I don't know if it is a con when using the tc 1.4 III and you just have to live with it when you want the added reach or it is something I am doing wrong. I am using the tc 1.4 with the nikon 200-500mm f5.6 and the same pictures without the tc are sharp and the ones with the tc ALWAYS seem to be soft and little blurry when magnified to 100% in lightroom. Suggestions welcome, never exceed 100 iso?
tc 1.4 III Soft
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aolander
Well-known member
TC's degrade the image at least to some degree on all lenses. The 200-500mm is a fairly sharp lens, but I don't think it's the type of lens that going to be tack sharp with a TC. Plus, your technique is going to have to be good with a 700mm lens.
Bill the first shot is with the tc 1.4 and the second without
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tclune
Well-known member
On my screen, the second image appears to have serious sharpening artifacts while the first does not.
Jerry G
Member
In order to get an accurate comparison all things should be equal. Using a different iso will cause more noise and possibly need niose reduction, even without noise reduction higher isos photos will not be as sharp because of noise. If you use noise reduction you lose sharpness. All things, when comparing lenses need to be as equal as possible, use a tripod, vr off, static subject, same iso, fstop should be the same or both wide open, and there should be no processing . There will be a reduction in sharpness with a tc but should not be as much as you have here.
Thanks for the tip. I will give that a try and compare the results. Thinking it is more important than ever to keep the iso as low as possible when using the TC. Both shots were taken form a tripod, however vr was on. I will try the long distant shots with vr off when on a tripod and see how that helps. Thanks again, very helpful.
Turberticus
Well-known member
Try AF fine tune with the TC attached. Steve has a comprehensive video on that. My 200-500 + TC14e was back focusing. The AF fine tune value is now -5 with the TC attached while it's at 0 without the TC.
Never gave that thought. I did do the fine tuning when I first got the lens, spent an enormous amount time to make it perfect and I think it was like -9 in the end. I will set it up again with the TC and see what I have. Thanks.
I'd second the notion that your technique is pushed harder with the 700mm lens vs the 500mm lens especially if you're shooting hand held. Do you bump up shutter speed when shooting with the TC attached?
I was shooting in manual with auto iso, so, not sure what the ss was, it varied when trying to keep the iso low. What is your suggestion, keep shutter speed min 250/s when tc is attached to limit shake?
On my tablet screen I'm not picking up a big issue. The second one the bird is angled away from the plane of sharp focus, so you expect the drop off in that one. I like the idea of rechecking the fine tuning and maybe setting up a comparison where you shoot from the same distance but fill the frame with the same final image. I guess my eyes are not that discriminating.
When I project it to the 4k tv set they both look about the same. When I view it on my high resolution computer screen they is a major difference, the second picture is tack sharp, feather structure with fine detail, 1st picture, feathers blend together, on the soft side.
Each image on the 4k has subject filling the frame the same amount and viewed from same distance?
Nikons website states the following when using the TC1.4iii
Autofocus is available only with cameras that offer f/8 support. These include the Z 7, Z 6, D5, D500, D4/D4S, Df, D850, D810/D810A, D800/D800E, D750, D600/D610, D7100, D7200 and D7500. For cameras that do not support f/8, teleconverters can be used without autofocus.
Now the better and faster the camera the better the converter should work. The D7000 series will probably be slow and not that great with this converter while faster cameras should work better. Ive had issues with the 200-500 and the D500, it works but much slower than 500pf for instance.
Autofocus is available only with cameras that offer f/8 support. These include the Z 7, Z 6, D5, D500, D4/D4S, Df, D850, D810/D810A, D800/D800E, D750, D600/D610, D7100, D7200 and D7500. For cameras that do not support f/8, teleconverters can be used without autofocus.
Now the better and faster the camera the better the converter should work. The D7000 series will probably be slow and not that great with this converter while faster cameras should work better. Ive had issues with the 200-500 and the D500, it works but much slower than 500pf for instance.
