Which converter should I go with???

Joined: 03 Jun 2006 Posts: 26

Ok,

I have a Fuji S2 and I use a Tamron 70-300 f4-5.6 ...I take action shots of my sons soccer games. I considered upgrading to the Sigma 50-500... but its abit more than I can spend right now.....so I'm now considering on buying a 2x converter but don't know which one to go with? any suggestions?

Whats the quality on a Quantary?

any suggestions are appreciated....

thanks

Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 3:19 pm

While all converters will degrade your image quality, 2x converters are significantly worse than 1.4x converters, so my advice is to go with a 1.4x. As for brands, I don't about Quantary, other than they are probably made by Sigma or Tamron. I'd suggest the Tamron SP Pro 1.4X, its a nice balance of quality and price, assuming you can get it for your Fuji.

Joined: 21 Oct 2006 Posts: 350 Location: Ontario, Canada

Don't forget that a 2x TC will convert your 70-300 f/4-5.6 lens into a 140-600 f/8-11 lens which will only be usable on bright days. Also, to get satisfactory IQ, you may need to stop down another stop or more.

I agree with Supercell that a 1.4 TC which only loses 1 stop may be the better way to go. This will give you a 98-420 f/5.6-8 lens - not as long and still a bit dark but more usable.

Joined: 11 Mar 2006 Posts: 82

Don't waste your money, teleconverters are usually only effective on a prime lens. The loss of light and focus changes will most likely give you soft/ out of focus images (I've tried 1.4 and 2x teleconverters on several of my lenses)
Now if you get your self a good 200mm or 300mm prime lens then it might be worth getting a teleconverter, but really I'd just keep saving up for the sigma 50-500, or the one I'm planning on buying which is the 80-400 f/4.5-5.6 EX DG APO OS (Optical Stabilizer) The image stabilization lets you shoot more reliably at full zoom and you'll have a larger apeture so you can use a faster shutter speed.

Joined: 09 Oct 2006 Posts: 51

Yes you are right, the right lens is 98-420 f/5.6-8!

Joined: 01 Nov 2005 Posts: 62 Location: Manchester, UK

captnemo wrote:

I'm planning on buying which is the 80-400 f/4.5-5.6 EX DG APO OS (Optical Stabilizer) The image stabilization lets you shoot more reliably at full zoom and you'll have a larger apeture so you can use a faster shutter speed.

When shooting action OS or IS or VR is no use in comparision to a faster lens. All these features are designed to eliminate user movement, not subject movement. They help in making the slower shutter speeds more useable but with sports you always want a shutter as fast as possible.

Joined: 11 Mar 2006 Posts: 82

leemc, I beg to differ- the sigma lens I mentioned has a setting- mode '2' which offers horizontal stabilization so that you can pan a fast moving object such as sports and seems to work reasonably well. Most other large lens with some sort of stabilization seem to have similar settings. Of course a lens with a larger apeture so that you can use faster shutter speeds is great but not everyone can afford a canon 400mm L lens :)
ps I used the stabilization to pretty good effect for this shot-
http://captnemo.smugmug.com/gallery/3005376#163073837
Taken at the local airshow last weekend. The shutter speed was fairly fast- 1/400 but still, at 400mm a tricky shot handheld and with the crowd that was there a tripod wasn't really practical.

Joined: 09 Oct 2006 Posts: 51

supercell wrote:

While all converters will degrade your image quality, 2x converters are significantly worse than 1.4x converters, so my advice is to go with a 1.4x. As for brands, I don't about Quantary, other than they are probably made by Sigma or Tamron. I'd suggest the Tamron SP Pro 1.4X, its a nice balance of quality and price, assuming you can get it for your Fuji.

You are right "supercell", maybe the best choice is 1.4X converter!