Tele Extender for Canon EOS 350D 400D

[*jean*]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=130256891049
 or
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=280332025759
 or neither??
 not planning buying either but  has anyone had any experience of these sort of things?
my sister wants to photograph wildlife and she was asking me.

[Nicola]

I've used them, they can be useful for wildlife photography. The main issue is that you lose aperture when you use them so basically you make the lens slower and you won't get such good results as normal in low light. With a 1.4x you lose 1 stop and with a 2x you lose 2 stops. This may affect the autofocus capability of the camera as to use a 2x and keep autofocus the lens needs to be f/2.8 or faster or you'll lose the AF capability because with most Canon SLRs the final aperture of a lens must be f/5.6 or faster for the AF to operate.

Those ones are extremely cheap so I don't know what the quality is going to be be like. For a Canon 2x converter you'd expect to pay between £200-300.

[*jean*]

oh I think the canon will go for a lot more than the bid its at now. they normally are around the 200 pound mark.
 

[Philtrum]

Do you know what lens she plans to use it on ?

cheers
Phil

[*jean*]

havent a clue, but I think its a zoom a something to 200. probably not lower than 4 in  max aperture.
 so likely will be useless as it will not autofocus.
 think its this one
Canon EF 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6

[Nicola]

oh I think the canon will go for a lot more than the bid its at now. they normally are around the 200 pound mark.
 

Ahhh I saw the 'buy it now' on the first one and assumed that both were the same!

Converters tend to work best on long focal length prime lenses rather than shorter zooms, if her lens is slower than f/2.8 as well she'll lose the AF so it's not going to give her the results she's looking for. With a 1.4x converter you lose one stop so with an f/4 you could still keep the AF but obviously you're not getting the same focal length. 

[*jean*]

yes and i read this on the canon site so its a no no for her lens.

"Extenders are only compatible with selected EF lenses, including the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM, EF 70-200mm f/4L, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM, EF 400mm f/4 DO IS USM and fixed length L-series lenses of 135mm or higher."
 ach well it was worth investigating.

[Philtrum]

I'd agree

so its back to cropping the pictures to get the extra zoom, or invest in a cheapish 70-300 lens or suchlike for when they want the extra lenght

Cheers
Phil

[Nicola]

Ah that's a shame for her, I thought she must've been using the 70-200mm f/4L, I didn't see your edit to the other post to say it was the 28-200mm  

If it's purely a longer zoom she's after she could pick up a 75-300mm f4-5.6 or similarly the 100-300mm f/4-5.6. Neither of them should be more than £300.

[Philtrum]

the first link is also not a true extender, this one screws into the end of your lens like a filter .... they tend to distort the image as much as they increase the size, best to steer clear tbh, try sticking a magnifying glass infront of your lens and see what the pictures like ... depth of field is normaly absurd.

Phil

[*jean*]

Im going to lend her my 70 - 300 tho it wont probably be enough. she lies in a high seat or hide waiting for deer etc to pass by. mad woman. I hate heights so you wouldnt get me up there!

[Philtrum]

my brother has the bigma (sigma 50-500) and has used it around the world, taking pictures like "gorrillas in the mist" for example
its a good lens... heavy but good for wildlife due to the 500 and on a crop body thats like having an 800 ish lol

theres a couple for sale on the talkphotography website for about 500 quid ... spotted them eariler that prompted this post

Phil

[*jean*]

my brother has the bigma (sigma 50-500) and has used it around the world, taking pictures like "gorrillas in the mist" for example
its a good lens... heavy but good for wildlife due to the 500 and on a crop body thats like having an 800 ish lol

theres a couple for sale on the talkphotography website for about 500 quid ... spotted them eariler that prompted this post

Phil

by golly you have read my mind I sent her this just 2 mins ago..


a tamron
here is the lens..
http://www.simplyelectronics.net/search.php?keyword=Tamron+200-500mm&gclid=COCx7O2t8ZkCFUQI3wodQGFcQw
 and here is the review of that lens
http://photo.net/equipment/tamron/200_500_Di/
 
then theres the sigma
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sigma-150-500mm-f5-6-3-Digital-Cameras/dp/B001542X6E/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1239744838&sr=1-9
 
the review..
http://www.birdforum.net/reviews/showproduct.php/product/271

[*jean*]

OR!!......
http://www.parkcameras.com/6500/Sigma-APO-200-500mm-F2-8-EX-DG---Canon-Fit.html
 
 what a bargain! I think Ill get 2!