Is either a TC-17EII or TC-14E any good on a Nikon 70-200mm VR..

Trig's

Trig's

Suspended / Banned
Messages
4,367
Name
Steve
Edit My Images
Yes
Sorry for yet another thread on TC's - its a case of if you don't know then ask ;)

Just wondering if either the Nikon TC-14E II or TC-17E II is much cop on Nikon's 70-200mm VR (mk1) is there much IQ with these or would it be best to go with Kenko's 1.4x DG/DGX TC :shrug:

I know that I will/would loose a stop using a TC but am wondering which one is the best one to get... I've been offered a TC-17E II for just under the £200 mark (2 months old), so am wondering if its a :thumbs: or :thumbsdown: or save myself a few quid & just get the Kenko 1.4x DGX/DG TC (£115 new OSD)...

If anyone uses either of the Nikon TC's (1.4 or 1.7) with the Nikon 70-200mm VR (early one) I'd be much obliged to hear what your thoughts are...

It will be used with the 70-200 VR (obviously) & a D300s

Cheers.....
 
How many times have you asked this? :lol:

If you are anywhere near Cambridge I've got oodles of TC's inc 1.4x TC-14E, TC-17E II and the Kenko 1.4x. Bring a lens up and try 'em out.

Best choice on the 70-200 VR is the 1.4x - either Kenko or Nikon.

Put a 1.7x on it, and you aren't doing much better than the 70-300 VR optically (and the 1.7x TC costs almost as much as the 70-300 VR..!)
 
:lol: Once I think :suspect: ok, maybe twice :$

It was just that a TC 17E II for £50 more that Kenko's got me thinking....

Mmmmm How near Cambridge am I :thinking:.... I'm at the bottom of the M11 and your at the top end'ish... (finding time is the prob there) but I must say thou Andy, thanks for the offer - as I just may keep you too that (a couple of :beer:'s your way for the "try-out" :thumbs:)

Prob will go for the Kenko 1.4x (almost a 1/3 of the price of a Nikon 1.7x) that's unless your in the process of maybe selling any of your "oodles" of TC's sometime in the for-seeable future :naughty:
 
As Puddleduck said.
Go with the 1.4 either Kenko or Nikon they are both about as good as each other, the 1.7 will leave you disappointed........... well it did for me.
 
Cheers for that Grant - out of curiousity what made the 1.7 a disappointment to you :shrug: (sorry for being a nosey sod :p)
 
I was in the same position a few months ago. Spoke to a few sports guys about this, half said the 1.7 is OK with the 70-200 and half said it's good. All said the 1.4 is excellent. I went for a used 1.7 with a view to try it out and decide for myself (still to do, been busy). If it proves not so good I can sell it for the same price I bought it.

So my recommendation: find a good deal on a 1.7.
 
Trig's said:
Cheers for that Grant - out of curiousity what made the 1.7 a disappointment to you :shrug: (sorry for being a nosey sod :p)
Click to expand...

Too soft for me on both my 70-200 and 200-400, the 1.4 is much better though, although still does soften the image slightly.

With respect lornholio, you have just said you have not tried the 1.7 yet, so not the best advice
 
puddleduck said:
If you are anywhere near Cambridge I've got oodles of TC's inc 1.4x TC-14E, TC-17E II and the Kenko 1.4x. Bring a lens up and try 'em out.
Click to expand...

Was up your way today.... In a truck thou (working) - typical :lol:

gpa said:
Too soft for me on both my 70-200 and 200-400, the 1.4 is much better though, although still does soften the image slightly.
Click to expand...

Cheers Grant....


Manxmaid said:
I too found the 1.7 too soft on the 70-200mm for my taste but the 1.4 is very good.
Click to expand...

Think that this may be the better option, so will have a look out for a 1.4x TC - Either a Nikon or a Kenko...


Lornholio said:
I was in the same position a few months ago. Spoke to a few sports guys about this, half said the 1.7 is OK with the 70-200 and half said it's good. All said the 1.4 is excellent. I went for a used 1.7 with a view to try it out and decide for myself (still to do, been busy). If it proves not so good I can sell it for the same price I bought it.

So my recommendation: find a good deal on a 1.7.
Click to expand...

