Kenko 300 Pro 1.4 TC + Tamron 70-300 on D7100

I decided to put my Tamron 70-300 to the test with the Kenko TC.
This is the Tamron Di 70-300 F/4-5.6 USD with VC (it was on).
The TC is Kenko's 300 PRO N-AF 1.4 model.
On the D7100 in it's yellow jacket.
I was not using a flash for these shots.

It works.
It has some drawbacks.
Of course you lose some light - it becomes an F 5.6 to F 8.
And it isn't as quick to focus - hunts too much - way too much.

For still subjects, this isn't an issue.


managed to focus in the shadows well enough, took longer than I'd like but got it.


Even a running dog can be managed - some of the time, keeper rate wasn't great with lots of blurry running dog shots.


Birds on a wire - sure


BUT BIF shots - well I was not able to get this hummingbird ... qualifies as an "almost" shot


But that bird was darting about and it may be my lack of Hummingbird shooting experience but I could not get a focus before it flew away.

It did give a reasonable shot of a dragonfly - at rest - the dragonfly in flight were too blurry to keep.


These shots were taken in the evening - low level sun. Not dark but not mid-day sun either.

Conclusion

I would not use it for birding unless I really really needed the reach, and it was bright daylight.
It would be OK for sightseeing where you wanted extra reach. Could easily be added when needed, but that is a bit of a bother.

Tomorrow I will try again - this time without the T.C. for comparison sake.

Rather, with mostly MF, and the 2x one, it turns any macro lens into a magical 2:1 hybrid with AF to boot. Not great on AF side, no, but sure does the job! I use mine with 70-200/2.8 all the time, but I can see how smaller aperture lens would start to choke because tracking does go way down than using the lens natively.

SkvLTD said:

Rather, with mostly MF, and the 2x one, it turns any macro lens into a magical 2:1 hybrid with AF to boot. Not great on AF side, no, but sure does the job! I use mine with 70-200/2.8 all the time, but I can see how smaller aperture lens would start to choke because tracking does go way down than using the lens natively.

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Tried the 1.4 TC on my Nikkor 105 macro - and it was great. AF sucked but hey, it's a macro, in MF most of the time anyway. It did AF but hunted way too much. Now I want to get the 2.0 TC just for macro work

Decided to give the TC another go and see if a different day gave different opinion.

View attachment 263735

Kenko 1.4 TC
Tamron 70-300 4-5.6
Nikon D7100

Yes the combo works, and for still subjects works well if you want a longer reach.

But the degradation in AF speed means it is poor choice for birding or anything else that moves quickly.

I did get some pond fish, but not exactly speed demons here.

View attachment 263736

If you think of it as a manual lens then it works wonderfully

And when I put it on my 105. 2.8 macro - it was a good thing.

I also tried it on my D500 with the 200-500mm long lens. because - why not.

View attachment 263737View attachment 263738View attachment 263739

All taken with the TC on the D500 with the 200-500.
I did hear that same whirr sound that I hear on the D7100 when I use the big lens.
It does hunt - a lot for focus.
It does work - and can get focus, sometimes quickly - but not always.

But on the EXIF it reports a 35mm equivalent (FOV) of 1050mm - not bad for a 500 mm lens.

Because of the odd sound (it is barely audible but I hear it). I'd worry, even though I'm told not to worry, but I do worry that it is straining some mechanism, either in the camera or in the lens (most likely the lens focus system). Not worth the risk.

And the AF speed is too slow.

If you're lucky, those DGX pro 300's can be found for 40-60$ on ebay and worth it for screw-drive ability alone.

SkvLTD said:

If you're lucky, those DGX pro 300's can be found for 40-60$ on ebay and worth it for screw-drive ability alone.

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will have to check that out

sadly ebay now has a shipping fee and import fee practice that makes almost anything from from the USA not worth the extra costs. Shipping from orient and EU and within Canada though still works.

New they are under $200.

I wonder if a 3x would be worth it? going from 1.4 to 2.0 isn't that big of a jump. .... or is it?

Fortkentdad said:

will have to check that out

sadly ebay now has a shipping fee and import fee practice that makes almost anything from from the USA not worth the extra costs. Shipping from orient and EU and within Canada though still works.

New they are under $200.

I wonder if a 3x would be worth it? going from 1.4 to 2.0 isn't that big of a jump. .... or is it?

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Oh noooo, the 300 model, not 3x. I did my extensive research and those 3x's were in all just awful. You're better off getting $100 600mm potato lens than a TC. The 2x of their highest grade is no different from Tamron and others aside from our Nikon ones, but Nikons can't screw-drive AF so that ruled them out for me for my SP 90 E72.

1.4 > 2 is like, 200mm > 320. Not much? Kind of. When you want every little bit to get closer? Perfect! I'm personally longing for more telephoto reach, but nor 150-600 on FX nor 70-200+2X on DX would really do the trick, so if my return to wildlife sticks, I forsee having to get me 150-600 AND D500 or I'll just feel like I threw money in the wind. I've tried 70-200+2X on my D5100, and just 600mm is NOT enough at all. Now, 900 would be and with good AF, oh buddy!

Also holy moly, people are hanging onto these! I know I got lucky when I managed to get mine, but to be fair I'd say its still worth it in $1-150 range.

I have that same setup and decided that you actually do better without the extender and just cropping it in post for the extra reach.

Oh, I know the 300 is a model, I was just musing about whether buying a 3x would be better than a 2x given I have the 1.4.
The 2.0 gives you 40% more than the 1.4 (which gives you 40% more than the original lens). So as much of an increase over the 1.4 as the 1.4 is over the original.

Sounds like I should stay away from the 3.0's.

Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 2x is at B&H for $213 CDN plus their free shipping fee (about 5%).
Amazon.CA wants $299 (free shipping)
Henry's wants $329 CDN

There is one on offer on Ebay for $135 + $6.00 (from Toronto so no customs issues).

Maybe I should grab that one eh?

Description reads:KENKO 2X TELEPLUS PRO 300 DGX TELE CONVERSION LENS FOR NIKON AF/AF-S/NEW[FONT=&quot]

[/FONT]I've bought from this ebay vendor before.

tempted....

nikonpup said:

my 1.4 has not seen the light of day since i got the tamron 150-600mm.

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I have used it with the D610 and the 200-500 with good result - and no whining noise.
On the D7100 and D500 it does whine. But that just puts the D610 into the same FOV as the DX bodies - but in FX mode.
Have not tried on the D5100 - probably will not.

Now that I've discovered how it turns my 102mm macro into a 150mm macro I think I't will get used a lot more.

I do want to see the 'whites of their eyes" on these bugs I shoot (not that many have any white in their eyes, but you get my drift.

Fortkentdad said:

There is one on offer on Ebay for $135 + $6.00 (from Toronto so no customs issues).

Maybe I should grab that one eh?

Description reads:KENKO 2X TELEPLUS PRO 300 DGX TELE CONVERSION LENS FOR NIKON AF/AF-S/NEWI've bought from this ebay vendor before.

tempted....

Click to expand...

Yes!

On 5100 note, i DID try one day, and results were very good in out in the open sun.