Extender III Review

[JJphoto]

The 2X III maybe not that good anyway but I think it

[wickerprints]

I don

[HDNitehawk]

I don't know what charts some of you have been looking at, but the EF Extender 2x III to me is very clearly superior to the 2x II

Yes, it has improved. But did it reach a level that a person would be satisfied with the results they get with it. We have only seen the results on one of Canon's sharpest, if not sharpest lens. I will be curious to see the results on with the 500mm F4L.


Those that were waiting for the AF questions to be answered. I bet we can take Canon at their own words:

• "Each Series III Extender features a newly developed microcomputer that increases AF precision when the extenders are used with an IS II super-telephoto lens. AF precision remains the same as the Series II Extenders when the Series III Extenders are used with earlier extender-compatible EF lenses."

And since the IS II super-tele's aren't even on the market yet, it doesn't look like this is going to make much of a diffrence.

[wickerprints]

Based on the 200/2L IS results, I will hypothesize that one will still see improvements with the 2x III over the 2x II on the 500/4L IS, but it won

[JJphoto]

And since the IS II super-tele's aren't even on the market yet, it doesn't look like this is going to make much of a diffrence.

I don't know, maybe you are right. the following is what I read from canon too.


"As with previous EF Extenders, usage of Series III EF Extenders lowers
AF drive speed to improve AF performance. When Extender EF 1.4X III is
used, AF drive speed is reduced by 50%. When Extender EF 2X III is used,
AF drive speed is reduced by 75%. This may seem like a drawback, but in
reality subject tracking performance remains quite high when Series III
Extenders are used with IS II lenses. This is due to improvements in AF
precision made possible by the new microcomputer in the extenders."


I found when I used my 300mm 2.8+1.4XTC, I could track and lock the focus when taking pictures of slower flying bird like egret, GBH... but pretty hard to track turns in flight, so I was wondering if the new lenses + TC will improve that. optical performance shouldn't be a problem since the new lenses will have noticeable improvement in sharpness, contrast ...., that's why people will pay thousands of $$ more for that. if you can pay for the new lens and 1D body, adding $500 for TC is nothing even it will not work that great. for me, the hardest part is paying $4000+ for the body.....


anyway, let's see how the microcomputer works.

[Fast Glass]

I don't know what charts some of you have been looking at, but the EF Extender 2x III to me is very clearly superior to the 2x II.

Thats exactally what I thought, the contrast definately better, the CA is almost gone and distortion is reduced. The differance is not huge but definately superior.


John.

[Firephoto]

Could someone post a link to these reviews. For some reason I cant find them.


Thanks,


Brett

[Firephoto]

Never mind. Found them.

[Joel Eade]

I know Arthur Morris is a contract Canon photographer (Explorers of Light) but he seems pretty stoked about the new 2X converter and the version II 70-200mm lens....he

[JJphoto]

thanks for the links Joel


I have to point it out is that if you have ever been to La Jolla, CA, you know that cliff where people taking pictures of pelican is a very small area, so IMO a 300mm lens is more than long enough to take almost all kinds of pictures over there.my experience of using 300mm2.8+2.0TC II combo with 7D is that when the object is close enough, you will get very good results then when the object is far, it's hard to get good results. it is also hard to track fast moving object like turns in flight. so if you think you can use 70-200mm2.8II+2.0TC as your main weapon to shoot birds, think it again, egrets GBHs or ducks usually are hard to get that close like these pelicans.I think choosing pelicans in La Jolla for testing 70-200mm2.8II+2XTCII is very "smart".


close object(slightly copped)


[img]/resized-image.ashx/__size/800x0/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/8/5165.DPP_5F00_00012.JPG[/img]


far object(cropped)


[img]/resized-image.ashx/__size/800x0/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/8/5751.DPP_5F00_00002.JPG[/img]


both taken with tripod.


but then Arthur Morris can take a lot better pictures, so it's just my 2 cents