New guy! 2x Teleconverter help!

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Matt Hall

New member
Hey guys! I am new and this is my 1st post! I am a new guy nikon d3300 owner and just got my camera today. I got the bundle that comes with the kit 18-55mm Nikkor lens and the extra Nikon AF-S DX VR Zoom-NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G IF-ED lens. My question is about nature and birds. I heard someone comment on fb say that most use a 400mm lens for these types of bird and nature pics and then someone else messaged "all you need now is a 2x teleconverter and your all set!" Can someone tell me what 2x converter is a good one and if its compatible with the nikkor 55-200mm lens that I just got with my bundle? I heard stuff about the auto focus not working or something. That is not a big deal. I just wanna be able to reach out and get a decent quality photo. Say get a bird or animal if they are farther out. I don't think I can afford a 400mm lens anytime soon so a $200 or less teleconverter would be huge help compared to $1000's for a lens!!! Any suggestions?
 
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Scott Murray

Scott Murray

Senior Member
Honestly unless a 2 x TC is coupled with an excellent prime I would not get one for what you are wanting. The new 150 - 600 range of lenses out do most of these unless it is a large aperture prime lens which is coupled with the 2x TC eg f/2.8 300mm - f/5.6 600mm. With your current lenses I do not think you would be happy with a 2x TC coupled to these. Auto focus would hunt, quality would be degraded.
 
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SteveH

Senior Member
Hi Matt, welcome to the forum!
I think we have all started out wondering if a teleconverter will transform our zoom lenses to something better for wildlfe, and while on a very bright day you may get a photo, you won't get the quality.

When you double the focal length of your lens, from 200mm to 400mm, you also half the widest aperture it will work at. So at 200mm your lens will open to f5.6 - So with a 2x TC fitted, you will get 400mm at f11.2. Basically, you will find it very difficult to get any shot, let alone of something moving as your shutter speeds will be slow, even on the very brightest summer days.

Unfortunately, a long, usable lens costs money and for your camera, I would think the cheapest, decent length lens could be something like the Sigma 150-500mm - Second hand they are reasonably priced.
 
Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
Hi Matt, welcome to Nikonites.

As Scott wrote, the amount of light and quality you would loose with a 2x teleconverter would make your lenses pretty useless for bird photography. Since I don't know what your photography experience is, I will not risk myself recommending what you should buy. But I've seen many people spend money for things that ended up in the drawer or are used as paper weight. I think your $200 would be better spent getting the proper post production software or photography books to learn more about light and composition.

Good luck and enjoy your Nikon.
 
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J-see

Senior Member
I have a TC2.0 and even with a good prime it is not very satisfying to shoot. Yes if you take the time and adjust manually you might get a decent shot in (if there's enough light) but if you expect to just attach it to the lens and shoot normal, you'll be disappointed. It also makes your quality dive pretty deep.

The Nikon TCs don't attach to all their lenses. You can "tweak" it until it fits but even then it'll only work with lenses having the actual "room" to fit the TC2.0. And it needs quite some room. The new Nikon TC are not compatible with your lens and it isn't even sure that they'll fit after you remove the part hindering the attachment.

I'd rather buy a used longer lens than buy a TC2.0 for the 55-200mm. Even if another brand fits, you'll likely be disappointed.
 
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jay_dean

Senior Member
SteveH said:
Hi Matt, welcome to the forum!
I think we have all started out wondering if a teleconverter will transform our zoom lenses to something better for wildlfe.
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I actually did this. I got a 2x converter for the 50-500mm i had at the time, thinking it'd give me the fantastic range we all want. But, you know where this story is going, IQ was awful, and that's if i could get a shot without blur. It was okay for use as a spotting scope, but very little else really
 
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FastGlass

Senior Member
Keep in mind that when wanting to add a TC to a lens. You need to figure out if the lens is compatible with using a TC not the other way around. You have a limited lens choice when wanting to use a TC.
 
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ryanwphoto

Senior Member
I recently purchased a 1.4x II teleconverter to go with my 70-200 2.8 VR.
This is my first teleconverter and it works pretty good. It's still somewhat sharp but it changes into an F4 lens. Which is still good enough but the focus is slower.
I would highly recommend buying a Sigma 150-500 or one of the new Sigma or Tamron 150-600 lenses. You can find the older 150-500s for pretty cheap. Almost as much as a new 2x TC. I actually just sold my 150-500 sigma for $500 CAN and it was almost mint.
 
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mikew_RIP

Senior Member
Welcome to the forum,i dont need to add forget the converter :D,there are odd ball combinations that work to some degree but the chances are very slim.
 
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John Thomson

Senior Member
And as newbie myself and no idea what we are all talking about I am just going to agree with everyone else :cool: oh and I would recommend the Tamron 150-600 for birds or any kind of wildlife as its what I am using
 
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SteveH

Senior Member
ryanwphoto said:
I recently purchased a 1.4x II teleconverter to go with my 70-200 2.8 VR.
This is my first teleconverter and it works pretty good. It's still somewhat sharp but it changes into an F4 lens. Which is still good enough but the focus is slower.
I would highly recommend buying a Sigma 150-500 or one of the new Sigma or Tamron 150-600 lenses. You can find the older 150-500s for pretty cheap. Almost as much as a new 2x TC. I actually just sold my 150-500 sigma for $500 CAN and it was almost mint.
Click to expand...

I'm considering either the 1.4 or 1.7 TC for my 70-200 f2.8, then my 55-300mm will be pretty redundant.
 
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jay_dean

Senior Member
SteveH said:
I'm considering either the 1.4 or 1.7 TC for my 70-200 f2.8, then my 55-300mm will be pretty redundant.
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I'd recommend the 1.4TC in a heartbeat. I have one for my 70-200 f2.8, and it performs brilliantly. You could sell the 55-300, and it'll just about pay for a second hand 1.4TC
 
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SteveH

Senior Member
jay dean said:
I'd recommend the 1.4TC in a heartbeat. I have one for my 70-200 f2.8, and it performs brilliantly. You could sell the 55-300, and it'll just about pay for a second hand 1.4TC
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Thanks for the tip! I'll keep the 55-300mm as I share lenses with my step-son & we'll use it when we both need a medium length zoom.
 
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ryanwphoto

Senior Member
SteveH said:
I'm considering either the 1.4 or 1.7 TC for my 70-200 f2.8, then my 55-300mm will be pretty redundant.
Click to expand...
I have the older 70-200 VR with the 1.4 teleconverter version II and it works good! I also have the 70-300 VR and it's sharper then the pro lens and tc together. But it's slow even compared to f4.
Love them both for different reasons but can't keep both lol!
 
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SteveH

Senior Member
ryanwphoto said:
I have the older 70-200 VR with the 1.4 teleconverter version II and it works good! I also have the 70-300 VR and it's sharper then the pro lens and tc together. But it's slow even compared to f4.
Love them both for different reasons but can't keep both lol!
Click to expand...

I'm thinking of hiring both or maybe 3 including the 2x and just see what I think of them on the 70-200. The 55-300 will always be in a cupboard for when I need a light "Zoo day" walk about lens too - I don't really need over 300mm very often, not often enough to warrant dragging a 150-xxx around anyway!
 
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