This is the thing when I have read about them - 50/50 reviews either way - which is typical :lol:
 
Daft question but have seen a Nikon TC-14E for sale, it has AF-1 stamped on the side of the TC... I have read thru "Ken Rockwell" reviews (I know I know :bang) & he mentions that this is exactley the same as the TC-14E II apart from the latter has AF-S stamped on it...

Question is will this AF-I work with the Nikon AF-S 70-200mm VR (althou he does state that it will) but just like to hear/read it from fellow TP'rs :thumbs:
 
Trig's said:
Daft question but have seen a Nikon TC-14E for sale, it has AF-1 stamped on the side of the TC... I have read thru "Ken Rockwell" reviews (I know I know :bang) & he mentions that this is exactley the same as the TC-14E II apart from the latter has AF-S stamped on it...

Question is will this AF-I work with the Nikon AF-S 70-200mm VR (althou he does state that it will) but just like to hear/read it from fellow TP'rs :thumbs:
Click to expand...

Yes it will.

The AF-I is identical to the AF-S optically. All that changed is that it says "AF-I" rather than AF-S and some minor cosmetics.

AF-I TC's are bargains. You get a lot of silly people insisting on MK II version (:nuts: :cuckoo:) - they don't realise that the AF-I are the same things and work perfectly.


DSCF0098-fs.jpg

​
 
Cheers Andy - I just wanted to make 100% sure.... :thumbs:
 
gpa said:
As Puddleduck said.
Go with the 1.4 either Kenko or Nikon they are both about as good as each other, the 1.7 will leave you disappointed........... well it did for me.
Click to expand...

:agree:

I found the TC-17E made everything very soft indeed and slowed down the lens to an unacceptable degree.

I'm now using a Kenko PRO 300 1.4x TC and the results on the 70-200mm f/2.8 are almost as good as without it (only the shutter speed suffers a little, not the IQ).

Mind you, I do have problems with the Kenko on my D90 :(. It has a little bit of slack and very often causes a break in the circuit between the camera and the lens, causing a "E" message to appear on the LCD screen. The cure is to twist the lens by hand in order to tighten it up, but it's a pain when you're trying to shoot action shots. If it wasn't twice the price, I'd have bought the Nikon version :|
 
You saying that Andy, about the Kenko pro TC on a Nikon D90 - If I remember rightly I had something very very similar but I was using Siggies 100-300 f4 & noticed that there was a slight play in the Kenko TC & D90 body... I sold it (TC) & got siggies 1.4 TC in the end...
 
Trig's said:
You saying that Andy, about the Kenko pro TC on a Nikon D90 - If I remember rightly I had something very very similar but I was using Siggies 100-300 f4 & noticed that there was a slight play in the Kenko TC & D90 body... I sold it (TC) & got siggies 1.4 TC in the end...
Click to expand...

Really Trig? Oh, b****r!

I thought that perhaps it just didn't like my D90, as it behaves a lot better on the D700. That's going to make it hard to sell, if it's a known issue. Plus, I can't use the Sigma TC with a Nikon lens (AFAIK) :thinking:.

So, I either have to fix it, or get the Nikon one. I reckon that it I could find a thin rubber gasket (as thin as a bicycle inner tube) to go around the metal rim of the lens/TC, that would keep it tight and connected :shrug:. Maybe there's another way!?

I'll have to investigate when I have the time (and patience ;)).
 
I fnd myself repeating myself a lot on TP lately :bang:

Here's a link to a decent article on using the 1.7x Nikon TC:-

http://zaps21.com/photo/TC17tests/TC17tests.htm

Personally I think the article is about right. If you stop down enough the 1.7x is fine. But wide open it's certainly not.

That's my experience :)
 
ryanyboy said:
I fnd myself repeating myself a lot on TP lately :bang:

Here's a link to a decent article on using the 1.7x Nikon TC:-

http://zaps21.com/photo/TC17tests/TC17tests.htm

Personally I think the article is about right. If you stop down enough the 1.7x is fine. But wide open it's certainly not.

That's my experience :)
Click to expand...

Well, I hadn't seen that article before, Ryan, so it wasn't a complete waste of effort ;).

I agree, the results look pretty similar to those which I got with my 70-200mm/1.7x TC combo. The thing for me was, I wasn't shooting outdoors in bright sunshine. If you are, then everything the article says about stopping down to get sharper images makes sense. But, if you're already set up at ISO 800 with the lens wide open (f/4.8) and your camera's exposure meter tells you that you need a speed of 1/40th sec (for instance), your not going to be getting any kind of wildlife shots at all at f/8 (1/15th sec :shrug:), unless the animal/bird's resting, asleep or dead!

