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View Full Version : Can I double up teleconvertors?



commking
23-11-2011, 4:02pm
Can I put two teleconvertors on a lens?

Yes it might be slow. Yes it might not be the most crisp image I've ever taken. But I would get a lot of reach.

I have one TC and all my kit is Canon. Would a second one work?

kiwi
23-11-2011, 4:04pm
Sure

But I think you'd be better cropping

OzzieTraveller
23-11-2011, 4:05pm
G'day ck

Tried this way back in film camera days - novelty mainly, got no usable sharp images
It failed via both general lack of sharpness & heat haze in the atmosphere

But - try it with a mate's TC but I can't recommend you buy a 2nd one for ongoing use
Regards, Phil

ameerat42
23-11-2011, 4:07pm
I don't know about the electrical connections, you might have to use some manual mode. In film days I stacked two (and yes, slow and poor IQ).
As for the "reach", you might (actually, probably) be better off just upscaling an image using Photoshop or such.

Edit: How about that, Phil! We were knaves!!

B D H
23-11-2011, 4:44pm
As far as I know, two 1.4 canon T.C's will not join together due to mechanical limitations, however you could use an extension tube between them but the IQ could end up out the window
I tried a canon 1.4 mk111 and a kenko 1.4 which WILL join together, & never bothered again, lousy IQ
I've just tried the 1.4 & 2x mk111's - they won't mate together at all

Xenedis
23-11-2011, 5:00pm
Can I put two teleconvertors on a lens?

Yes it might be slow. Yes it might not be the most crisp image I've ever taken. But I would get a lot of reach.

I have one TC and all my kit is Canon. Would a second one work?

I have both of the Canon tele-converters, and they will stack, but only in a particular order (which escapes my memory at the moment).

Note that Canon tele-converters are only compatible with certain Canon lenses.

I presume you know this, and that your lens is one of those lenses.

Wayne
23-11-2011, 5:28pm
SarNOP regularly stacks Nikon TC's, but not sure if they have been milled or modified, and whether Canon would have the same ability. With the Nikon ones, Sar gets awesome sharp images.

camerasnoop
23-11-2011, 5:37pm
I can stack my Sigma TC's but the 2x has to be on the lens and the 1.4x has to be on the camera.

kiwi
23-11-2011, 5:47pm
SarNOP regularly stacks Nikon TC's, but not sure if they have been milled or modified, and whether Canon would have the same ability. With the Nikon ones, Sar gets awesome sharp images.

It might help that he starts with a 400 2.8 or 600 f/4 or a 200 f/2 etc :)

arthurking83
23-11-2011, 10:23pm
Basically, there are very few TC's that cant' be stacked onto another, but as already said, some can't be stacked due to mechanical limitations.

Each TC, just as a normal lens) has a front and back. Front attaches to the lens and the back attaches to the camera. Sounds simple because it is.

The trick to watch out for is that the various lens elements within the innards of each TC cannot clash with each other.
So watch where each TC mounts, so that for example the front lens element of TC 'X' which may be mounted on the camera doesn't strike the rear most lens of TC 'Y' which may be mounted onto the lens.


I too have two stackable TC's and they have to be attached to each other in a specific manner. That is, the 1.4x ahead of the 2.0x. You can't do it the other way round because the inner lenses clash.

I'm sure that somewhere on the net someone has already created a list of which TC's can be mated to which others, and in what order.
(I think there is a list floating around for the Nikon TC's)

Xenedis
23-11-2011, 10:38pm
I've just looked at my Canon tele-converters.

The only way the two types can be physically stacked is in the following order:

Camera -> 1.4x TC -> 2x TC -> compatible Canon lens (ie, with a rear cavity which supports the TC).

I haven't tried stacking two of the same kind, as I only own one of each, and wouldn't stack two 2x TCs together anyway, even on my 300/2.8.

The Canon lenses which I know to be compatible with Canon TCs are as follows:


any L-series prime with a focal length of 135mm or longer;
all of the 70-200mm L zooms;
the 100-400mm L zoom; and
the 400/4 DO IS.



There may be some newer L-series lenses (ie, new products rather than mark II releases) which also accommodate the TCs, but I'm not across the details of these.

Wayne
23-11-2011, 11:22pm
For those with Nikon gear looking at this and wondering;

I have;

TC14EII
TC17EII
TC20EIII

No matter which way you try, they will not mate together. The only way I can see that may work is with the 1.4 or 1.7 mounting into the rear of the 2x, but it still seems like the rear element of the 2x will not be deep enough after you machine the mount/s to allow locking together.

Speedway
06-12-2011, 9:31pm
I did this years ago with my Zenit EM and 135mm lens + 2 - 2xTC's and got some reasonable results doing long range landscapes. I have 3 hanging on my wall blown up to 20x30 inch poster prints. I still have the camera and TC's but the 135 lens was stolen with my Zenit TTL years ago.
Keith.