Help please extenders

[turbotom]

Hi everyone, I know this has likely been done a million times on here in the past but could anyone spare a moment please to give me some guidance on lens focal extenders. I have just got my very first Canon L lens 70-200mm f4 L and am totally blown away with how clear and sharp these lenses are, but I would like to couple it up with an extender of either 1.4 times or 2x. My primary object would be to do some bird and wildlife photography.

• Firstly is there a vast difference between buying genuine Canon or is there a good reputable 3rd party alternative? And what model to stay clear of.
• Secondly what size to go for either 1.4 X or 2 X.?
• What quality of image loss should I expect?
• Finally what f. stop loss with each type should I expect?

I appreciate that there are lots of so called reviews on the net, but I’m after an honest and impartial advice from the true experts -those that use this type of equipment as their livelihood or hobby.

I appreciate It would be easier to get a longer focal length lens but finances dictate what I can basically go for, and a quality second-hand extender is more in my price range than a Canon 400mm L.

Thank you, Tom.

 

[wippers]

The 1.4x will take you to F5.6, and the 2x will take you to F6.3 I think.
I have used a Sigma 1.4x TC and found very little loss in sharpness. The 2x TC's apparently have a noticeably loss in sharpness from what I've been told, although I have not tried one yet.

 

[MatBin]

Your camera wont AF with a 2X extender on an F4 lens. I have a 70/200 F4 and a Canon 1.4, you hardly notice any fall off in IQ.
1 stop loss on the 1.4, 2 stops on the 2X, so F4 becomes 5.6/8 (hence why the 40D wont AF - only 1 series bodies AF at F8, until the 1DX anyway).
The latest 1.4 extender is quite expensive, double the previous version and in my view not worth it unless you are using a 70/200 2.8 mk2.
As a stop gap or if used only a little an extender is good value for money.
Matt

 

[HoppyUK]

I have a Kenko Pro 300 1.4x on the IS version of the 70-200L 4. It works pretty well, though the result you get depends on the quality of the donor lens far more then the extender and the IS lens is sharper than the non-IS.

That Kenko 1.4x is generally thought to be the best non-Canon extender. You'll lose noticeable quality with a 2x and AF won't work.

However, I don't use the extender much. 1.4x isn't massively longer and, I usually just crop a bit harder instead - but you can do that on a full frame 5D2 much more successfully than you can on 1.6x format.

If you're serious about birding, save up for a 100-400L - about £900 used?

 

[turbotom]

Thank you all for your help and advice. cheers Tom