Is a teleconverter superior to a crop

[ameerat42]

Well, that was easier said than done
Somewhere above I gave some suggestions for how to do a test for comparing the DOF when changing focal length (FL).
Well, I had to revise them. The results below are the 4th attempt at photographic a suitable subject/scene. In the end,
a relatively close object was used: some weeds on the driveway.

So the original Q was (essentially): Is a teleconverter (TC) better than enlarging in Post Processing (PP)?
And a related Q arose (essentially): Is there a difference in Depth Of Field (DOF) between the two methods?

My main aim:
To test the 2nd Q - any difference in DOF with change in focal length (using a TC).

Why a completely manual and fixed lens:
Could not control all settings on a later lens.

How I got the pics:
One was with the 2XTC attached to n F=135mm fixed, manual, legacy lens, all mounted on a tripod.
The other was with the same lens but without the TC.
The lens was set to maximum aperture as f/2.5 for both shots, with and without TC.
(The EXIF will show the same f-stop for both files because it is just an indicator in the camera of the manual setting of the physical aperture.)
The change in subject distance was considered minimal: 50 mm over 3.7m (1.35% diff).

In PP:
Copy the wider view image and paste the layer onto the narrow view image. Double the size of the pasted layer (wide view)
to match the size of the narrow view.
Change the layer opacity to see both overlay and background image and align carefully so that they superimpose.
Restore the opacity of the overlay and then flatten the image.
Copy the result back onto the original wide view image and flatten it.
Save and Rename the new file as ...cx2 (cropped and doubled).
Close the original narrow view file without any changes.
Take a screen shot of the two images side-by-side for display here. (Links to the original LARGE files are provided.)

Conclusion:
No change for me, but opinions welcome.
1) Resulting IQ depends on equipment and PP methods.
2) No change in DOF with change in FL.

Screen shot of TC vs PP test...
TCvsPP.jpg

Link to folder with original images (LARGE FILES)
https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resi...t=folder%2cjpg