Teleconverter and a 500 mm lens

I was wondering if anyone has attached a teleconverter on their 500mm? Im looking at the Sigma 150-500mm, in the product description it reads:

• Can be used with optional Sigma 1.4X EX DG APO or 2X EX DG APO teleconverters to produce a 210-700mm F6.3-8 manual focus ultra telephoto zoom lens or a 300-1000mm manual focus ultra telephoto zoom lens respectively
• My question, is the image quality still the same or does it lower the quality of your image by adding a teleconverter?

It lowers quality and the lens will be slower....Have a look at the compatibility of the Kenko brand teleconverter, I think they Auto Focus with it..

Tripod,Don't forget the Tripod.Maybe remote shutter release.At 500+mm your heart beat can cause a blurred image.lol Remember lots of light and have fun.

Most of the time IQ drops with a converter,apparent IQ is a different matter to qualify that if you only view small images on the computer you may never notice the drop in IQ especially pictures taken in good light its a trade off some photographers are happy with it some not.
If you decide to do it expect IQ degradation then you wont be disapointed and could possibly be reasonably content but i wouldn't go further than the 1.4.

mike

I have a link to another forum with two shots on taken with that lens a kenko 2x and a kenko 2x plus 1.4 stacked but dont know if ime allowed to post links to other forums,will some one let me know please.

mike

I have a x2 kenko....The CA is not good with it..

I have the Sigma 170-500mm - It is soft at 500mm, this seems to be the comment on Sigma's 50,150,170-500mm range. So add a TC to this and I would expect the 700mm/top end mentioned is pretty poor. Feel free to prove wrong though

As mentioned there is an art at 500mm to get a steady shot, my 170-500mm doesn't have VR either making it very fun!

Also I often lose my subject when birding - operator rather than equipment! but still 500mm is a long reach!

Thank you for all the information, just another question
even with a 400 mm, would produce the same soft images? What I'm after is a lens that is in the $1500-2000 range, (taxes in) that gets me closer than my 300mm, but still want the good quality I get with my 300.

There are basically two kind of photographers, ones who love teleconverters and those who hate them with very little in between. I am a member of the former. True they will degrade image quality, it is the physical nature of the beast. However, with very high quality ones like Nikon's, the IQ loss will be minimal.

I just shot this with the worst possible scenario; I stacked TWO teleconverters together (my TC-14B and TC-300) with my 300mm f/2.8 AIS to make a 1020mm f/8. This is a neighbor's house about 125 yards away. The camera was on a very sturdy tripod and I went down two stops to an effective aperture of f/16 and 1/160 sec. I was expecting the worst but was actually pleasantly surprised. In the corner is a 100% crop. As you can see, the front of the intercom is still quite sharp, though the contrast did take somewhat of a hit, something that can be easily fixed in PS or LR.

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The image below was shot with my 600mm f/4 and the TC-300. It is nothing but sharp!