Crop or DX mode or Converter
- Thread starter TieuNgao
- Start date
Best way to increase reach: Get the best lens with the reach you need. Prime lens is better but more expensive. Whenever you try to reach by cropping through a sub-standard lens, you loose IQ.
DX with a good lens is probably the second best and a bit less expensive than FX with a 500 or 600 prime lens. Probably equivalent to cropping with a 800E or 810.
Converter is the less quality (you add up a piece of glass between your lens and sensor) plus you loose light 1.5 to 2 stops depending on converter used.
This is my opinion.
DX with a good lens is probably the second best and a bit less expensive than FX with a 500 or 600 prime lens. Probably equivalent to cropping with a 800E or 810.
Converter is the less quality (you add up a piece of glass between your lens and sensor) plus you loose light 1.5 to 2 stops depending on converter used.
This is my opinion.
Fred Kingston
Senior Member
How about just buy a longer lens?
Horoscope Fish
Senior Member
Q: What do all of these things have in common?
A: They all suck; it's only a matter of how, and how much.
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Between the 3 options, I would take a TC anytime. With DX mode you"re losing almost half of your resolution, from 24MP to 13MP. With a TC you are still at 24 Mp.
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Don Kuykendall_RIP
RIP :(
DX mode is the same as cropping in post. So really better off saving the cropping for post so you can be in full control over it.
I'd crop in post over using Dx mode. If your shooting a moving object, using the full sensor gives you margin for error. The end result will be the same, but you have less chance of missing the shot. As far as the TC, it depends on the quality of the Tc and lens. Which is worse, poor IQ or over-cropping? However, a 1.4 nikon TC with the 300 f4 would probably be better than cropping too much. Too many variables.
Agreed on the resolution. But I think using TC has the following disadvantages:
- costs extra money
- works only with some lenses
- takes time to put it on and to take it off
- reduces IQ (but I don't know how much compared with the other 2 options)
- reduces max aperture (1 stop with 1.4 converter?)
Anything else?
Thanks.
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I guess you have to increase the shutter speed in the DX mode if you want to keep the camera stable at the same level as in the FX mode. That's another disadvantage compared with cropping.
Don Kuykendall_RIP
RIP :(
Actually it should not change. From what I understand about the DX mode is all you are doing is cropping in the camera so shutter speed is no different. My D7100 has a crop mode and I did play with it a little but figured out it was much bette to crop in post
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With the D750 you need to use as much of the frame as you can,it may have a crop mode built in but its taking the edge of the cameras ability,you may not suffer much on the noise side but you will suffer on the detail side,i bought one when i thought i had stopped birding,using it for birding with cropping in PP was a no go go me i want as many MPs in the main subject as i can.
The chances are you would get better results from a D7100 than a D750 in DX mode.
The chances are you would get better results from a D7100 than a D750 in DX mode.
With a TC1.4 you'll lose about 5-10% IQ but you'll also be able to down-sample certain shots which will improve their IQ compared to the cropped ones. They do indeed only work with a certain selection of lenses but can, very easily, be adapted to work with more. TC does also affect your shutter speed. The higher the increase, the higher your shutter speed needs to be, relative to normal shooting.
For crop or DX on the D750: it doesn't make any difference but I personally will never shoot crop mode. I always maximise my data while collecting and do any IQ adjustment in post. I see crop mode only as an option if you need a faster/longer burst mode or have too little storage capacity.
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It's what I did. A TC1.4 is 50% of a D7200 which made that one the more logical option. It's not exactly the same but it comes close.
I gain the reach but don't suffer the negative effects regarding light/focus.
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I have 200VR2, 300VR1 and 400VR with TC-14E III and TC-20E III. The teleconverters deliver superior image over cropping every time, easy to test in 5 minutes by anyone. No speculation needed.
The new aspherical version III teleconverters are much better than the old non-aspherical ones. With TC14 image quality loss is negligible while with cropping one loses 21 % of linear resolution. TC14 trashes cropping, if you have a lens designed for that TC. The TC20 loses maybe 20-25 % of resolution but 2x cropping loses a whopping 41 % linear resolution. A non-brainer again.
My 200mm f2 VR2 with TC20E III yields a sharper and more contrasty 400mm f4 than the $6k AFS 200-400 f4. Inuff said, imho. And 300 f2.8 VR with TC14 is even better.
In reality cropping cannot be avoided. There is no such thing as too much reach. Get the lens and TC first and crop in computer not in camera.
The only "advantage" I can think of using a crop mode would be faster processing and number of images in the buffer. You would be able to shoot longer in High Continuous mode before the buffer fills. No IQ difference. IQ with TC's is lens dependent, no blanket statement either way is valid.
I think we have a good discussion on this subject. Thanks to all of you.
A possible conclusion is that buying a refurbished D7100 (in addition to the D750), a great tele prime like 300mm f/4E PF (very small and light), and a TC-14 will cover quite a range (300-630mm) with very little IQ loss.
A possible conclusion is that buying a refurbished D7100 (in addition to the D750), a great tele prime like 300mm f/4E PF (very small and light), and a TC-14 will cover quite a range (300-630mm) with very little IQ loss.
Horoscope Fish
Senior Member
In my experience how well (or how poorly) a TC performs will vary, sometimes significantly, depending on what specific lens it's used on, the focal length and camera to subject distance. Bear in mind not all TC's are compatible with all lenses, that you'll lose a bit of sharpness (minimum) but also a full stop (assuming the 1.4x) as well as a certain amount of contrast and saturation. Auto-focus response time is also typically slower when using a TC. I think the references to how much degradation there is in image quality when using a TC typically focuses (ha!) on the loss of Sharpness; which is an important consideration too be sure, but not the only consideration. At least not in my mind.
I don't mean to sound anti-TC, which I probably am, but I think it's important to really understand what you're gaining, and what you're giving up, by using them. The devil, so often, is in the details.
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