p.1 #1 · 1.4x or 2x teleconverter with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens
I am using a Canon 40D body with a Canon 400mm f5.6 lens. Is there a 1.4x or 2x teleconverter on the market that will allow me to use the camera and lens in autofocus mode with negligibe loss of clarity? I know that the Canon and the Tamron teleconverters do not work. Is there a solution? I am trying to gain some distance without resorting to a Canon 500mm lens investment.
p.1 #3 · 1.4x or 2x teleconverter with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens
I have a 40D + 400 f/5.6 and the "cheap" Tamron 1.4x that does not signal its presence to the camera. The 40D + 400 f/5.6 will focus with the 1.4 on it, and there is negligible quality loss, but the focus is noticeably slower with the extender attached. You can also tape three pins on the Canon 1.4x to achieve the same effect (there used to be a how-to showing which pins to tape on this site, but i can't find it) but in my experience it focuses even slower than the Tamron 1.4x.
p.1 #4 · 1.4x or 2x teleconverter with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens
My experience using the 400/5.6 and TCs (I have 6 different TCs) - none will allow good AF. Given a lot of light, a big contrasty target and tape on 3 pins you might do OK, but not great.
p.1 #5 · 1.4x or 2x teleconverter with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens
Sadly Canon need to get off their butts and offer say a 500 f/5.6L or 200-500 f/4-5.6L. Most xxD users are stuck with a 400 f/5.6L and playing silly TC tricks to get more reach. Their are no affordable faster 400's available.
The only semi-affordable option is say a Sigma 300 f/2.8 + 2x, which will give 600 f/5.6 and no AF issues on 40D.
p.1 #6 · 1.4x or 2x teleconverter with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens
Short of buying the 500 mm you might consider a used FF Canon above the 5D. Your teleconverter will work on that camera body and you will have the advantage of almost everything designed for Canon.
I believe that when Canon makes/designs it lens that they are all designed to work best on the FF cameras first - the higher end bodies.
If you are patient and shop the FM board you will buy what you want at a fraction of the price of the 500 mm lens. Your pictures will be sharp and you can crop without much loss. You best understand your cameras functions because there is a learning curve on the high end cameras. No simple point and shoot!
p.1 #8 · 1.4x or 2x teleconverter with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens
Look at article #1 and click on link for photo of how to tape pins to make the Canon 1.4 extender work with the 20D/30D/40D. Not a great solution unless you have a very bright, contrasty situation because the lens hunts so much. However, I'm pretty sure if you turn off the AF and just manually focus you'll get a beep/red light when you hit optimum focus with the pins taped. That may be preferable if you don't like watching the lens go in and out, in and out,....
p.1 #9 · 1.4x or 2x teleconverter with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens
The pin taping does work, and actually not badly in daylight situations, as Paul mentioned. You do have to compensate for the fact that the camera still sees a 5.6 f/stop setting when the real condition is one stop darker. The other issue with doing this is that the lens becomes extremely difficult to hand hold (dark lens combined with longer focal length). On a tripod, it's not too bad for stationary objects. This was shot in my back yard this summer with the same setup you're describing (except I think this was still with my old 20D).
p.1 #10 · 1.4x or 2x teleconverter with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens
mrd08 wrote:
ok if he buys ff body he loses the 1.6 crop factor
so his 400mm on his 40d is 640mm
and on a FF body with a 1.4 x it will only be 560MM
?
Not that simple - you need to consider the pixel density in determining reach.
Afterall, a 20D has no more reach than a 1Ds III as they have the same pixel density. Thus a 1Ds III shot cropped to the same FOV as the 20D shot will contain the same number of pixels (give or take a few).
However, it is correct to say the 400mm lens on a 40D has a FOV equivalent to a 640mm lens on a FF. However, in your example the 560mm lens on the FF may still have the same or more reach than the 400mm on the 40D. As a further example consider a 5D as the FF camera. Guess what, a 40D has 2x the pixel density as a 5D and thus has the same reach as a 5D + 1.4x using the same lens in both cases. That is, the 400mm lens on a 40D has the same reach as the 400+1.4x on a 5D, even though the FOV is larger on the 5D with that combo.
p.1 #11 · 1.4x or 2x teleconverter with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens
Pixel Perfect wrote:
Afterall, a 20D has no more reach than a 1Ds III as they have the same pixel density.
I freely admit I am math-challenged, but wouldn't the 22mp full frame sensor have to be greater than twice the size of the 8mp APS-C sensor to have the same pixel density, P?
p.1 #13 · 1.4x or 2x teleconverter with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens
freaklikeme wrote:
I freely admit I am math-challenged, but wouldn't the 22mp full frame sensor have to be greater than twice the size of the 8mp APS-C sensor to have the same pixel density, P?
The FF sensor is ~2.56x larger and has ~ 2.56x as many pixels as a 20D/30D
p.1 #15 · 1.4x or 2x teleconverter with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens
Only person who I know has great success with 1.4xTC on 400mm f5.6 is Daniella. From what I remember she used to use cheap tamron non-reporting 1.4TC. She even used to use her 2xTC with rebel (don't know which model) and still AF using one of those horizontal points.
My experience with 1.4xTC was slow focus and hunting.
p.1 #17 · 1.4x or 2x teleconverter with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens
bobbyz wrote:
Only person who I know has great success with 1.4xTC on 400mm f5.6 is Daniella. From what I remember she used to use cheap tamron non-reporting 1.4TC. She even used to use her 2xTC with rebel (don't know which model) and still AF using one of those horizontal points.
My experience with 1.4xTC was slow focus and hunting.
Daniella's a freak; can anyone else get results as good as her?
