First experience with TC1.4 lll and 500mm PF

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Ralph

Ralph

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This past summer I had been trying to decide whether to purchase a 1.4TC to use with my 500pf. Many of the comments on this forum didn’t speak highly of the 500 PF with a tc so I had been struggling as to whether I should give it a try. Last week I purchased one with the intention of using it with static subjects which were impossible to get close to. Many times I found myself looking at a bird that may be 200 feet or 300 feet away with no possible way of getting any closer.
Well today I tried it for the first time trying to shoot the elusive kingfisher. And I will tell that I am very pleased with the results. I found the autofocus to be very snappy and the results are very good even with a small crop. Today the lighting was really good and that is the type of conditions I would plan to the TC in. Granted , their not as sharp as without the tc but they are very, very good. I am using a D500 . I have no real intension of using it for BIF.
Here are 3 shots I took today. Obviously the last one is not a kingfisher
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Wow those look good, Ralph. Most of the negative comments I've seen about a TC on the 500PF are in regards to AF not sharpness. I think people's experience with TCs is weighted heavily by how much light they shoot in. In this case you had good light. The camera needs good contrast to focus. At f8 that takes a lot of light.
 
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I have been really happy with the picture quality but I have had focusing issues through the viewfinder. On the other hand, when I use the display to focus and shoot I have been pleased on the focus process and accuracy.
 
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Very nice set Ralph and thanks for sharing your new addition to your DSLR gear. I’ve been on a waiting list for the TC 1.4 III at multiple Nikon Dealers for several months and today I bought one used for a very good price. I love these people dumping their Nikon DSLR gear for Canon and Sony. The seller told me it’s a very good TC on the 300PF and the newer 70-200 E FL f2.8. Although like others have noted the 500mm going up to f8 needs some good light. Now I’m very anxious for testing on both of my 300 & 500 PF Lenses with the D500 / D850.
 
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My experience has been similar to Ralph's, in good light the 500PF + 1.4 TCIII can produce acceptable results. The image below was taken (D850) a few days ago as the sun appeared through the fenland fog.

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Ralph Bruno said:
This past summer I had been trying to decide whether to purchase a 1.4TC to use with my 500pf. Many of the comments on this forum didn’t speak highly of the 500 PF with a tc so I had been struggling as to whether I should give it a try. Last week I purchased one with the intention of using it with static subjects which were impossible to get close to. Many times I found myself looking at a bird that may be 200 feet or 300 feet away with no possible way of getting any closer.
Well today I tried it for the first time trying to shoot the elusive kingfisher. And I will tell that I am very pleased with the results. I found the autofocus to be very snappy and the results are very good even with a small crop. Today the lighting was really good and that is the type of conditions I would plan to the TC in. Granted , their not as sharp as without the tc but they are very, very good. I am using a D500 . I have no real intension of using it for BIF.
Here are 3 shots I took today. Obviously the last one is not a kingfisher
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You have to be happy with those Ralph!
 
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As others have posted the IQ of the 500 PF plus 1.4x TC is usually quite good, the issue is usually AF performance when shooting with a DSLR in anything other than bright light or with lower contrast subjects.

With a MILC or with a DSLR in the right conditions or even when manually focusing the combo can be great and usually just takes a small bump up of Sharpening, Contrast or both in post.
 
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Last month I threw the 1.4 on with the 500 PF just for the heck of it to shoot 3 whitetail bucks that were about 250 or more yards away. Using a D500 and the light was very good. I really didn't expect much, but to my surprise the images came out quite good. Doubt I would use it much for BIF, but for more static subjects under the right conditions it seems to work just fine.
 
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NorthernFocus said:
Wow those look good, Ralph. Most of the negative comments I've seen about a TC on the 500PF are in regards to AF not sharpness. I think people's experience with TCs is weighted heavily by how much light they shoot in. In this case you had good light. The camera needs good contrast to focus. At f8 that takes a lot of light.
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Absolutely Dan. That has always been my intent. I needed on good days when the subject needed to be brought in just a little more. In this case the shutter was at 1/1600 and ISO was between 300-400 Without a tripod. All handheld.
 
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Andrew Lamberson said:
I have been really happy with the picture quality but I have had focusing issues through the viewfinder. On the other hand, when I use the display to focus and shoot I have been pleased on the focus process and accuracy.
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Only been using a couple of days but truthfully Andrew it locked on pretty quickly. I always was shooting using group or single point and I kept the focus point dead center.
 
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Snapshot2020 said:
Very nice set Ralph and thanks for sharing your new addition to your DSLR gear. I’ve been on a waiting list for the TC 1.4 III at multiple Nikon Dealers for several months and today I bought one used for a very good price. I love these people dumping their Nikon DSLR gear for Canon and Sony. The seller told me it’s a very good TC on the 300PF and the newer 70-200 E FL f2.8. Although like others have noted the 500mm going up to f8 needs some good light. Now I’m very anxious for testing on both of my 300 & 500 PF Lenses with the D500 / D850.
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Vern, I was in the same situation as you. No one had it. I was looking for months. So I went on the Nikon website which said it was on back ordered and ordered it anyway. I got it in a week. Go-Fiigure?
 
