Is it possible to use an old school teleconverter?

Silverback

Senior Member
I know about all the problems with using them, I intend to go full manual (I'm trying to get a better picture of the moon), can a very old school teleconverter be made to work on the D7100? If it matters, maybe 60's, probably 70's vintage Japanese Samigon NT Auto Teleplus 2x that from my dad's very old maybe 60's vintage Nikkormat camera that I've been using since taking a photography class in high school in the 80's.

When I try to put it on I can set all the manual settings but the f-stop.

FWIW, The attached pic is one that I got last night using the D7100, Tamron 18-270, tripod and a generic (amazon) infrared trigger (f/11, 1/400, 800ISO, 270mm). I Not great (once I cropped it this tight it was only 800x800 and grainy), but you can see some features. I figure if I can double the focal length and get all the manual settings I might have something really usable.
DSC_7114m.JPG
 
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Silverback

Senior Member
I would not try it. MAny of the TCs can damage the newer cameras. Not worth the risk

Damage in what way? Again, I know of the shortcomings of teleconverters, and the fact that you could have a problem with the back element of the lens hitting the teleconverter, but this is not a problem here.
 

Silverback

Senior Member
I'm guessing that issue is that this teleconverter is from long before there were electronics involved with the aperture (it has an outside ring with a pin and a socket to transfer what would have been the aperture setting on the lens to the camera body) and that there is no way for the camera to know what the aperture is and I'm guessing the aperture doesn't "park" at a specific location that I can work off of???


I do do some wildlife photography, but it's mostly from a canoe or kayak and I'm not willing to carry a larger/heavier lens then my Tamron 18-270/Nikon 18-140/Sigma 24-105 ART (all about the same size and fairly heavy for a "walk around" lens), so I don't think i'm ever going to seriously consider a longer lens so for those few rare occasions that I need something longer (lets face it, the Tamron 18-270 on the DX body works out to a 405mm equivalent on a full frame, which used to be a lot of lens...).

It's likely going to be a teleconverter or nothing.
 

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
Welcome aboard. Enjoy the ride.

From what I can see the Samigon NT Auto Teleplus 2x is an AI teleconverter and according to this Nikon Web Page Nikon | Imaging Products | Lens Compatibility - Nikon D7100 it should work if you can get it focused. According to the web page you will need to go to completely manual focus since your effective F stop will be higher than f/5.6. The only question will be can you get a sharp enough image with this teleconverter and a lens that is not know to be extremely sharp at 270mm.
 

Silverback

Senior Member
Welcome aboard. Enjoy the ride.

From what I can see the Samigon NT Auto Teleplus 2x is an AI teleconverter and according to this Nikon Web Page Nikon | Imaging Products | Lens Compatibility - Nikon D7100 it should work if you can get it focused.

I have to admit that I didn't know what AI meant... I ended up at googling and going to Ken Rockwell's site and finding this which amused me because that's exactly the lens that I used for years on my dad's old camera setup (I'm pretty sure that the camera and lens date to the early/mid 60's, and most of his accessories and other lenses date to the 70's and 80's, I really love that old camera, I used that through most of the late 80's and early 90's):
Nikkor-H 50mm.jpg

Oh, and I have used that lens on my D40x (it worked very well, but everything had to be done manually).

According to the web page you will need to go to completely manual focus since your effective F stop will be higher than f/5.6.

"higher than f/5.6" How much higher? When I read that I slapped it back on the camera and got it shooting, but everything was black.

I ended up setting the ISO 3200, shutter 1/60, and turning the flash on and getting a few lighter dots in the picture, so I took that and pointed it up into a light with a 100w (equivalent) bulb in it, and with the same settings I got this:
DSC_7137_m.jpg

So with the teleconverter is the aperture closing all the way down or is this something else wrong causing the really dark exposure? FWIW, the EXIF info (obviously showing the aperture and focal length incorrectly):
exif.JPG

The only question will be can you get a sharp enough image with this teleconverter and a lens that is not know to be extremely sharp at 270mm.

You know, it's funny how camera guys don't seem to really like this lens, and honestly it's probably my favorite one that I own, it gets used more than the rest for sure. WRT to sharpness I would put it behind my Sigma ART and my Nikkor 35 f/1.8, but ahead of everything else, including my Nikkor 18-140 which seems to have a bit of a following. I've gotten some really incredible wildlife shots at or very close to it's longest focus lenght, 2 of which won contests and it's actually my favorite for things like parties and chasing my kids around (I can pick a spot in the room and play sniper with the long lens, not disturb the action and still get the shot, and for some reason I seem to get the most pleasing colors from it). I've been tempted to try to sell it and the 18-140 and pick up one of the newer/smaller/cheaper Nikkor 18-300mm but I've been worried that I wouldn't like it much like the 18-140.
 
