Using Teleconverters on Full Frame

Hi everyone, I am new to this forum and have an issue with a teleconverter. I have been shooting my Canon 7D in a nauticm housing for years and really liked it. However, I found myself in need of a Full Frame body for my type of shooting.

As the 5D iv is finally released, I bought the camera and will buy a Nauticam housing soon.

When I bought the 5D iv, there was a Tamron Teleconverter on sale (Tamron-F AF Tele-converter, 1.4X C-AF1 MC4), which I bought, as I wanted to get into Close focus, wide angle. I wanted to do this on the 7D already, but as I knew I was going to upgrade to the new 5D anyway, I didn't want to invest in it yet. EDIT: For the sake of being completely transparant, the Kenko 2x TC is (Kenko C-AF 2X Teleplus MC4 DGX ).

Tokina 10-17mm fisheye f3.5-4.5 DX ATX :

5Div with the 1.4TC works GREAT on this lens, focus is lightning fast (I don't even have the Crop frame vignette at 10mm, which I would otherwise have EDIT : I noticed some really faint vignette at 10mm, but at around 10.5mm, this vignette is gone!). The displayed f-stop however, is not considering the 1 stop loss as a result of using the TC - thus at 10mm = f3.5

with the 2x TC, the two stops loss is showed, but the focus is pretty sluggish (f7.1 at 10mm).

5Diii with the 1.4TC works GREAT on this lens, focus is lightning fast (I don't even have the Crop frame vignette at 10mm, which I would otherwise have). The displayed f-stop however, is not considering the 1 stop loss as a result of using the TC - thus at 10mm = f3.5

With the 2X TC, focus is lightning fast and also the loss of light is accounted for (f7.1 at 10mm)

Canon 16-35mm 2.8L iii USM use :

I also bought the new 16-35 f2.8 iii lens. I now notice, that the focussing is very slow when using the 5Div, 1.4 TC and the 16-35. What is also a 'problem' is that the information from lens to body is not transferred, which effectively means that while I am shooting at f2.8 with a 1.4TC (thus loosing 1 stop of light), the camera still says 'f2.8', in stead of f4. Alex (Mustard) already explained that this was due to not transferring the data through. When doing some tests at home, manual settings, the f2.8 with TC looks darker than the one without the TC at f2.8, supporting that theory.

When using my Kenko 2X TC on the 5D iv and the 16-35, I immediately get "ERR 01" and can't use the combination, the same happens on the 5D iii.

Canon 100mm Macro f2.8L IS USM use :

On the 5Div, the 1.4 TC Works, but does not tranfer the correct data either (not loosing the stop of light) and the focus speed is pretty sluggish, more so than expected. I really think that when using this set up with UW life, it will never focus accurately, surely not with a wet dioptre in front of it.

On the 5Diii, the same happens as above.

With the Kenko 2x TC (with the macro lens, 5Div), focus is rapid fast and works like a charm. Nearly no lag in focus speed.

The 5D iii in this combination says f00, and no picture is possible. Also, it locks up the camera - when switching off the camera, it stays on, even when opening the battery compartment. This stops when removing the battery.

Question :

So the question I have is : which TC's (1.4 and 2.0) are you using for the above set ups? I read that the Kenko and Tamron TC's effectively come from the same factory, and that the Canon TC's are not suited for every lens. Also, in the Nauticam ports chart (here:https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56e78eb6d51cd466c98e0f72/t/5821e4376b8f5b1216164d54/1478616122696/2016-11-04+N120+Canon+System.pdf), there is a mentioning of using the Kenko converters, not the canon ones - I assume the Tamron would be the same as Kenko's TC's. Not sure how to calculate the noodal point of each combination to get pleasing images...

I hope this makes sense and someone can help?

I can return the Tamron 1.4 TC this week if I don't like it, but after that, I will be 'stuck' with it.

PS : should anyone want a comparison of what works or doesn't work with my 7D ("mark 1"); 5Diii; 5Div with other lenses (I still have Sigma 17-70mm DC IS Macro HSM OS; Canon 24-70 f2.8L ii USM; Canon 50mm 1.4 USM and the Canon 70-200mm f2.8L IS USM).

Thank you in advance,

Looking forward to your replies!

DrBobke

If you need a teleconverter on all your lenses, would you not be better off shooting with a crop camera ?