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Great shots and you nailed it. With good light, good contrast, you get a very workable combo. I have even done BIF with that very combo, but the light was perfect and the red tailed hawk was just cruising into the wind.
i typically have to push the texture slider in LRc a bit more than normal, and add a bit more contrast to offset the effect of the TC but I’ve gotten good results too on static subjects.
But if the light becomes less than ideal then AF struggles, not surprisingly. The D500 does a bit better than the D850 though.
 
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The results are really nice so it’s great to see that you can get that added distance.

Would the 1.4 work on the z50 plus 500~pf in a similar manner? Someone told me I would need to focus manually even on stationary targets. I hope that isn’t true. thanks For any input.
 
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toms said:
Last month I threw the 1.4 on with the 500 PF just for the heck of it to shoot 3 whitetail bucks that were about 250 or more yards away. Using a D500 and the light was very good. I really didn't expect much, but to my surprise the images came out quite good. Doubt I would use it much for BIF, but for more static subjects under the right conditions it seems to work just fine.
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I did shoot a few few shots while the kingfisher was hovering but only caught his back. They were ok. Would of been better if she was looking at me. Also got one when she was flying laterally. Their like a bullet. Shutter speed could of been faster (1/1600) and not very close even with TC.
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FB101 said:
Great shots and you nailed it. With good light, good contrast, you get a very workable combo. I have even done BIF with that very combo, but the light was perfect and the red tailed hawk was just cruising into the wind.
i typically have to push the texture slider in LRc a bit more than normal, and add a bit more contrast to offset the effect of the TC but I’ve gotten good results too on static subjects.
But if the light becomes less than ideal then AF struggles, not surprisingly. The D500 does a bit better than the D850 though.
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Thanks and I totally agree. I posted a few BIF above.
 
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DanG said:
The results are really nice so it’s great to see that you can get that added distance.

Would the 1.4 work on the z50 plus 500~pf in a similar manner? Someone told me I would need to focus manually even on stationary targets. I hope that isn’t true. thanks For any input.
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Thanks Dan. I don‘t know about the z50 but based on other comments I’ve read it does work on other NIKON MIRRORLESS cameras.
 
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DanG said:
The results are really nice so it’s great to see that you can get that added distance.

Would the 1.4 work on the z50 plus 500~pf in a similar manner? Someone told me I would need to focus manually even on stationary targets. I hope that isn’t true. thanks For any input.
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I don't have a Z50, but have used the 500 mm PF + 1.4x TCIII + FTZ on a Z7II, Z7 and Z6II. It works very well on those bodies, including with AF. I find that AF with that combination on those bodies works better on my Z bodies than on my DSLRs (D850 and D500) -- for example, all the focus points work. I have used it extensively for stationary subjects, slowly moving subjects (for example, swimming loons and mergansers), and larger birds in flight (for example, great blue herons and bald eagles).

Of course Z body AF is a bit different than the AF on Nikon's most recent DSLRs, so you still have that difference.

Optically, I would expect you would get results on with your Z50 similar to what Ralph is seeing with his D500. I would expect (although not having used it, I can't be certain) that AF would work on the Z50 with the 500 mm PF + 1.4x TCIII and the FTZ. I would also expect that AF on the Z50 will not be as quick for moving subjects as the AF on the D500 that Ralph is using and may not be as fast as the Z7II and Z6II that I am now using. Maybe others on the forum have tried the Z50 with the 500 mm PF and TC. Would be interesting to hear from them.
 
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Ralph Bruno said:
This past summer I had been trying to decide whether to purchase a 1.4TC to use with my 500pf. Many of the comments on this forum didn’t speak highly of the 500 PF with a tc so I had been struggling as to whether I should give it a try. Last week I purchased one with the intention of using it with static subjects which were impossible to get close to. Many times I found myself looking at a bird that may be 200 feet or 300 feet away with no possible way of getting any closer.
Well today I tried it for the first time trying to shoot the elusive kingfisher. And I will tell that I am very pleased with the results. I found the autofocus to be very snappy and the results are very good even with a small crop. Today the lighting was really good and that is the type of conditions I would plan to the TC in. Granted , their not as sharp as without the tc but they are very, very good. I am using a D500 . I have no real intension of using it for BIF.
Here are 3 shots I took today. Obviously the last one is not a kingfisher
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting this. I just got the 500 PF a month ago, but haven't tried it yet with the 1.4III. I was in Glacier National Park and when I needed more reach I used crop mode on my D850 so I wouldn't lose a stop of light, but it is good to know if I need more I can use the 1.4III.
 
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