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Bikerbrent

Senior Member
First off the 2.0 teleconverter will cost you 2 full f stops. So you will be shooting and F5.6 lens at F/11.

Next, do you have you camera set to M mode and AF set on M. Then are you adjusting the lens F stop on the lens ring to say F/2?
 

Silverback

Senior Member
First off the 2.0 teleconverter will cost you 2 full f stops. So you will be shooting and F5.6 lens at F/11.

I knew I was going to loose 2 stops, but you said "more than f/5.6" so I was wondering how much more besides the 2 stops...

Next, do you have you camera set to M mode and AF set on M. Then are you adjusting the lens F stop on the lens ring to say F/2?

I've said that I'm setting everything manually, and have shown the manual settings that I set on the camera.

F stop ring? Unless I'm missing something I don't think any modern lense I have has an F stop ring. The Tamron and none of my Nikkor lenses do that I know of...
 

robbins.photo

Senior Member
You know, it's funny how camera guys don't seem to really like this lens, and honestly it's probably my favorite one that I own, it gets used more than the rest for sure. WRT to sharpness I would put it behind my Sigma ART and my Nikkor 35 f/1.8, but ahead of everything else, including my Nikkor 18-140 which seems to have a bit of a following. I've gotten some really incredible wildlife shots at or very close to it's longest focus lenght, 2 of which won contests and it's actually my favorite for things like parties and chasing my kids around (I can pick a spot in the room and play sniper with the long lens, not disturb the action and still get the shot, and for some reason I seem to get the most pleasing colors from it). I've been tempted to try to sell it and the 18-140 and pick up one of the newer/smaller/cheaper Nikkor 18-300mm but I've been worried that I wouldn't like it much like the 18-140.

Back in the day "superzooms" were pretty awful. The first few versions of lenses that covered a wide variety of focal lengths.. well lets be honest, they stunk on ice. Also keep in mind that this was back before you could easily correct problems like say pincushion distortion using software, etc. So yes, superzooms did get a bad name.

In the digital era with the ability to easily correct some of these problems, plus some pretty huge leaps forward in lens design, superzooms are starting to get to the point where they don't completely suck anymore - however the vast majority of them are still no match for a professional grade zoom lens of a much shorter focal length.

So yes, a lot of us "camera guys" are not big fans of the superzoom. They have improved in quality quite a bit, but even stopped down to F/8 your 18-270 can't match the sharpness and clarity achieved by my 70-200mm 2.8 shot wide open at 2.8. You don't have to pixel peep to see the differences, especially when your shooting things like critters with lots of tiny details.

The superzoom does have the advantage of convenience, but you are sacrificing image quality. For many of us that sort of defeats the purpose of paying the money for having a camera with an interchangeable lens system to begin with. I'd much rather carry two lenses with great IQ than one lens with so-so IQ.

But some folks feel differently, nothing wrong with that. As long as your happy with the results your getting with your equipment, that's all that matters.
 

STM

Senior Member
I use my TC-14B and TC-300 on both the D300 and D700 all the time with no problems whatsoever. I can't see how using one on a D7100 would present any problems at all

Exactly what problems are you talking about in your post?
 

pforsell

Senior Member
I knew I was going to loose 2 stops, but you said "more than f/5.6" so I was wondering how much more besides the 2 stops...

F stop ring? Unless I'm missing something I don't think any modern lense I have has an F stop ring. The Tamron and none of my Nikkor lenses do that I know of...

Nikon G-type lenses don't have an aperture ring. The "resting" position for the aperture is fully closed, so the end result is that your lens is at its maximum f-number (maybe f/22 or f/32) and the TC robs another 2 stops, so you'll be shooting at f/45 or f/64.

If manual lenses aren't a problem, how about something like a Nikon AI 300mm f/4.5. That lens is compatible with AI-teleconverters TC-200, TC-300 and TC-14, has good optics and doesn't break the bank.

Using non-AI teleconverters or non-AI lenses can destroy the AI follower tab in the camera. Best to make sure your gear is compatible before using them, or perhaps better to just stick to AI or AI-S manual focus optics.
 

STM

Senior Member
If you are going to go with the 300mm f/4.5 AI/AIS lenses I suggest you go with the AIS ED version. The non-ED lens has some pretty noticeable color fringing. The difference between the two is not that significant on Ebay, only $60-70.
 
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