Even 1/40th isn't fast enough to stop subject motion blur for most birds, which is why the I made the 'slowing the lens to an unacceptable level' comment before. Without the TC on, the exposure above (at f/2.8) could be made with a shutter speed of 1/120th sec (I think), which is getting closer to where you want to be for wildlife.

I hope that I'm not just stating the obvious here, but I think that it's important to consider what effects reducing (crippling ;)) the max shutter speed can have - VR's great, but it isn't a solution for subject motion blur :shrug:!
 
As I said earlier up, once you put a 1.7x TC on a 70-200 VR, you degrade it so much, you might as well get a 70-300 VR instead.

I'm relucant to put even 1.4x TC on one - it looks good until you compare it with the Nikon 300mm f/4 AF-S (280mm f/4 vs 300mm f/4) - the prime is several leagues above the zoom once you put a TC on it.

If you want a decent 300mm, the 70-300 VR is worth considering instead of a 1.4x or 1.7x TC on the 70-200 VR IMHO.
 
Naboo32 said:
Well, I hadn't seen that article before, Ryan, so it wasn't a complete waste of effort ;).

I agree, the results look pretty similar to those which I got with my 70-200mm/1.7x TC combo. The thing for me was, I wasn't shooting outdoors in bright sunshine. If you are, then everything the article says about stopping down to get sharper images makes sense. But, if you're already set up at ISO 800 with the lens wide open (f/4.8) and your camera's exposure meter tells you that you need a speed of 1/40th sec (for instance), your not going to be getting any kind of wildlife shots at all at f/8 (1/15th sec :shrug:), unless the animal/bird's resting, asleep or dead!

Even 1/40th isn't fast enough to stop subject motion blur for most birds, which is why the I made the 'slowing the lens to an unacceptable level' comment before. Without the TC on, the exposure above (at f/2.8) could be made with a shutter speed of 1/120th sec (I think), which is getting closer to where you want to be for wildlife.

I hope that I'm not just stating the obvious here, but I think that it's important to consider what effects reducing (crippling ;)) the max shutter speed can have - VR's great, but it isn't a solution for subject motion blur :shrug:!
Click to expand...

Good point well made mate :)

I think that's where the D700/D3s can really help out. Certainly if I was shooting with a D300s (as I had before it was nicked) I would think twice about using the 70-200 with 1.7x TC.

So to the OP - if you're happy to shoot at ISO 1600+ then the 70-200 with 1.7x will be fine. But if you want low ISO images, then you'll have to shoot with apertures larger than F6.3 - and that's where the IQ will suffer to the point where you might not be so happy with the results.

Complicated innit!!
 
That is where one of these comes in handy:


DSC09802.jpg

​

300mm f/2.8 with staggering good wide open sharpness :)
 
mark richards said:
I use the 1.7 on nikon 300 f4 & kenko 1.4 both very good ..also i use the 1.4 on nikon 80-200 2.8 but the 1.7 won't fit ...mark
Click to expand...

Yeah,the 1.7x works well on Nikon primes...300mm f/4 AF-S or 300mm f/2.8 AF-S (any flavour). Even a 2x TC is OK on the f/2.8.
 
mark richards said:
puddleduck any idea why the 1.7 won't fit on 80-200, I cant work out what is stopping it ,
I thought it was the glass...but its not that? mark..
Click to expand...

You don't have the AF-S version.

Only the AF-S works with Nikon TC.s

You probably have an AF or AF-D (a screwdriven lens)
 
I hate to say it, but that lens camo does look a little bit like a Laura Ashley lampshade...
 
SLRist said:
I hate to say it, but that lens camo does look a little bit like a Laura Ashley lampshade...
Click to expand...

:thumbs:

It rather reminds me of some of the shirts that my friends wore in the '80s :D (I was a goth then :shake:, hence was excluded from such styles of dress).
 
i tryed a Nikon tc14e II and a tc20e II on a 70-200 and the quality was horrid even in nice daylight.
 
ryanyboy said:
I fnd myself repeating myself a lot on TP lately :bang:

Here's a link to a decent article on using the 1.7x Nikon TC:-

http://zaps21.com/photo/TC17tests/TC17tests.htm

Personally I think the article is about right. If you stop down enough the 1.7x is fine. But wide open it's certainly not.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link, Ryan. That's the experience I had with my 1.7x Nikon TC and so it's not been used for a while, but having reading this I'll have to try again and do some testing.
 