The TC is coupled with the D7500 and it does support the F8....I was a little surprised when I turned on the camera and saw F8 when I was thinking only one stop loss.
Shooting with a 200-500mm lens with a 1.4x TC attached I'd rarely let my shutter speed fall below 1/1250" when shooting hand held. If light levels were dropping and I had a very still subject like an Owl I'd get out a tripod and drop shutter speed as needed.
Good to know, what about good light on a tripod or monopod?
The rule of thumb taught to us old guys in the days of film was that minimum shutter speed should more or less match the focal length of the lens. That means if you are using the equivalent of a 700mm lens, your minimum shutter speed needs to be 1/640 or 1/800 to (hopefully) eliminate shake. VR lets you cheat on that a bit, but it is still a good rule to follow. I know there is much concern about high ISO and noise throughout this forum, but personally, I've never worried much about ISO settings. Noise I can fix easily, camera shake or out-of-focus, not so much. Can't say for sure, but the softness of your first image could easily be caused by slight camera shake and not a focus or lens quality issue. I know, because I've ruined many of my own photos that way.
Turberticus
Well-known member
In my opinion you shouldn't need to go that high. You're already at F/8 and you've effectively doubled your ISO. Increasing the shutter speed will really skyrocket that ISO to unnecessarily high levels. I've taken sharp photos handheld at 700mm at 1/400. For example, this photo would have been taken at ISO 5600 had I been using a 1/1250 shutter speed. Instead it was taken at ISO 1800 and still retained pretty good detail.
Unless the subject is moving those kinds of shutter speeds are overkill, especially with the VR system of the 200-500.
All good suggestions from all posters. I have a lot to experiment with, what happens when Nikon comes out with the Z90000001, and is capable of giving you a hand massage when shooting. There will be no challenge, just another point and shoot, MASSIVE type cell phone camera 
Certainly everyone is different and you appear to have good hand holding technique but in my experience teaching workshops the single place most participants improve their image sharpness is by using sufficient shutter speed when hand holding or using a tripod more often. Yes, with good technique and practice shutter speeds can drop but next to using a tripod more often than many like, increasing shutter speed beyond the 1/f guidelines has helped many photographers tame their soft image problems even with VR lenses.
With first generation DSLRs I did shoot very slow shutter speeds most of the time and kept a very close eye on ISO but with newer sensors I'm often willing to let ISO climb a bit to assure sharp images. As the OP is shooting a DX crop camera we're basically talking about shooting handheld with a camera plus lens plus TC combo that yields the FoV of a 1050mm lens on a full frame camera. Sure, some can hand hold that successfully at lower shutter speeds but IME, most benefit trading some ISO for faster shutter speeds.
But I agree that a TC added to an f/5.6 lens isn't great from a light gathering standpoint and some tradeoff in terms of shutter speed to keep a cap on ISO is probably necessary but then I'd look for ways to brace myself or the camera or use a good camera support. That said, if you can reliably capture sharp images hand holding a 700mm lens on a crop body camera at 1/400" then that says good things about your hand holding technique.
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Larry Shuman
Well-known member
Where?? I don't see any artifacts.
tclune
Well-known member
Around the edge of the perch, top and bottom.
Turberticus
Well-known member
True, very well said. I also take photos in short bursts when using slow shutter speeds which more or less guarantees one of them will be sharp. I shoot a lot of portraits of birds that aren't moving (ideally) in soft light so I'm often at slow shutter speeds, especially at F/5.6. Assuming one can hold their lens steady, whether it's by bracing themselves, using a monopod or tripod, I think there's a place for slow shutter speeds, especially under the forest canopy or places like the rainforest with little available light. I think this video better explains my approach though with less emphasis on sharpness:
If one struggles to keep the camera steady or if there's enough available light, then yes obviously a higher SS is best.
Anyway, I apologize for hijacking the thread with my opinions about SS. I was just chiming in with my experience with the TC14 and 200-500 and got a little carried away!
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