same thickness, 12 and 16mm. Their tubes have a rectangular baffle on the inside, which works great to prevent flares but in order for you to use a Kenko tube for stacking TCs, you have to cut/shave the baffle a little. Just FYI. ...Show more →
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