Nikon 70-200 VRII + TC-20e III

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Geoffc

Senior Member
I've just gone to FX and decided that the 70-200 was not quite long enough for some of my requirements, so I decided to get the TC-20e III to double the focal length.

I've put some images taken with the 70-200 VRII + TC-20e III @ around 400mm here. I'd be interested to know what people think of these results which I grabbed quickly today. I know what I think, but I would be interested to hear from others who have 400-500mm lenses currently.

So far I've concluded that I need to be around 1/1000 sec F8 and VR off for handheld shots with this arrangement on the D800. I'm letting the ISO balance the light and using shutter and aperture in manual mode. Unlike the bare 70-200 at F2.8 which is very sharp wide open, this definitely prefers F8 to wide open at 5.6.


It will be interesting to see if my D300s produces good results with the increased DOF on DX. I still think I may have some slight back focusing that cannot be corrected with AF fine tune as I'm already at -20 on the D800. I'll try it some more before I consider going back to Nikon for calibration.
 
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slowpoke

Senior Member
I'd be happy with any of those shots Geoffc.I can hardly wait to get out with my setup.I do think you should try a few shots with the D300s,and I'd realy like to see them.
 
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amleduc

Senior Member
I just purchased this setup with the 70-200 being VR I not the latest II. I have yet to shoot with it. Why is it necessary to turn VR off?
 
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Geoffc

Senior Member
slowpoke said:
The D300s is working great.I got drewl on my screen now.Thanks.LOL
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LOL thanks Joe. I think the 300/300s are fantastic cameras and will no doubt produce great results with this combo. The only slight problem is that I can't let the ISO run away as much on the 300s to allow me to shoot at F8 which seems to be the sweet spot.
 
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Geoffc

Senior Member
amleduc said:
I just purchased this setup with the 70-200 being VR I not the latest II. I have yet to shoot with it. Why is it necessary to turn VR off?
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It seems to be recommended as it may introduce errors above 1/500 sec due to the sampling frequency of VR being 1000 hertz. At least that's what Thom Hogan suggests. I've used the 70-200 at higher shutter speeds with it on and it was OK but I thought I'd try this without to eliminate any errors. At 1/800 - 1/1000 sec it should be necessary anyway.
 
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Geoffc

Senior Member
Joe,

As requested I took some today using the D300s which can be found here. I think the ones off the D800 where better yesterday. This could be the sensor, but more importantly it's probably the fact that I didn't want to go beyond ISO 800 which limited me to around 1/400 sec @ F8 rather than 1/1000 sec on the D800 at ISO "who cares". I think the big benefit of this combo is that I can get acceptable images when 400mm is required, but fantastic images when 200mm is enough. Plus my DX crop on the D800 produces an images about the same size as a D7000 so it's not bad.
 
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slowpoke

Senior Member
Geoff,Those are great looking shots with bothe cameraes.I can't get out with my setup yet the weather here is terrible.Your pics have got me chomping at the bit now.I can't wait.
All the Best,
Joe
 
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Vincent

Senior Member
My take on the Nikkor 70-200 VRII + TC-20E III, after a few days of testing.

1) You should know your 70-200.
Anything you can not do with the 70-200, will be twice as bad when adding a TC-20.
On the 70-200 long distance shots (focus near infinity) give the lowest keep rate with me, the pictures are reasonable, but forget croping them. Adding the TC to this makes it worse, at infinity I had limited success till now, when I look at 100% I'm generally not happy. So the TC-20E III extends the range of the 70-200, but does no wonders for the shots you are bad at from the start.

2) It is excellent glass. Anything that is very sharp in your 70-200 can come out sharp with the TC.
Actually since you can fill the frame better with the subject the metering in the camera has less chance of confusion and the average result will improve.
This is what you buy the TC for, to fill the frame of your camera when you can not do it with the 200mm. Generally small subjects you can not approach close enough for 200mm, but which you can approach.
This said, some tests have shown me that f5.6 is definitely less sharp then the f8-f11 range. If you can shoot at the latter even if this means working with higher ISO it will generally give better result. (Meaning that this combination will work better on a DF, D3s, D800(E), D4, D600, etc...)

3) To explain "can" in my point 2. You should shoot differently with a 400mm then with a 50mm. Many people that have no 400mm or beyond experience seem very disappointed with the combination. Most people that have 400mm and beyond experience seem to think it is quite a decent performer.
I can shoot hand held in good light, in lower light I'm still struggling with the lens + TC. That said I'm still hoping to improve my technique when using it.

4) From reviews it seems that this is confirmed. If you need to shoot far away, sometimes in low light, you need expensive big glass and even then it is difficult.
For shorter distances the 70-200 VRII + TC-20E III gives results that are less then big glass, but so close that it is not worth taking the heavy big glass with you. It is an excellent portable 400mm solution.

Conclusion: You can take great pictures with the Nikkor 70-200 VRII + TC-20E III, however:
1) You still should be close to your subject, so study your subject, use a hide, etc...
2) You should try to stop down an extra stop (f8 to f11) and thus expect to need a camera that can handle high ISO (if you need high shutter speed).
3) You need an excellent long lens technique to use it optimally, it requires exercise. In more normal words, you need to be able to reduce shake in your camera when taking pictures with 400mm since it will show more then with short lenses; and carefully choose your Aperture and ISO.
4) It definitely has some advantages over bigger glass in price and portability, but every combination has its use and its weaknesses.
 
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gqtuazon

Gear Head
Vincent said:
My take on the Nikkor 70-200 VRII + TC-20E III, after a few days of testing.

Edited**
1) You should know your 70-200.
Conclusion: You can take great pictures with the Nikkor 70-200 VRII + TC-20E III, however:
1) You still should be close to your subject, so study your subject, use a hide, etc...
2) You should try to stop down an extra stop (f8 to f11) and thus expect to need a camera that can handle high ISO (if you need high shutter speed).

4) It definitely has some advantages over bigger glass in price and portability, but every combination has its use and its weaknesses.
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Interesting take. I guess the introduction of the new 80-400mm VR lens changed a lot of the possible options and it doesn't require you to stop down as much.
 
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