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400mm prime vs 70-200mm with 2x teleconverter?


5 years 8 months ago #598545 by Village Clown
For get about the f/stop for now.  If you had 2 exact cameras, one with a 400mm on it, and the other with a 70-200mm with a 2x teleconverter focused out to 200mm.  Would you see a difference in the camera or in post?
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5 years 8 months ago #598558 by garyrhook
Yes, at least for Nikon. The TCs affect image quality. I won't even discuss IQ from the zoom vs. the prime, because that really goes without saying.

That said, the 1.4 Nikon TC isn't too bad, the 1.7 has a terrible reputation, and the 2.0 is considered not too bad.

You give up something when you use a TC.
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5 years 8 months ago #598561 by Nikon Shooter
You'd be better off using a D800E, D810 or D850 as their higher
pixel counts are not loosing you lens quality as TC's do.
Light is free… capturing it is not!
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5 years 8 months ago #598580 by Village Clown

garyrhook wrote: Yes, at least for Nikon. The TCs affect image quality. I won't even discuss IQ from the zoom vs. the prime, because that really goes without saying.

That said, the 1.4 Nikon TC isn't too bad, the 1.7 has a terrible reputation, and the 2.0 is considered not too bad.

You give up something when you use a TC.


Really?  Good thing I posted this.  I thought the 1.7x would be a better pick compared to the 2x, that will take a full 2 stops.  Why is that? 
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5 years 8 months ago #598584 by fmw
I agree with Nikon Shooter.  Normally you can get a better image by cropping an image from the bare lens than you would by using a 2X converter.  I used to use TC's in emergency situations in the film era but I no longer need one nor own one.  Obviously the prime lens is the better option but the zoom without the converter would be the second best option.
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5 years 8 months ago - 5 years 8 months ago #598588 by Troponin
I believe that some 70-200 f2.8 x2 can do well against a 400mm prime when stopped down to about f8. But consider the cost of that set up. You have to really want the 200mm. Lenses of equal quality/build will generally perform relative to each other at their native focal lengths. 
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5 years 8 months ago - 5 years 8 months ago #598592 by effron

garyrhook wrote: That said, the 1.4 Nikon TC isn't too bad, the 1.7 has a terrible reputation, and the 2.0 is considered not too bad.


I'd like to see your source. The 2.0 is so so on a quality PRIME lens, the 1.7 a little better, and 1.4 better yet. On zooms ALL teleconverters usually suck, and in some cases you can't even use a Nikon TC on a Nikon Zoom, or af is compromised....
cdn-5.nikon-cdn.com/Assets/Common-Assets...y/EN_Comp_chart.html
Why so serious?
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The following user(s) said Thank You: Troponin
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5 years 8 months ago #598636 by garyrhook

Village Clown wrote: I thought the 1.7x would be a better pick compared to the 2x, that will take a full 2 stops.  Why is that? 


Optics quality in the TC, as far as I know. Everything I've read has put the 1.7 behind the other two when it comes to resultant IQ.

That said: google it yourself. Do the research. Draw your own conclusions. Don't just ask here.
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5 years 8 months ago - 5 years 8 months ago #598643 by Troponin
Ok, so I now have my x2 teleconverter in my hands and took some test shots tonight. 

Don’t do it. Not one of the 50 shots I took tonight were even acceptable. It’s going back or I am selling it. Waste of money if you want anything remotely sharp. Decent if you’re just taking shots of the kids at soccer and don’t care about how sharp them are, but terrible for pretty much anything else. THe image quality is just too degraded, even on the best glass. 
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5 years 8 months ago #598655 by Carry
I remember when I got started, I have a tough time understanding why you lost light performance with teleconverters.  
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5 years 8 months ago #598692 by fmw
The f number is a relationship between aperture size and the focal length of the lens.  If you make a lens longer it needs more aperture to produce the same exposure.  TC's, like extension tubes make the lens longer.
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5 years 8 months ago #598727 by garyrhook
+1.

Compare any two f/2.8 lenses. Accounting for telephoto components, the longer ones are bigger around, everything else being held constant. If you want to maintain the same amount of light coming in and reaching the sensor, the lens has to get wider at the front end.
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5 years 8 months ago #598776 by James F
I'll take that 400mm!  Who wants to gift this to me?  
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5 years 8 months ago #598813 by Ian Stone
:agree:  well said Gary
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