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Canon Extender EF 2x III

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    Canon Extender EF 2x III

    Overall Summary:

    An effective way of doubling the focal length of a compatible lens, with the penalty of reducing the maximum aperture by 2 stops.

    Detailed Review

    Like all my reviews, they are very much a personal thing, influenced by where you are coming from , what your needs are, and where you want to go with the particular bit of kit you are reviewing. So this review reflects my thoughts on what is important for me in this particular model, which I’m sure will be different from others’ experience.

    I won’t be detailing all the bells and buzzers of the lens, all the technical information can be found at Canon's website here:

    Canon 2.0TC III


    As mentioned, the 2.0TC effectively doubles the focal length of a compatible lens, with a 2 stop hit, so a 200mm F2.8 becomes an effective 400mm F5.6 lens.

    The two lenses I used for this review were the 200mm F2.8L and 300mm F2.8 L.

    In using the lens my initial reaction was to be be pleasantly surprised to how good the image quality was using the extender both on the 200mm and 300mm lens, it's often been reported that using a 2.0 extender you take a significant image quality hit, perhaps so, but all I could see were eminently usable images, using both Canon 1DS III & 7 D bodies.

    The second surprise was that the images at F5.6 were as good as images stopped down to f7.1/f8. Again it's perceived wisdom that by stopping down using a 2.0 converter improves image quality. I carried out a range of tests, obsessively pixel peeping, viewed on a calibrated 30 inch monitor, but I honestly could not see any difference in quality across aperture settings.

    Here is an example from out in the field, taken with 300F2.8 +2.0TC on a Canon 1Ds MKIII, across different apertures.



    I have included individual 1500 pixel image samples of the above with exif info intact






    Below is a 100% crop from the left ear, at f5.6 & f8



    A second test was to compare images taken with a 2.0 converter in place against the same image without, again taken with a 300 F2.8 on a 1ds MKIII




    I then took a 100% crop (image with the TC) and a 200%crop (without TC)



    I could see very little quality difference between the images at similar sizes, obviously using the extender gives you some wiggle room, even on a large file size of a 1Ds III , by effectively cropping an image without an extender to similar dimensions as an image using an extender , image deterioration becomes apparent.



    The most obvious weakness of the lens for me is in focus and focus tracking, Canon report that there is a 75% reduction in AF drive speed when using the 2.0 TC, while my head understands this, typically my heart challenges this, rationalising that the maker's figures err on the side of caution etc, unfortunately, my head was right, and so was Canon, autofocus and autofocus tracking is significantly reduced.

    As an example of this, for anyone who is familiar with my 'Jumping Jack flash' images, where I try and capture my dog 'in flight' running towards me. With either a 200mm or 300mm lens on a 7D, in a burst of 14 images in good light, if you disregard the first and last two images I can almost guarantee 100% of the images will be in focus and sharp using AI servo.

    If I use a 1.4 TC with the above lenses, my hit rate of images in focus from the burst drops to 40-60%

    The other day, with a 200mm +2.0 TC on a 7D, and in good light I tried capturing Jack running towards me, the first run I had no images in focus, the second run I had 1 out of 14 in focus so averaging a hit rate of about 5% disregarding first and last two images.




    I also tried tracking birds in flight, if the birds were small and flying fast, or any size bird against a similar background (mallards against a tree line for example), then the autofocus struggles, and loses focus regularly even if it does lock on. Canon does suggest however, that if you use the MKIII extender with current MKII L lenses, then the microprocessor in the extender improves AF precision.

    Where it does work well in obtaining focus, if the subject is stationary/moving slowly and good light, I found that focus would be gained quickly with very little hunting, this was both on 200/300 lens and 1DS III/7D bodies.

    In Use

    Although I have had the lens for a short period, I think I can guess the situations I would probably use the 2.0 TC.
    For shooting birds, if I was shooting large birds (herons for example) stationary or in flight, then it would definitely have a place in my bag, similarly shooting cricket, where often you pre-focus your shots (e.g. on the wicket) , Paul Linton's cricket shots using a 2TC with a 300 F2.8 provide ample evidence to how good this combination is in this situation, would probably not consider it for Rugby where the action is often fast, frequently in low light. I can't see me using it much in people shooting particularly where a narrow DOF is required.

    Strengths

    Well built, light and (relatively) inexpensive way to double the focal length of a compatible lens. Weather sealing, extra lenses (9/5 instead of 7/5) against the MKII model.

    Weaknesses

    Price, £400 (street price) is still a lot of money for a small bit of plastic and glass.