Naboo32 said:
Really Trig? Oh, b****r!

I thought that perhaps it just didn't like my D90, as it behaves a lot better on the D700. That's going to make it hard to sell, if it's a known issue. Plus, I can't use the Sigma TC with a Nikon lens (AFAIK) :thinking:.

So, I either have to fix it, or get the Nikon one. I reckon that it I could find a thin rubber gasket (as thin as a bicycle inner tube) to go around the metal rim of the lens/TC, that would keep it tight and connected :shrug:. Maybe there's another way!?

I'll have to investigate when I have the time (and patience ;)).
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say that it's a known issue Andy. Just that on mine it was a very very slight play - :thinking: more than likely its supposed to be like that, at the time it was the 1st TC I ever owned....
 
Trig's said:
I wouldn't say that it's a known issue Andy. Just that on mine it was a very very slight play - :thinking: more than likely its supposed to be like that, at the time it was the 1st TC I ever owned....
Click to expand...

I've got both 1.4x TCs and I can't see any loosely on the Kenko. Indeed, mount are basically identical (as they should be really)



DSC09883.jpg


​

Very odd!
 
puddleduck said:
I've got both 1.4x TCs and I can't see any loosely on the Kenko. Indeed, mount are basically identical (as they should be really)
Click to expand...

Mmmmm nice picture :lol: So are you showing me those for me to decide on which one I will have off you then Andy (when you decide to sell me one) :naughty:
 
Trig's said:
Mmmmm nice picture :lol: So are you showing me those for me to decide on which one I will have off you then Andy (when you decide to sell me one) :naughty:
Click to expand...

LOL! The only thing I can think of that can account for "looseness" (although I can't observe it) is that the Kenko has one less tab on the mount (allowing it to fit to AF-D as well as AF-S, unlike the Nikkor which will only mount to AF-S)
 
I received my Nikon 1.7x teleconverter about 3 days ago to go with my 70-200 f2.8.

My initial testing was dissapointing but I am startin to understand it's limitations now and have found that when i stop down to f6.3 or f8, the image quality is ok but you do have to keep an eye on those shutter speeds.

Here is a Link to an interesting video on the Nikon TC. Scroll down th epage to see the Video.
 
ianbarber said:
My initial testing was dissapointing but I am startin to understand it's limitations now and have found that when i stop down to f6.3 or f8, the image quality is ok but you do have to keep an eye on those shutter speeds.
Click to expand...

Which is why it makes much more sense to buy a Nikon 70-300 VR instead of a 1.7x for the 70-200 VR...

That lens is pretty decent at f/5.6 300mm. I don't think that 340mm is worth it, when you can get a very nice 70-300 VR that does 300mm very well.

I think if you really want a 300mm lens, thinking of the 70-200 VR + a 1.7x TC is the wrong way to go. Just buy a lens that does 300mm from the off.
 
puddleduck said:
I've got both 1.4x TCs and I can't see any loosely on the Kenko. Indeed, mount are basically identical (as they should be really)

Very odd!
Click to expand...

FWIW, the slackness appears between the D90 lens mounting and the Kenko TC, rather than between the TC and the lens. As I said, it's only an issue on the D90 (and not my D700), so perhaps the blame lies largely with the camera :shrug:. That said, I used the Nikon 1.7x TC with the D90 quite extensively (before sending it back) and I don't recall having that issue :thinking:.
 
puddleduck said:
Yes it will.

The AF-I is identical to the AF-S optically. All that changed is that it says "AF-I" rather than AF-S and some minor cosmetics.

AF-I TC's are bargains. You get a lot of silly people insisting on MK II version (:nuts: :cuckoo:) - they don't realise that the AF-I are the same things and work perfectly.
Click to expand...


Andy

I will have to get you a :beer: as thanks to you I have just managed to get a Nikon TC-14E AF-I for £125.00 - seems that what you said is true...

Cheers Andy



All I hope now is that I have got a "white elephant" :lol:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top