Teleconverters

[BUGSnBIRDS]

Could someone kindly clarify for me the main differences between Kenko and Nikon teleconverters, apart from price. I am thinking about purchasing one but not really too sure what sets them apart to make an informed decision.
Thanks

[ricktas]

Depending on the lens being used, some of the Kenko ones will not 'talk' to the camera and body, thus you lose the ability to adjust aperture etc, via the camera, and have do to so manually on the lens. Note that this doesn't apply to all kenko converters or all lenses. I have the Nikon 300mm F4 and if I use my Kenko TC, it loses the ability to adjust the aperture on the camera body, but that is the only lens I have noticed this issue with.

[RRRoger]

The higher priced AF-S Nikkor TC 1.4, 1.7 and the new 2.0 eIII all give you a slightly higher quality image,
but they are only compatible with a limited number of AF-S lens and will not stack.

[maccaroneski]

Well I bought my Kenko 1.4 on the strength of kiwi saying that he cannot notice the difference in quality between his Kenko and his Nikon... and that's as close as I cam to finding a comparative review on the net.

[BUGSnBIRDS]

Thanks for those replies - the image and stacking (non) are food for thought. cheers

[Zac]

All teleconverters degrade image quality somewhat... as well as dropping your aperture. Given that in most circumstances you'll get as good results simply by cropping a wider image.

[kiwi]

Not necessarily true at all Zac in my opinion.

A good TC is indispensible, it increases your focal length significantly without reducing the image size at all - it then allows you to crop more and you can apply a littel extra usm if required.

I have a Kenko 1.4 Pro G and yes, I think the IQ is very good, as good as the Nikon 1.4 in my opinion. Not built as well though. AF is a tad slower than without one, but not too bad. Works fine all all Nikon AF and AF-S lenses

The Nikon 1.7 that I have is good also, stopped down a little, and the AF is a little slower again (especially acquiring, but tracking is fine).

I have only ever tried a older Kenko MC7 2x and it was horrible

[joeyvaldezjr]

I've read somewhere that the newer kenko pro dgx teleplus version can now transmit the correct aperture to your camera as against the pro dg version, is this true?

I'm more interested in the quality of the kenko specially that the nikon tc20 eIII was already released. Any inputs?

@ricktas, can you show us some pics of you kenko teleconverter and its output? Thanks!

[kiwi]

The older pro dg transmits apperture etc too, so, dunno about that

[stevo]

I've got/had a Kenko and a Canon 1.4*

There was very little to pick between them and I sold the Canon one because the Kenko one could be used with more lenses and therefore was of more use to me.

The only lens it wouldn't read properly with was a Sigma 50-150 f/2.8 I had. It works fine with my 70-200 f/2.8 Canon.

The edges are bit softer with the converter but it's mainly only used for sports style shots where you're interested in the centre of the image and often want the edges soft or diffused anyway.

I tried a 2 times Canon converter but it was too soft with my 70-200.. It may be passable with a sharper large prime lens.

[ricktas]

I've read somewhere that the newer kenko pro dgx teleplus version can now transmit the correct aperture to your camera as against the pro dg version, is this true?

I'm more interested in the quality of the kenko specially that the nikon tc20 eIII was already released. Any inputs?

@ricktas, can you show us some pics of you kenko teleconverter and its output? Thanks!

I havent used my TC in quite some time, cause the main lens I wanted to use it on (the 300) it has issues with.

[Zac]

Not necessarily true at all Zac in my opinion.

A good TC is indispensible, it increases your focal length significantly without reducing the image size at all - it then allows you to crop more and you can apply a littel extra usm if required.

I have a Kenko 1.4 Pro G and yes, I think the IQ is very good, as good as the Nikon 1.4 in my opinion. Not built as well though. AF is a tad slower than without one, but not too bad. Works fine all all Nikon AF and AF-S lenses

The Nikon 1.7 that I have is good also, stopped down a little, and the AF is a little slower again (especially acquiring, but tracking is fine).

I have only ever tried a older Kenko MC7 2x and it was horrible

I've tried a couple of 2x teleconvertors and was most unimpressed. It sounds like the lower magnification versions may be worth investigating...

[AdamJL]

Hi BUGSnBURDS

I can't comment on Nikon's TC quality.

I own Canon gear, and also use a Kenko 1.4 tc.
In terms of image quality, the Kenko is indistinguishable from the Canon, and furthermore, can be used on more lenses as Canon's TC has a protusion that stop things like stacking.

However, the Canon does maintain weather seals, which the Kenko does not. If you are shooting in dusty/windy/rainy conditions then I'd recommend the Nikon, which presumably, will also maintain any weather seals on your lens and camera.

[kiwi]

Generally 2x converters suck, although in saying this Ive seen some real nice results with the newer nikon 2x on a 70-200 as well as a 600 f/4

Good point Adama about the build of the Kenko vs Nikon/Canon

One last thing, if you have Sigma HSM lenses only Sigma TC's work on those

[stevo]

One last thing, if you have Sigma HSM lenses only Sigma TC's work on those

Is that only the HSM's, certain HSM's or with a Nikon ???

The kenko 1.4 I've got works on my sigma 18-200 lens..

Admittedly the AF struggles (as you'd expect) but will still work, it reads everything correctly.

Whereas with the Sigma 50-150 it wouldn't read the aperature correctly, it just didn't "see" it but the AF had no issues.. sort of expected comparing the amount of light getting to the AF sensors.

[kiwi]

Its a few years ago, but I tried the kenko with the sigma 50-150 and 120-300 hsm's. My memory was it hunted really bad mainly. Not sure about the exposure etc

[RRRoger]

[QUOTEl
One last thing, if you have Sigma HSM lenses only Sigma TC's work on those[/QUOTE]

Well my Sigma 150-500 is HSM.
The teleplus 1.5 DG will not only work but AutoFocus (sloowly but slightly better than manually) at 500mm and f/6.3
The Kenko 2x Pro 300 also works and will even try to AutoFocus when stacked on the 1.5x.
If the light is very good and the tripod very stable, it actually will give you a usable image of a still object at the resulting 1500mm.

Incidentally the camera is a 5D2. All this works at least twice as fast on a D3.

[kiwi]

right, not familiar with a 1.5TC

There is a Nikon chart that shows all the compatbility

http://blog.nikonians.org/archives/N...er%20Table.pdf

[mongo]

Mongo has a new 20EIII and it seems to be the best Nikon has produced to date for X2 converters and gives very good results. AF as expected is a little slower than without it.
Cannot compare it to Kenko as Mongo does not own any but understands they can be excellent in many cases.

[joeyvaldezjr]

can mongo show some sample shots?

I'm really interested with the Kenko dgx and would want to use it on my Nikkor 70-200 vr1. Most of the reviews I read were used on the 70-300 VR