My Kenko teleplus 1,4 converter has exactly the same type number as the tamron telconverter you are mentioning, so there might be something in it that they are the same. At my camera (canon70D) the displayed f stop does take the converter to account. Also in the exif, the focal length is adapted. I think it is odd that the info is displayed and adjusted in my camera and not in yours.

when I use it with my f2.8 USM 100mm macro (not the L lens), I have to take care to avoid using microfocus adjust. for some reason, the camera will lock up (or just not release the shutter) if I use this combination (100mm, teleconverter + microadjust). If it is working, it is reasonably fast.

If you would use a teleconverter and a diopter together, you need a good focus light, or be probably better off prefocussing at 1:1 and shooting when the image is sharp in the viewfinder.

The canon teleconverters are really only aimed at the longer lenses, and wont work with wide angle and macro lenses (although they would match up nicely with your 70-200mm )

PS; if you read German (or dont mind google translate), an interesting test of converters is found on http://www.traumflieger.de/objektivtest/open_test/telekonverter/overview.php

If you need a teleconverter on all your lenses, would you not be better off shooting with a crop camera ?

 

My Kenko teleplus 1,4 converter has exactly the same type number as the tamron telconverter you are mentioning, so there might be something in it that they are the same. At my camera (canon70D) the displayed f stop does take the converter to account. Also in the exif, the focal length is adapted. I think it is odd that the info is displayed and adjusted in my camera and not in yours.

 

when I use it with my f2.8 USM 100mm macro (not the L lens), I have to take care to avoid using microfocus adjust. for some reason, the camera will lock up (or just not release the shutter) if I use this combination (100mm, teleconverter + microadjust). If it is working, it is reasonably fast.

 

If you would use a teleconverter and a diopter together, you need a good focus light, or be probably better off prefocussing at 1:1 and shooting when the image is sharp in the viewfinder.

 

The canon teleconverters are really only aimed at the longer lenses, and wont work with wide angle and macro lenses (although they would match up nicely with your 70-200mm )

Hi Gerard,

Dank je wel voor je reply!

I used to have a cropped frame and wanted to get a Full Frame for a multitude of reasons. However, I want to take advantage of the FF with the 16-35, but I also want to get into Close Focus - Wide Angle. I like to have a variety in my shots - which would be the reason for using a TC. Now on the lenses mentioned above, I want to try and experiment, but when I saw that not all the combinations work, I was wondering if someone here is using a TC which works on all combinations of shooting?

Btw: what I meant by the new Canon TC (iii) and the new Tamron one not being able to be used on every lens : the front end of these TC's are protruding (sticking out a little), which then means that it can only be used with lenses which have a opening in the back end, which allows the protruding front of the TC to fit in (if that makes any sense?).

About your situation about not being able to focus - not sure if the option is there on the 70D body, but what I do (I started doing that with my 7D, mainly for macro), is to set the back button focus on and then set the front trigger to only capture (in the Q-menu - the front button on my camera's are set to : "Start metering" (start meten)whereas the AF-ON is set to "Metering and AF start" (Meten en AF Start). Please note I am translating this straight from Dutch, so it might be written a little different in English... By using this set up, you won't be frustrated like me underwater, that you can see that small blenny (or other subject for that matter) is in focus to your eye, but not to your camera and is subsequently not firing... By doing this, you can take pictures of everything, even if not in focus, but you'll have to change the set up when using the camera around family, otherwise your sister,... can't take a decent picture as it is too difficult for them to use the back button focus and the trigger... and then they say "well, it seems your camera is broken...!"

PS : What I forgot to write in the first post : The metadata, EXIF and everything else, does not take into account the TC's presence - so f2.8 stays in place, and also the focal lenght is not recalculated - it just says 16mm (for example on the 16-35).

I will read the article too. My German is okay, but if it is very technical, I'll probably translate it..

PS; if you read German (or dont mind google translate), an interesting test of converters is found on http://www.traumflieger.de/objektivtest/open_test/telekonverter/overview.php

I have just read the article, which is pretty amazing, that the Kenko 1.4 converter is the clear winner and that the Canon TC's only seem to work with "selected L-lenses". I also note that the tests are done with the 5D mark ii. Normally, I wouldn't make a fuss about it, but in my first post, I compared the results with the 5Diii and was surprised to see that there are differences in use between it and the 5Div...

