EF 400 f 5.6 plus convertor. Does it work?

[Sarawak]

Hello and a question if I may.

I've seen the discussion about convertors, and would like to ask another similar question.

I have a 400mm f5.6 lens and I'm thinking of adding a 1.4 MkII TC for use with my bird photography. I understand that the autofocus slows down, even when having the pins taped up, particularly on the 100 - 400 lens. I have heard that the autofocus problem is not apparent with a prime lens, and wonder if anyone on here has used the 400mm and 1.4 TC combination, and if so how do you find autofocus with the prime lens, particularly in poor light? I will probably be using this lens on a 50D.

I'd really like to know if the expense can be justified, or should I just accept that I can get sharper images with autofocus on just my 400mm lens, which might allow me to crop in closer for a sharp image?

Kind regards

Sara W

[Muscat]

Re: EF 400 f 5.6 plus convertor. Does it work?

Sara, I don't know what camera you would be using the 400mm f5.6 with but unless it is a 1D body you will not get auto focus, I have a 50D and a 5D3 and when using my 400 lens with a Canon converter the 50D doesn't want to know and I have to use manual focus, the 5D3 will sometimes in bright light lock on using the auto focus but not consistently.

Using a Kenko converter the auto focus does work but slowly but I do not get the same level of IQ as with a Canon converter, also I have found that the Kenko causes a vignette when used on the FF body. If you use manual focus and the Canon converter in good / reasonable light you should hardly notice any degredation in image quality.

It is not the difference between a zoom lens to a prime that causes the camera to loose auto focus rather the way the algorthms and coding is written within the camera's OS. For the new 1Dx Canon have made a software change and issued an update that now allows this camera to auto focus at f8 which is the same as the old 1D4, they will be issuing a firware update for the 5D3 next year to also allow this camera to auto focus at f8 but until then the 5D3 is limited to most of the other models at an f5.5 limit.

[DanFlag]

Re: EF 400 f 5.6 plus convertor. Does it work?

When used with a 1D body, autofocus will remain but only on the center point.
a few exemples ;

http://www.flagworld.com/photos/v/20..._0270.jpg.html

http://www.flagworld.com/photos/v/20..._0288.jpg.html

Exifs can be found below the pictures

Have fun!

[Sarawak]

Re: EF 400 f 5.6 plus convertor. Does it work?

Thank you for your replies. I did wonder if I was clutching at straws, and it seems that unless i move up to a 1 series body then i'll still have the problem. Funds will not allow that sort of expense, so I 'll go away and have a rethink

Thank you for your trouble.

[Nathaniel]

Re: EF 400 f 5.6 plus convertor. Does it work?

Sara, one of the reasons I went for the 300mm f4L was that I could use a 1.4 convertor, which gave me 420mm reach. With my 60D it gave me a "reach" of 672mm. Additonally,it was lighter than the 400mm. In your case,unless you wish to change the lens or the camera body,you might like to shoot at 400mm.

P.S. The 300mm + 1.4TC gives full autofocus as well.

[MX5]

Re: EF 400 f 5.6 plus convertor. Does it work?

This is the dilemma of 100-400L vs 300Lf/4 vs 400Lf/5.6 issue that many of us face. Many years ago I tested these all side-by-side.

Unless you have a gram strategy - the difference in weights isn't really noticeable (detaching the tripod widget will help ... especially if you never use a tripod).

In terms of quality - the 400 > 300 > 100-400
In terms of versatility - well depends what you want to do - but I thought 100-400 > 300 > 400

Use with 1.4x - they all can be used with an Extender and even the zoom yielded descent results if you had lots of light. It requires manual focusing ... but for fixed objects that's not an onerous task. [The 1DX needs the latest firmware to support AF at f/8 other 1 Series do it as-is. The 5D3 will in April 2013 [firmware]].

I started with the zoom (an offer not to be refused which I've written about before), swapped it for a 300 after many years (the zoom was rarely used at the 400 end as quality seemed to go off). Now since I got the 70-200 ... I'm not using the 300 as much ... so I am thinking seriously of swapping it for a 400 f/5.6. This along with the possibility of buying a 5D3 next year would clinch the deal.

So your best bet is to ask your local Canon Pro Shop to get a 400f/5.6 in (and an extender) and take your camera along and see for yourself (you'll not normally be allowed to wander far !! depends if the shop knows you). It might take a few weeks to organize but I've found Canon good at this.

[Nathaniel]

Re: EF 400 f 5.6 plus convertor. Does it work?

Good points brought out by MX5. The one thing I would like to add is that auto focussing with a teleconvertor is a "must" for me. So I can use the TC with my 300mm and the 70-200mm f4L lens. I use the 70-200mm Plus TC when I go away on holidays (abroad) as it is lighter. I also use the 70-200mm zoom when I think that the subjects are closer such as for example at Slimbridge, Tatton park (North West) for the deer ruts.In my mind, planning ahead gives me the chance to rationalise on my equipment, with WEIGHT, being of importance to me.

[DrJon]

Re: EF 400 f 5.6 plus convertor. Does it work?

BTW the 5DmkIII gets a firmware update next April to allow focusing at f8...

http://usa.canon.com/cusa/about_canon/newsroom?pageKeyCode=pressreldetail&docId=0901e024806daf9c

So it's a 1-series body or the 5DmkIII and some patience.

[Sarawak]

Re: EF 400 f 5.6 plus convertor. Does it work?

Thank you everyone. Another question if I may?

I've seen reference to putting a piece of tape over some of the contact pins on the convertor which will allow apertures down to 5.6. Am I correct in thinking that this will not affect focussing at all, even though it is a very useful dodge to play with?

Regards

Sara W

[Stan]

Re: EF 400 f 5.6 plus convertor. Does it work?

That is a trick that does work but the focussing is so slow its really not worth the trouble - I tried it a few times when I owned a 100-400.

Stan

[MX5]

Re: EF 400 f 5.6 plus convertor. Does it work?

Even with cameras that support AF at f/8 ... Canon quote various numbers for how much AF speed is impacted by the 1.4x and 2x.

[Hereford_EOS]

Re: EF 400 f 5.6 plus convertor. Does it work?

I would avoid adding a converter to the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L lens.
The lens is an excellent lens but lacks speed and also lacks IS.
Add a x1.4 converter for 560mm f/8 lens and for wildlife a fast shutter speed would be required and therefore a high ISO, all this in manual mode makes it impractical.