Jill Morgan Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I have a chance to use the Canon 2x extender next weekend, but don't have an EF lens. Is there a mount you can get that will allow me to use it on my cheaper lens? I know its a stretch, but I would like to try one out so maybe I'll rent an EF lens. Thought it could come in handy at the sled dog races. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin P Wilson Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Hi Jill. I am slightly confused. The Canon EF ewxtender can only be used on Canon EOS cameras with an EF lens mount so I assume you have an EF lens, maybe something fairly inexpensive.Did you mean that you did not have an EF L series lense (the top end professional range) but it is still EF? As I think you appreciate the EF 2x extender is intended for use with EF L lenses especially the longer ones. I have Mk 1 extenders and have not found any non-L EF lens with which they work. I have used them with the EF 135m f2 L, 300mm f2.8 L and 70-200 f2.8 L and I have also used the 1.4x with the 100-4mm f4-5.6 L lens. It should be noted the Canon EOS do not really autofocus beyond f8, so the 2x is limited to AF use with lenses with f4 aperture or faster. I have not found any non-L lenses that will work with the extenders as they have elements that need to go inside the throat at the back of the main lens. The cheaper lenses do not have a wide enough opening. Even if they did one would have to be careful that focusing did not cause the lens elements to foul the converter. The 135mm is the shortest I have used it on, the extenders are really aimed at long lenses which are simpler optically so an extender has less of an impact on quality. Why use a £400 extender on say a 50mm lens when you can buy a prime 100mm for about the same. I am not sure there is a lot to be said for hiring an L lens just to use the extender. Hiring a suitable lens for the weekend would probably cost half the price of a good used extender! Better to hire an L lens of a focal length that interests you to give you a sense of what is possible from a premium lens. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I'm no great enthusiast of tele-converters having bought a 1.4x Sigma that does nothing for the 100-300 lens that it was designed to work with. I bought the 1.4 thinking that it might stand a better chance than the 2x - I would hate to see the results from the 2x! I guess that the converter multiplies the deficiencies of the lens that it is attached too, then adds a few of its own. I know that folk with top of the range Canon L grade telephotos use converters and claim satisfaction, but I would be very wary of using one in lesser circumstances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin P Wilson Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Oops - double post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin P Wilson Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I only use it in extremis when it is get a shot or nothing at all: 2x extender on 70-200mm f2.8L.Andy Rouse, the wildlife photographer, keeps buying 2x extenders and then always regrets it! He does use the 1.4x quite a bit; I prefer the 1.4x as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Morgan Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 Hi Jill. I am slightly confused. The Canon EF ewxtender can only be used on Canon EOS cameras with an EF lens mount so I assume you have an EF lens, maybe something fairly inexpensive.Did you mean that you did not have an EF L series lense (the top end professional range) but it is still EF? As I think you appreciate the EF 2x extender is intended for use with EF L lenses especially the longer ones. I have Mk 1 extenders and have not found any non-L EF lens with which they work. I have used them with the EF 135m f2 L, 300mm f2.8 L and 70-200 f2.8 L and I have also used the 1.4x with the 100-4mm f4-5.6 L lens. It should be noted the Canon EOS do not really autofocus beyond f8, so the 2x is limited to AF use with lenses with f4 aperture or faster. I have not found any non-L lenses that will work with the extenders as they have elements that need to go inside the throat at the back of the main lens. The cheaper lenses do not have a wide enough opening. Even if they did one would have to be careful that focusing did not cause the lens elements to foul the converter. The 135mm is the shortest I have used it on, the extenders are really aimed at long lenses which are simpler optically so an extender has less of an impact on quality. Why use a £400 extender on say a 50mm lens when you can buy a prime 100mm for about the same. I am not sure there is a lot to be said for hiring an L lens just to use the extender. Hiring a suitable lens for the weekend would probably cost half the price of a good used extender! Better to hire an L lens of a focal length that interests you to give you a sense of what is possible from a premium lens. Good luck I can hire the 70-200 f2.8 for $60 for the weekend. Normally my son can get this lens for me at college, but he is filming a movie that weekend and is using it himself, so I am out of luck there, but he can get me the extender. I meant the L version. Gotta pay more attention when typing. Probably just stick with my 70-250 as it is supposed to be a dark cloudy weekend (of course, its always dark days when I want to shoot) and you lose 2 stops with the extender. I'll play with it some other time when he can get me both from college. Maybe my next trip to the zoo on a sunny day. Nice shot by the way. Jill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin P Wilson Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Thanks, the family of the driver of the MacDonalds boat used it on their 2014 calendar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I am not a huge fan of extenders. I bought a Canon 1.4 extender to go with my 100-400L lens (for a safari). The pictures with the extender were disappointing (soft). I sent it back for an exchange: the replacement was no better. Without doubt an image shot without the extender (on a Canon 5D Mark III) enlarged to the same size as that with the extender was invariably of better quality than one taken with the extender without enlargement. And of course you lose a stop with a 1.4x extender, two with a 2x extender, which means that you may well have to shoot with your lens wide (or wider) open to maintain shutter speed at whatever is your preferred ISO setting, with less chance of utilising its sweet spot in terms of apeture (often around F8 to F11 or thereabouts). Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert M Estall Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 For some time now, Alamy has been happy with 24mg file size so why not use this as a crop capability which gives you all of the benefit of a 1.4 extender (and more), no loss of a stop, loses the edges of the frame which is often where softness occurs, and does not introduce an extra optical element? In other words, try using digital zoom before adding extra optics. A whole lot simpler solution! Back in days of film I tried out a few extenders; never found one I was at all happy with. A cheap 400 mm lens was always superior to a quality 200 mm with a 2x extender. Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiskerke Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Here at the Canon USA site, there's the manual for the extenders: http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/8/0300004658/01/extender-ef-2x-iii-en.pdf There's a short list of Canon lenses that are compatible at the first link. And a complete list of all Canon lenses that will work in the pdf. The list is the same for the older I and II type extenders. Full frame lenses only. As the others said: be careful to try it on a lens that is not on the list. The elements protrude quite a bit. It may fit while the lens is in a close focus position, but at infinity it can scratch or break the glass of both the lens and the extender. wim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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