Hi guys!
Well.. to be honest.. im waiting for my 5DmkII.
But i got a great deal on a used 1Dmk3 (2000 exposures) and cant help thinking about how fun it would be to own a 1D series.
One thing i think i would miss when going back to photographing and to the 5D is BIF pics.
So i was woundering if anyone used the 1Dmk3 with 400/5.6L plus 1.4xTC? The 2xTC wouldnt autofocus on the mark 3 right?
1.4 combo would give 728mm and be within my pricerange.. sounds jummy for Birds in flight and wildlife.
Please share thoughts and pictures if you have em?
Instead of 728 mm focal length you will have 560 mm with the lens and the extender. The 1.3 crop factor of the 1D MkIII sensor only changes the angle of view, but not the focal length. So you will see in the end the angle of view as of 728 mm, but you will still only have a focal length of 560mm.
You can picture the angle of view as cropping a part of your frame at 560 mm focal length and enlarging the center if you are not familiar with the terminology.
Auto focus would depend on available light for th 2X ( for the most part no ) but I would rather crop than use a 2X. The IQ loss is noticed by even the casual observer. Crop means just that, crop and regadless of what crop factor your body has the focal length remains the same, just the crop would fill the frame as a 728mm on a full frame body.
retrofocus wrote:
Instead of 728 mm focal length you will have 560 mm with the lens and the extender. The 1.3 crop factor of the 1D MkIII sensor only changes the angle of view, but not the focal length. So you will see in the end the angle of view as of 728 mm, but you will still only have a focal length of 560mm.
You can picture the angle of view as cropping a part of your frame at 560 mm focal length and enlarging the center if you are not familiar with the terminology.
Technically correct and yet completely useless. For purposes of this discussion, the true FL vs. AOV argument is not really germaine.
How about someone answering the OP's ACTUAL question, as I am interested in the 1dm2 + 400 + 1.4 myself
I was shooting Bluejays and Cardinals today with my 1DIII and 35-350L and decide the next lens I purchase is the 400L 5.6. Shot at 350mm - F6.3
I would also like to see 400L+1.4x shots.
retrofocus wrote:
timbop: I don't share what you consider useless. Please stay to the facts.
OK. FACT: the OP asked about the performance and usefulness of a 400/5.6L used with a 1.4TC on a 1dm3. FACT: your information is tangential at best, since all that the OP really wanted to know was how that combo performed. FACT: for real world purposes apparent angle of view of 720mm and a focal length of 720mm are roughly the same - or close enough for the difference not to matter. FACT: a majority of threads are clogged with useless arguments about completely irrelevent subtopics, resulting in the useful information being drowned out - like this one is about to become with this very argument.
OK, so I'm not going to play anymore. Please feel free to argue back, but I'd prefer that someone with real world information about the combo mentioned post.
I've used that combo on both a 20D and 1DMK2. It works well with good light on the 1D, but on the the 20D you lose auto focus unless you tape the pins (which I don't like to do personally. Also with the 1D combo, you'll lose alittle focusing speed on the 400 as well. Good luck,
I use the 100-400L + 1.4x on my 1DIII, and that combination autofocuses quite well, though only with the center AF point. The same would apply to the 400/5.6, and the prime + converter should AF faster than my zoom + converter.
I have no direct experience with the exact combo you asked about, but in other threads I've read that it gives good quality, AFs surprisingly fast if in good light, and is more readily hand-holdable (size/weight/balance) than just about any other good combo of similar "reach". No IS, of course.
I don't have too many photos with that combination but here are a few. It seems perfectly useable as long as you have fairly good lighting. I have not tried this combination for birds in flight, only the bare 400 which of course works great. It slows down a little with the 1.4x on there but I would think you could still use it for bif in good lighting. 1DIII, 400 f5.6, Canon 1.4x II
Thats some very beautiful pictures! Thanx for sharing =)
Anyone knows what 1.4x teleconverter that gives best result.. or degrade the sharpness the least?
The 100-400 sounds tempting as well cos of the IS.. but i really want the best possible IQ and prime sounds sharper than 4x zoom =)
The 400L F5.6 + 1.4x converter has been my favorite combo:
Here is a Blue Warbler. Shot it with the combo on a markII. ISO 800. The Blue warbler was very close.
Here is a Darkeyed Junco. The distance was somewhat farther. I need to crop quite a bit. No sunlight hitting the bird though. Just fill flash.
Here is shot of a Yellow rump leg warbler. ISO 400 F10. It was a bright good day.
Now, the problem I have with this combo is that the bokeh is really busy. I had to blur the background on all the shots in order to create a shallow DOF. And to make the bokeh a bit smoother. Other than that, it is a poor-man 500L sort of way.
I would suggest the 50D or the 5DII body, with that lens....the focus is sooooooo much better....I have had two 1DIII bodies and neither one of them (yellow or green dots) worked ....the 50D and the 5D both work just like the 1DIIN did....
Les
