Which 1.4x teleconverter?

[TomWilko]

Basically as title really. Done a bit of looking around on the Internet and can't seem to find many concrete reviews or comparisons.

Would be looking to attach it to the Canon 70 - 200 F/4 L or the Canon 300 F/4 L IS.

Noticing over £100 between the Canon branded converter and the Sigma/Kenko ones. Just wondered what general perception was, is this £100 worth it? Looking to pick one up over the next few months for that bit of extra reach at Motorsport circuits.

Thanks,

Tom

 

[rickj]

I have tested a few and was very happy with the kenko pro 300 and it fitted/work with all my len's. which neither the sigma or canon did

 

[explora56]

Tom in my experience no convertors don't work especially for motorsport things to bear in mind are a 1.4 coverter will make your 300 f4 into a 420 f5.6 more light needed the converter will slow down your autofocus not important for static users but very important for action work and finally it will degrade the quality and sharpness of the image. I have tried both the 1.4 and the 2* and I don't have a converter now. Just my experience mind you others may have a different slant. You could pick one up on Ebay for less than £100 try it and see you can always sell it again.

Bill

 

[Chappers]

Tom

I got the Canon 1.4 converter some while ago for a specific job. I used it on me 100-400 zoom. The results were OK. Yes it does degrade the image a bit, and I'm not sure if I would have got as good a result from cropping to the same size. Must carry out some tests one day. l Since that one time I've not really used it. It's in the bag "just in case".

Is the Kenko better. I don't know.The reason I purchased the Canon was the simple reason , if I purchased another make, and was not happy, would I end up wishing I'd bought Canon.

 

[kevshore]

I had two firsts on Friday. One was to use my Kenko 300 pro 1.4 with my 70-200 2.8. The other was to have a go at taking photo's of aircraft. Hadn't done either before.
This is one of the savers.

I thought it might help you to see the results that can be achieved using a converter. This was equivelent to 280mm f4. Cropped a bit but not lots.

 

[TomWilko]

Interesting responses so far. I have 'heard' that the 300 f/4 does not suffer from that much quality loss when attached to a 1.4x tele.

As has been mentioned already, the 1.4x will be more of a 'just in case' item for the bag however it will be nice to have a full range of zoom right from 70mm all the way through to 420mm.

 

[StewartR]

I have 'heard' that the 300 f/4 does not suffer from that much quality loss when attached to a 1.4x tele.

I can confirm that. The 300mm f/4 + 1.4x delivers great results, at least if the teleconverter is also a Canon (which is what I've got). I can't comment one way or the other on other makes.