Nikon 18-200mm VR + TC

Panzerbjorn

Panzerbjorn

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Lo all,

I must be mad thinking about spending yet more money after splashing out on the 18-200 but I'm starting to worry about my reach. I'm used to having 300mm with the Sigma 70-300 and I'm worried that 200mm just wont cut it when I want to go really narrow.

From what I've read (and please correct me if I'm wrong) 2xTC's will only autofocus and meter with lenses that stop from f2.8.
The 18-200 starts at f3.5, so I'm guessing if I wan't to keep AF and metering I'm going to have to go with the 1.7xTC. That will give me 340mm at the narrowest end which is obviously more than my Sigma gave me (which is nice), but it won't quite give me the 400mm that I could get with a 2x.

I'm just wondering whether it's worth sacrificing AF and metering for a maximum of 400mm focal length or if I should keep the AF etc and be happy with 340mm.

Just wanted to get the opinion of everyone and see what you would do and/or recommend.

Cheers all.

Panzer
 
Panzer - I had the 18-200 & got rid of it as I missed the 200-300 end much more than I thought I would - I now have the 70-300VR - Its superb & nearly half the price of the 18-200!
When I had it & considered adding a TC I was told not to try adding one to the 18-200 due to the wide angle of the lens - apparently you shouldn't add a TC to any lens under 50mm althought there are some exceptions
HTH - Paul ;)
 
Im not convinced you will even get AF with a 1.4tc. I'll have a check around.

Edit1: you may well be ok with the Kenko one, as it does not transmit its presence to the camera.

Edit2: Yes, the Kenko 1.4tc seems to be the only one that people have used satisfactorily. However, AF will be harder (esp i low light), your pictureswill not be as sharp and you will lose one stop of light.

HTH :)
 
Ok thanks guys not to worry.

I decided to get the lens as a walkabout replacement for the kit lens and the Sigma, I was just tired of having to change lenses all the time and I was looking for some better quality glass.

the 70-300 VR while giving me the extra reach would still put me in the same position.

Paul do you have any more information about TCs and wide angle lenses? I guessed that because I would be using it for the narrow end it wouldn't be an issue.

Joe, what about the Nikon TC's? The website says it's compatible.
I knew about the IQ degredation and the loss of a stop but after seeing some of the examples of people who have just got a TC I thought the pro's out weighed the cons.

Cheers again for the info fellas.

Panzer
 
Panzer - Here is one of the threads I found at Nikonians
*STOP*
Be carefull before you buy a Nikon teleconverter, as certain ones will only work on specified lenses.

TC-14A 1.4x Teleconverter for AIS Lenses:
NOTE: Due to the high-quality design of this converter (5 elements/5 groups), the teleconverter will only fit and work with a select range of lenses. Only the following lenses are compatible:

AF lenses (in manual focus mode):
18-35mm f/3.5-4.5D ED-IF
24-85mm f/2.8-4D IF
28-105mm f/3.5-4.5D IF
35-70mm f/2.8D *
70-300mm f/4-5.6D ED *
80-200mm f/2.8D ED (tripod collar vers.) #
17-35mm f/2.8D ED-IF AF-S
28-70mm f/2.8D ED-IF AF-S
16mm f/2.8D *
18mm f/2.8D *
20mm f/2.8D *
24mm f2.8D *
28mm f/1.4D *
28mm f/2.8D *
35mm f/2D *
50mm f/1.4D *
50mm f/1.8D *
85mm f/1.8D *
85mm f/1.4D *
105mm f/2D DC *
135mm f/2D DC *
80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D VR #
60mm f/2.8D Micro
200mm f/4D ED-IF Micro *

Nikon TC-14B 1.4x Manual Focus Teleconverter:
For 300mm and Longer AIS Lenses

Nikon TC-14E 1.4x II Teleconverter for D-AF-S & AF-I Lenses ONLY:
NOTE: Due to the high-quality design of this converter (5 elements/5 groups), the teleconverter will only fit and work with a select range of lenses. Only the following lenses are compatible:

* AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF VR
* AF-S 80-200mm f/2.8D ED-IF
* AF-S 200-400mm f/4G ED-IF VR
* AF-S 200mm f/2G ED-IF VR
* AF-S 300mm f/2.8D ED-IF (II)
* AF-S 300mm f/4D ED-IF
* AF-S 400mm f/2.8D ED-IF (II)
* AF-S 500mm f/4D ED-IF (II)*
* AF-S 600mm f/4D ED-IF (II)*

Cheers,

Chris Speers
(Nikonians Calgary Canada)
Click to expand...

The good news is that the Kenko TC's do appear to works & here is another thread from the same place
Simon,
I've tried the 18-200 with D200 and Kenko Pro 300 DG 2x and it worked fine except for AF which had to be operated manually unless lots of light were there. (that f/11 at 400mm was a little too much for the CAM 1000)

Claudio

>Len does this also hold true for the Kenko Pro 300 "DG" type
>as well?
>
>Thanks
>
>Simon

I have this combo ("DG" version) with 18-200mm VRII and it works just fine with no big problems. A little slow to focus but it does work and the results are good. It doesn't work in AF in marginal light though but most of the time AF works.

Phil Van Pelt
Click to expand...

HTH - Paul
 
Thank you very much Paul that's very useful :banana:

Looks like it's the Kenko Pro 300 DG for me then :D

Cheers

Panzer
 
Hi Panzer.

I use a 2x Kenko TC purchased pretty cheaply from onestop.

Before I bought it, I did quite a bit of research into this and the general consensus is that you should not use one with a lens below 5k0mm as vignetting may occur.

I actually seem to remember reading this on the Kenko website too.

Quote from Keno website .... "However, Kenko does not recommend them for zoom lenses that have a range starting under 50 mm."

I use mine with a Tamron 70-300mm lens and have no problem whatsoever - I have it on a Nikon D50 and AF works fine (providing it's light enough to compensate for lost stops).

Also - you may find this of some use depending on lens used

http://blog.nikonians.org/archives/Nikonians%20Teleconverter%20Table.pdf

Cheers.

Anth.
 
Thanks Magpie,

If the only issue with the long zoom lens is vignetting then I'm willing to take the risk. I wouldn't really use it for the wide portion of the zoom lens anyway.
Also I usually add vignetting during PP anyway :o so it might make my workflow faster ;)

Thanks for the link to that chart. It seems to suggest that both the Nikon and the Kenko 2x will work with light dependant AF, again a risk I'm willing to take really especially considering the quote that Paul found from the Nikonians forum.

As it seems it's a toss-up between the Kenko and the Nikon is there really any huge reason why I shouldn't save myself the best part of £100 and go with the Kenko?

Cheers again

Panzer
 
The Nikon TCs seems really limited in terms of what lenses they are compatible with. I should be getting a Kenko Pro 300 DG 2x in Tuesday, along with my 150mm F2.8 Sigma, so it should be interesting to see how I get on.
 
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