AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR + TC20E III

J

J-see

Senior Member
I have been testing this combo to see what it delivers. I used my D3300 to check best f/ sharpness, used a tripod and longer exposure shots. AF is only possible up to about 135mm. After that it starts hunting. Manual for close-up shots this combo is ok since it's the equivalent of a 900mm FX.

These are shots from f/8 to f/11 at 300mm (the weakest part of the lens); one with VR, one without. 100% crop.

8-NVR.jpg8-VR.jpg

9-NVR.jpg9-VR.jpg

10-NVR.jpg10-VR.jpg

11-NVR.jpg11-VR.jpg
 
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480sparky

Senior Member
J-see said:
I read the TC modification post on Nikon rumors and went to work. I checked the lens first to see if I had room and there's plenty.
Click to expand...


Wow. I can't even mount mine on a 1.4 TC because the lens' rear element strikes the protruding front element of the TC. The 2.0 sticks out even further!
 
J

J-see

Senior Member
480sparky said:
Wow. I can't even mount mine on a 1.4 TC because the lens' rear element strikes the protruding front element of the TC. The 2.0 sticks out even further!
Click to expand...

On the 70-300mm? Mine has plenty of room. It made me wonder if Nikon added that extra part to the ring to force us into buying new lenses. Half the TC list is manual only but they apparently excluded some cheaper lenses that work as well.

I only can't mount it on the 200mm since it has a square opening. And I have some older Tamron 70-300 that doesn't fit since the opening is too small.

I'm pretty satisfied with the combo. Sure it requires better light conditions but after reading all those stories about massive quality loss, I find it does perform ok considering what you see is the worst quality. None of those shots is processed or sharpened.
 
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480sparky

Senior Member
J-see said:
On the 70-300mm? Mine has plenty of room. It made me wonder if Nikon added that extra part to the ring to force us into buying new lenses. ............
Click to expand...

The probably include most of the consumer-grade glass and they don't want customers tossing on such a slow lens and have them complain they can't AF........ and possibly even loose rangefinder.

I had to go check my 70-300, and I guess I shouldn't trust my memory. I would have bet good money the rear element was right there by the bayonet mount.



Don't ever get old. It sucks.
 
J

J-see

Senior Member
I put the duo on the D3300 and took it out today and must say it was rather disappointing.

The main problem is light. To shoot this handheld I'd require a shutter of at least 1/800s or more. Anything slower suffers. To shoot sharp, I need to close down to f/11.

And exactly those requirements shows the weakness of this combo on a DX. Compared to my D750, the D3300 seems to gather light through a pinhole and even when I push ISO, I never get enough light. Sure I could go ISO 3200-6400 or up but I prefer the shots not to be an impressionistic artwork.

While in theory I can get sharp shots, in practice it doesn't work too well for anything moving faster than a turtle. At least not on a DX. Next time I'll see what the FX can do.
 
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