I am wondering if Magic Lantern would "override" these issues? Although I think there is no ML version for 5Div available yet - I did read it's in testing though..

Graag gedaan. My German is also not that good, but I think the Traumflieger site is a great resource.

Off course it is nice to have the options (although then there are even more options to choose before the dive). the technique with the star button is also possible on my camera and is 'back button focus' in most english articles. You could set this setting to your C mode so it doesnt bother your sister as much....

If the exif is not transferred, then the Tamron electronics might not be entirely the same as the kenko. If the camera is adjusting the exposure then it is just a little annoying, if the camera just acts like it is not there then it might not be usable. If the camera locks up with some combinations you really would like to use, it is probably wise to look for a different one. If I reread your first post, the 1,4 converter does not lock up, that is the 2 converter you already own (and the same type as my 1,4).

If we lived closer (my Hasselt is the one near Zwolle, not the one in Belgium) or dived in Zeeland at the same time you were welcome to try mine out, but that wont happen in the next week when you need to make your decision.

PS: I dont think Magic Lanter will help with communication issues between lens and teleconverter.

Thanks a lot, Gerard!

And choices, choices, I know, but I always like to inform myself before the dive with the guides, divemasters,.. on what is to see at every dive site and choose my setup accordingly. YES, it does happen (as in Egypt, that I go out to shoot with a 100mm macro for lemon gobies at the barge in Egypt and when I am doing my safety stop and reviewing my images, that I get spooked by two grey things flashing past in front of me at less than a meter distance, to find myself surrounded by a pack of Dolphins... #SO NOT GOOD! But usually, I fare okay.. I also like to revisit some dive spots whenever possible, as I know what life is there and I go specifically to shoot 2 or 3 subjects with "that combination".

And for my sister : it is no problem, I am generally the shooter, or my gf is, and we always use BBF.

My main issue is not with the camera not transferring through the aperture and exif data, but it is the slow AF on some combinations. I """never""" shoot at f2.8 underwater anyways, so it's not a huge deal, nor is the incorrect display of focal lenght, but it did get me thinking on the possibility that there is something wrong with the TC.

THANKS a million for the suggestion to try your TC out and I do dive from time to time in Zeeland, but usually only in summer, as I only dive in a wetsuit...

Hi,

As far as the Canon 100mm Macro f2.8L IS USM use : goes I shoot with the D800 and the equivalent is the nikon 105mm prime lens and to be fair I've never bothered with teleconverters since the diopters and such hit the market. I did stack telecenters when i had my D90 and got some pretty good results.

As far as the Tokina 10-17mm fisheye f3.5-4.5 DX ATX : goes this will be the sigma 15mm and i did try this but it was a bit shit producing some real crap soft edges as the converter (the way i understand it) brings the image closer to the camera and therefore turned out to be way to close there producing the soft edges.

Not to sure on the Canon 16-35mm 2.8L iii USM use : as this will be my 16-35mm lens but i can imagine there would be no extra gain in using a converter on this lens.

Goose

Just an update, I went to New York last week and had the opportunity to test a new Teleconverter from Kenko (C-AF 1.4x DGX - Teleplus HD (Kenko)). This seemed to work great with the 5Div and the Canon 16-35 f2.8 iii, Canon 24-70 f 2.8 ii, Canon 70-200 f2.8 IS USM L, Canon 100mm macro f2.8L IS USM. I haven't tested with the 5Diii yet, but I think it should work the same. Post a message here, or send me a PB in case you are interested, and I will test it out.

On this TC, all data is transferred through (increase in f-stop), but also the AF is very fast!

Hi,

 

As far as the Canon 100mm Macro f2.8L IS USM use : goes I shoot with the D800 and the equivalent is the nikon 105mm prime lens and to be fair I've never bothered with teleconverters since the diopters and such hit the market. I did stack telecenters when i had my D90 and got some pretty good results.

 

As far as the Tokina 10-17mm fisheye f3.5-4.5 DX ATX : goes this will be the sigma 15mm and i did try this but it was a bit shit producing some real crap soft edges as the converter (the way i understand it) brings the image closer to the camera and therefore turned out to be way to close there producing the soft edges.

 

 

Not to sure on the Canon 16-35mm 2.8L iii USM use : as this will be my 16-35mm lens but i can imagine there would be no extra gain in using a converter on this lens.

 

Goose

Thanks a lot for your answer, Goose, I missed this one earlier...