    Conclusion

    Every day when I take the dogs walking, I always sling a camera over my shoulder, and when walking along our local river, it's more than likely a 7D with a 200mm f2.8L lens with a 1.4TC, this combination covers most of the bases I need during the walk. I can't ever see me regularly using the 2.0 TC instead of the 1.4TC, I just would not have the confidence it would produce the goods as well as the 1.4 TC combination, for the reasons given above.
    Nevertheless, for specific occasions, it would certainly find a place in my camera bag, I'm not for one minute suggesting the image quality is up there with Canon's big primes, but it is good, it is very good.
    Last edited by Les McLean; 14-07-2012, 10:45. Reason: should read left ear, not right
    Concentrate on equipment and you'll take technically good photographs. Concentrate on seeing the light's magic colours and your images will stir the soul. - Jack Dykinga
    Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography- George Eastman

    #2
    Re: Canon Extender EF 2x III

    Sample images using the 2.0TC, all images without any processing/cropping except resize for web+USM

    Larger images sizes provided.

    1# 1Ds MKIII, 300F2.8L+2.0TC, 1/500sec @f7.1 ISO200





    2# 7D+200mm F2.8L+2.0TC, 1/800sec @f6.3 ISO200





    3# 7D+300mm F2.8L+2.0TC, 1/400sec @f8 ISO800





    4# 7D+200mm F2.8L+2.0TC, 1/320sec @f7.1 ISO200





    5# 7D+200mm F2.8L+2.0TC, 1/500sec @f6.3 ISO640





    6# 7D+200mm F2.8L+2.0TC, 1/320sec @f7.1 ISO400

    Concentrate on equipment and you'll take technically good photographs. Concentrate on seeing the light's magic colours and your images will stir the soul. - Jack Dykinga
    Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography- George Eastman

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Canon Extender EF 2x III

      An excellent review Les, thank you for taking the time, appreciated.
      Certainly a great endorsement for the Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L lens and the much more affordable Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L lens.
      Much easier to carry a 200mm f/2.8L lens + X2.0TC than carrying the 200mm f/2.8L lens + 400mm f/5.6L lens.
      Less weight and more room in the bag. These extenders can easily fit in a pocket.
      #5 with the 7D + 200mm f/2.8L + x2.0TC is superb and a more affordable combination and gives a combination equiv to 640mm.
      Excellent
      Canon EOS R6 Mark II, Canon RF 100-500mm f4.5-7.1L, Canon RF 24-105mm f4L
      Please note: I do not have or use Photoshop

      flickr

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Canon Extender EF 2x III

        Great review Les, thanks for taking the time to compile and post it

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Canon Extender EF 2x III

          Thanks Les, for an excellent review. A special thanks for taking so much trouble to give comparative pics using the 2.0 TC 7 the two lenses.
          Canon 6D; Canon 760D;Canon G15;Canon 40mm f2.8(Pancake);Canon 50mm f1.8(ii); Canon 17mm-40mm f4L;Canon EF-S 10-18mm f4.5-5.6 IS STM;Canon EF-S 55-250mm f4-5.6 STM lens;Canon 24mm-105mmf4L IS;Canon 70-300mm f4-f5.6 L IS USM;Kenko 1.4x HD TC;Canon 430EX ii flash;Giottos tripod;Manfretto monopod;Cokin P filters + bits and pieces!

          www.flickr.com/photos/nathaniel3390

          North Wales where music and the sea give a great concert!

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Canon Extender EF 2x III

            Many thanks for the review. I assume it uses the "Mark 2 'white'" like newer super telephotos?

            These things have come a long way since the Teleplus simple Barlow lenses I recall from the late 60's onwards.

            One wonders if Canon can see an opening for a 1.7x like Nikon do?

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Canon Extender EF 2x III

              Thanks all, a couple of images from today's cricket, all taken with Canon 7D+300 f2.8+2.0TC, as our cricket pitch is relatively small compared to county grounds, the combination used is probably a bit long, a 1.4TC would have made more sense, but I wanted to try the 2.0TC out, shooting wide open all the time. Light was a bit variable, and losing two stops meant pushing the ISO to maintain a decent shutter speed.

              1# 1/1000 sec @f5.6, ISO1000



              Larger : http://lesmclean.co.uk/2TC/IMG_8224l.jpg

              2# 1/1600 @f5.6 ISO64-






              3# 1/1000sec @f5.6, ISO 500 (and we still couldn't avoid the rain)



              4# 1/1250 @f5.6, ISO1000

              Concentrate on equipment and you'll take technically good photographs. Concentrate on seeing the light's magic colours and your images will stir the soul. - Jack Dykinga
              Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography- George Eastman

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Canon Extender EF 2x III

                I love them all, so so sharp.

