Canon has come out with new 1.4X and 2Xtele-extenders in past few months to match up nicely with all the new MK II versions of Canon’s supertelephoto lenses that are supposed to start showing up soon. I have the mkII versions of the teleconverters and have used them with generally good results. Canon claims improved optical performance, along with focusing accuracy (with the new lenses) and a more rugged and weatherproof design. This all sounds real good but are they really worth the price which has gone up considerably.
Some early reviews and test that I’ve seen indicate that (at least with the 2X) an improvement in resolution and contrast can be seen over the older mkII. Last week in Colorado I had a chance to briefly try the new MKIII 2X on praire-chickens which my friend Darren had recently purchased. I used my Eos 7D and my EF300mm F2.8L since that is a lens I do use the 2X on with some regularity.
Full frame no sharpening
Camera Model: Canon EOS 7D
Shutter speed: 1/800 sec
Aperture: 5.6
Exposure mode: Av
Exposure compensation: +1/3
Metering mode: Multi-segment
ISO: 160
Focal length: 600mm
Above is a full frame image basically right out the camera. with zeoro sharpening Below I will show a 100% crop of the head of the chicken with my basic web sharpening. I’ve captured the image without stopping down my aperture on the 300mm F2.8 so I’m showing the optical performance of the lens and converter at its’ most challenging setting.
100% crop
