Posted by Alan Woolnough on February 17, 2007 at 6:11 AM
Just a piece of useless info, but it may save someone a few quid.
I performed some tests of this tc through my 400mm lens, and the optical quality is noticably better than my x2 {which ive always been fairly happy with}, and slightly better than my tc14 {which ive always been extremely happy with}. GREAT NEWS!
The fairly narrow focusing band of this tc is perfectly usable for avian photography for me {given that much of my stuff is taken in the 5m>15m range with average sized birds}. GREAT NEWS!
However, i was curious about the focusing speed, and if it turned out that it was slower than my sigma 300mm AF {non HSM}, it would be pretty useless for anything fairly challenging.
As this tc will not AF with my D70, i compared the focus speed over a set distance {20m>10m} by manually rotating the drive shaft of my sigma AF 300mm/kenko 1.4, and sigma AF 300mm/nikon tc-16a, and counted the number of turns required from 20m>10m with both set-ups.
The sigma AF 300 + kenko tc required 2 complete turns of the rod to achieve this focus distance, and the sigma AF 300mm + tc16a required two and a half turns for the same distance. Therefore the tc16a would be slightly slower to AF {given the same light levels/ max aperture}. VERY,VERY BAD NEWS!!!!!!!
Although this tc would be usable for certain situations that i find myself in {and would be very usable using trap-focus}, ive decided it would be throwing money down the drain if i purchased a s/h D2h, in order to get a form of AF with my MF 400mm {purely because of the sluggish AF speed}.
Ive ordered myself a second D70s body instead, as i can now keep one permanently attatched to my AF sigma 300, for the occasional flight shot {and retain the high sync capability}. I have relegated my tc1.4 to the back of the cupboard, as the tc16a gives slightly better quality, so my experiment was a few quid well spent in the end.
It was a close shave, but i think ive made the right choice for me, eventually.
Posted by Alan Woolnough on February 17, 2007 at 9:44 AM
Thanks Phillip,
I have discovered this link, and did think of giving it a try.
I practiced on an old ext tube, and was able to make a new hole easily, for the re-positioned contact pin {by heating up a darning needle, and pushing it through the plastic}, but the tiny springs flew everywhere, and the soldering would have been a bit too intricate for me to attempt.
I suppose i could give it a try, as i would still be able to use this tc if i buggered it up, but i think it is a bit too tricky for me
Its been a frustrating excersise tracking down 'user' info on this tc, and much of it is conflicting info. Some have said it AF's very fast, and others have said it AF's slow .
As many of those who said it is quite slow appear to have used it for indoor ice-hockey, i was hopeful that it might have been ok for my use, but unfortunately my experiments have proved otherwise.
Its an interesting gadget though, and hopefully i will put it to good use as a manual tc
Discussion
2 repliesI performed some tests of this tc through my 400mm lens, and the optical quality is noticably better than my x2 {which ive always been fairly happy with}, and slightly better than my tc14 {which ive always been extremely happy with}. GREAT NEWS!
The fairly narrow focusing band of this tc is perfectly usable for avian photography for me {given that much of my stuff is taken in the 5m>15m range with average sized birds}. GREAT NEWS!
However, i was curious about the focusing speed, and if it turned out that it was slower than my sigma 300mm AF {non HSM}, it would be pretty useless for anything fairly challenging.
As this tc will not AF with my D70, i compared the focus speed over a set distance {20m>10m} by manually rotating the drive shaft of my sigma AF 300mm/kenko 1.4, and sigma AF 300mm/nikon tc-16a, and counted the number of turns required from 20m>10m with both set-ups.
The sigma AF 300 + kenko tc required 2 complete turns of the rod to achieve this focus distance, and the sigma AF 300mm + tc16a required two and a half turns for the same distance. Therefore the tc16a would be slightly slower to AF {given the same light levels/ max aperture}. VERY,VERY BAD NEWS!!!!!!!
Although this tc would be usable for certain situations that i find myself in {and would be very usable using trap-focus}, ive decided it would be throwing money down the drain if i purchased a s/h D2h, in order to get a form of AF with my MF 400mm {purely because of the sluggish AF speed}.
Ive ordered myself a second D70s body instead, as i can now keep one permanently attatched to my AF sigma 300, for the occasional flight shot {and retain the high sync capability}. I have relegated my tc1.4 to the back of the cupboard, as the tc16a gives slightly better quality, so my experiment was a few quid well spent in the end.
It was a close shave, but i think ive made the right choice for me, eventually.
cheers
Alan
Phillip.
http://www.fool2.de/nikon/tc-16a/tc-16a.html
I have discovered this link, and did think of giving it a try.
I practiced on an old ext tube, and was able to make a new hole easily, for the re-positioned contact pin {by heating up a darning needle, and pushing it through the plastic}, but the tiny springs flew everywhere, and the soldering would have been a bit too intricate for me to attempt.
I suppose i could give it a try, as i would still be able to use this tc if i buggered it up, but i think it is a bit too tricky for me
Its been a frustrating excersise tracking down 'user' info on this tc, and much of it is conflicting info. Some have said it AF's very fast, and others have said it AF's slow
As many of those who said it is quite slow appear to have used it for indoor ice-hockey, i was hopeful that it might have been ok for my use, but unfortunately my experiments have proved otherwise.
Its an interesting gadget though, and hopefully i will put it to good use as a manual tc
cheers
Alan