                Raj
                Raj
                Flickr

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Canon Extender EF 2x III

                  Excellent shots Les. Will start to use my 2x more often and in good light, where it gets a fair chance to perform.

                  Colin
                  Colin

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Canon Extender EF 2x III

                    Nice one's Les. I like #3 the best as it shows the bowlers disgust as having been asked to bowl.Defnitely needs some weight reduction classes/diet.
                    Canon 6D; Canon 760D;Canon G15;Canon 40mm f2.8(Pancake);Canon 50mm f1.8(ii); Canon 17mm-40mm f4L;Canon EF-S 10-18mm f4.5-5.6 IS STM;Canon EF-S 55-250mm f4-5.6 STM lens;Canon 24mm-105mmf4L IS;Canon 70-300mm f4-f5.6 L IS USM;Kenko 1.4x HD TC;Canon 430EX ii flash;Giottos tripod;Manfretto monopod;Cokin P filters + bits and pieces!

                    www.flickr.com/photos/nathaniel3390

                    North Wales where music and the sea give a great concert!

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Canon Extender EF 2x III

                      Originally posted by Hereford_EOS View Post
                      .
                      Certainly a great endorsement for the Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L lens and the much more affordable Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L lens.
                      Much easier to carry a 200mm f/2.8L lens + X2.0TC than carrying the 200mm f/2.8L lens + 400mm f/5.6L lens.
                      Less weight and more room in the bag. These extenders can easily fit in a pocket.
                      #5 with the 7D + 200mm f/2.8L + x2.0TC is superb and a more affordable combination and gives a combination equiv to 640mm.
                      Excellent
                      I've mentioned before, and at the risk of boring everyone silly, Canon 200mm F2.8L is one of Canon's unsung heroes, although it obviously hasn't the flexibility of the 70-200mm F2.8 zoom, it's image quality is as good as the zoom,is a lot lighter and more compact, and new around a third of the price of the zoom, the other day I saw a second hand MKII 200mm F2.8L in excellent nick on sale for less than £400. That is good value.
                      Concentrate on equipment and you'll take technically good photographs. Concentrate on seeing the light's magic colours and your images will stir the soul. - Jack Dykinga
                      Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography- George Eastman

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: Canon Extender EF 2x III

                        The 300 f2.8 + x2 is the combination I've been dreaming of.
                        Now all I need is the 6 numbers to come up
                        Thanks for posting Les - most informative

                        Mike
                        www.mstphoto.zenfolio.com

                        http://www.flickr.com/photos/27554645@N05/

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Canon Extender EF 2x III

                          Following my review, a friend of mine (not a member of this forum) contacted me, basically querying my views on the sluggish autofocus and autofocus tracking of the x2 extender, he uses the x2 with a 300f2.8L IS, shooting low level jets, and his hit rate far exceeds my 5%.

                          With any review you are bound to get differing, sometimes conflicting views, that's why I always begin my reviews by emphasizing that the review reflects my thoughts, it's a personal thing.

                          I know that folk won't be rushing out to buy a bit of kit just because Les McLean thinks it's the best thing since Pans People, or not purchase because I said it's the worst thing since HDR processing. But I do know, following my review of the 7D for example, it can influence folk, or possibly nudge them a bit quicker in the direction they were already taking?

                          It did get me thinking, have I been totally fair in my review, the tests I did on autofocus were limited, do I need to give it a better run out before giving my opinion, was my judgement sound?

                          I did notice when shooting the cricket that with a 300mm F2.8L lens, it tracked focus pretty well, but it was generally good light, nice high contrast subjects and I used the focus limiter (6.5m-infinity).

                          So I think I'll need to revisit this particular area and report back.
                          Concentrate on equipment and you'll take technically good photographs. Concentrate on seeing the light's magic colours and your images will stir the soul. - Jack Dykinga
                          Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography- George Eastman

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: Canon Extender EF 2x III

                            Great review Les, very interesting with some lovely examples.Cracking Cricket images too,

                            Paul
                            EOS 1Dx, - EF 24-105L f4,- Sigma 135 f1.8 Art - EF 400L IS f2.8, - Speedlite 430EXII.
                            Freelance Sports Photographer for local Press - https://twitter.com/P_linton99

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: Canon Extender EF 2x III

                              An excellent review Les. I really must start using the equipment I have bought, rather than just leave it standing around.

                              Malcolm
                              Malcolm Alexander - Alexam Images - Canon 7D - 70-200 f2.8 L IS USM- 24-105 f4 L IS USM - 50mm 1.4 - Epson R2880 Printer - Speedlites Two 580EX II & 430 EX II - Lencarta Two 300w/s Studio lights

                              Comment

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