Lens Extender?

Rapidrat

Rapidrat

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Alex
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Hey guys! I just wanted to know your experiences with lens extenders? I have a Canon 6D with a 24-105mm/L and a 70-300m/Non-L and I can't really afford super expensive lenses but would like extra length when possible, so my question is are they worth it?
I realise they come in different multiplications too, but advice and experience would be fab in this situation :)

Thanks everyone
 
As far as I am aware canon extenders wont work with either of your lens.. I would google for a copatability list if I was you :)
 
hollis_f said:
They're really only worth using with long, expensive, glass.
Click to expand...

I have a 135mm f2 lens and both the 1.4 and x2 work great wiht is and very usefull.. I am sure many people find them usefull on non long expensive lens :)
 
are you talking tele-convertors which increase your telephoto ability and contain glass elements or extension tubes which are empty tubes that bring macro stuff closer
 
Just to clear up any remaining doubts: Neither of those lenses is compatible with a Canon Extender (teleconverter) by design. Canon make their Extenders with protruding front elements, so they require correspondingly recessed rear elements on the lenses they fit. Neither of your lenses has a recessed rear element so it won't physically fit. Try too enthusiastically to make it fit, and something will break.

There are 3rd-party teleconverters which don't have protruding front elements, so they will physically fit lenses which Canon didn't intend to be used with Extenders. I've heard good things about Kenko teleconverters for example, though I should stress I don't have any and I don't know whether they are specifically compatible with your lenses.

But it's not a good idea. There's a reason Canon don't want you to use Extenders with these lenses, and it's all about image quality. Using a teleconverter with one of these lenses would degrade the image so badly that you would be better off cropping and enlarging your image. (And if you do crop/enlarge, you won't suffer from the reduced aperture and autofocus degradation which teleconverters give you.)

Extenders / teleconverters are generally only worth using on pro-spec telephoto primes (in the Canon range, L-series primes from the 135mm f/2 upwards) and a very few pro-spec zooms (in the Canon range, the L-series 70-200mm and 200-400mm).
 
I've got a Kenko Pro300 DGX 1.4x converter and I've used it on occasions with my 24-105 f4L and still got some great quality shots from it. It slows the AF down a fair bit though but it's great for slow moving and static shots. I'm sure it would be compatible with your 70-300 lens as well but you'd probably end up losing AF and having to manually focus as you lose 1 stop of light with a 1.4x. I did use it with a Canon 100-400 L and still managed to get AF in good to average light but I lost AF in low light so you might still get AF in good light with your 70-300. With the Kenko you certainly don't lose a lot of image quality although it is noticeable, more so on lower light shots. You can get the Kenko 1.4x around £125 which is less than half of the Canon equivalent.

I've got a Canon 2x MkIII converter as well, but that only fits a couple of my lenses (70-200 f2.8L II and 300 f4L IS) so only gets limited use but the Kenko fits on nearly, if not all my lenses in my sig. I've used it on my Sigma 150-500 OS (which I had to manually focus) to get some moon shots on a 60D, 7D and a 5D3 and the reach is awesome.
 
Modchild What is your Experience with the Canon 2X As far as autofocus, image quality, Im really thinking to buy one to pair it with a 70-200 2.0 in a 5dMIII for sport events on outside.
 
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