can anyone give advice on which is best - tele-convertor or to crop the final picture ?
also when shotting into skyline (tree tops for bird pictures in bright sunlight and cloudy situations - do you compensate up + or down -, would like to get best chance of better pics
thank for getting back to me -
gear - canon1d3 normally with canon 400l usm lense and canon 5d with a 100-400l usm lense, normally 1d3 goes with the canon 400 mounted on tripod/gimball head and 5d with the 100-400, mounted on monopod as a second set up - hope this helps
i should have put gear in the first enquiry silly me
Jeff, hi, I lived in Portishead for a number of years! Anyway I do both and am not sure which is better, probably using the TC is better than cropping but excessive use of the TC seems to produce wear and tear on the connections and mounting plates which occasionally results in focus problems, without the TC the image is marginally better and with better reliability. On the other hand I've seen people with expensive gear fall over their tripod and 500mm lens and the only thing that broke was the TC so that might be a plus for the TC!
When shooting birds against the sky its better to open up about 1 stop to compensate for the bright background.
As a rule of thumb, prime lenses handle converters better than zooms when it comes to image quality. My 300f4L is fine with the 1.4x, & not so great with the 2x. I'd rather use the converter than crop as a first option.
As for exposure, the histogram is your best friend and teaching tool. There are so many factors in getting a good exposure and there are no easy answers. Trial, error and chimping the histogram is the quickest way to dial in on exposure.
Jeff, the 100-400 does not work well with converters. The IQ drops too much. So, with that lens crop. The 400 L? I assume you mean the f 5.6 will do well on the 1D3 as that body will AF at f8. However they 5D will not AF at f8 so adding the converter will make the lens an f8 lens and AF will be lost. So here again you should crop.
One thing to consider is that if you are framed too tightly with lens and TC it will be harder to track and easier to clip wings etc. if there is action occurring.
Hi Jeff,
You've gotten some good advice on the teleconverters, I personally don't like the IQ with the Canon 2.0 tc but I think you don't lose much IQ at all with the 1.4 so if the 1.4 autofocuses with your rig that would be the way to go as opposed to cropping.
With respect to exposures if you are shooting a bird somewhat small in the frame against a bright sky background and using evaluative metering you will typically need to add positive exposure compensation. As David C said use your histogram as a guide.
If you are shooting wild birds away from your back yard and not at a baited setup you'll probably resort to both the converter and some cropping.
also when shotting into skyline (tree tops for bird pictures in bright sunlight and cloudy situations
In this situation it really doesn't matter because you are unlikely to produce quality images. Better is to be patient and work at getting the subject in a better location and in better light.
When I shoot backlit birds with my Nikon I switch to spot metering. That's usually faster and more accurate than guessing at plus compensation.
Discussion
6 repliescan anyone give advice on which is best - tele-convertor or to crop the final picture ?
also when shotting into skyline (tree tops for bird pictures in bright sunlight and cloudy situations - do you compensate up + or down -, would like to get best chance of better pics
many thanks in advance
jeff acreman
thank for getting back to me -
gear - canon1d3 normally with canon 400l usm lense and canon 5d with a 100-400l usm lense, normally 1d3 goes with the canon 400 mounted on tripod/gimball head and 5d with the 100-400, mounted on monopod as a second set up - hope this helps
i should have put gear in the first enquiry silly me
jeff
When shooting birds against the sky its better to open up about 1 stop to compensate for the bright background.
As a rule of thumb, prime lenses handle converters better than zooms when it comes to image quality. My 300f4L is fine with the 1.4x, & not so great with the 2x. I'd rather use the converter than crop as a first option.
As for exposure, the histogram is your best friend and teaching tool. There are so many factors in getting a good exposure and there are no easy answers. Trial, error and chimping the histogram is the quickest way to dial in on exposure.
One thing to consider is that if you are framed too tightly with lens and TC it will be harder to track and easier to clip wings etc. if there is action occurring.
You've gotten some good advice on the teleconverters, I personally don't like the IQ with the Canon 2.0 tc but I think you don't lose much IQ at all with the 1.4 so if the 1.4 autofocuses with your rig that would be the way to go as opposed to cropping.
With respect to exposures if you are shooting a bird somewhat small in the frame against a bright sky background and using evaluative metering you will typically need to add positive exposure compensation. As David C said use your histogram as a guide.
In this situation it really doesn't matter because you are unlikely to produce quality images. Better is to be patient and work at getting the subject in a better location and in better light.
When I shoot backlit birds with my Nikon I switch to spot metering. That's usually faster and more accurate than guessing at plus compensation.