Often, as a wildlife photography enthusiast, I would love to have more reach when out in the field. This excellent video features a brilliant young photographer who is looking for a big performance from this small portable device.
In this video, Olle Nilsson is reviewing the Sony FE 2X teleconverter on both the Sony 200-600mm G OSS and the Sony 70-200mm GM II to see if the extender is worth getting for the extra reach. There are two teleconverters for Sony, the 1.4x and 2x, and both of these only work on the following lenses: the 70-200mm GM and GM II, The 200-600mm G, the 400mm prime, the 600mm prime and the 100-400mm GM.
Olle explains the technical details very well in this video, such as the reach you can expect to achieve with pairing your lens and the teleconverter.
Do the sharpness and autofocus hold up to the challenge when used with these two lenses for photography and video? From the video, it appears on the 70-200 GM II, this combination is a winner, and it could save you significant amounts of money by mitigating the need to buy a second lens.
I have a good quality 2x, but I rarely use it. I've found that putting any of my teles on a DX camera I get 1.5x anyway, so I've really had no need for using it. Although I do use it for shooting the moon from time to time. Putting the 400mm on the DX camera with a 2x makes it a 1200mm. Granted I lose f stop speed, but pumping the ISO up a couple of notches doesn't add much noticeable noise so, yeah, I'm good. Thanks for the article though. Oh, now I gotta look for the moon. Now where is it.
Hi Tim, it's good to hear you are happy with your 2x extender even though you may only use it sparingly. They are a handy tool to have for certain types of photography, and great that they are so small so won't take up much room. Hope you find that moon haha
Ahead of a workshop in Alaska. I was struggling with the same question. Do I buy the 200-600 or stick with my Sony 100-400 and add the 2x TC? The two big issues for me were the 2.5 extra pounds of the longer lens versus the f11 maximum f stop of the TC on the 100-400. After experimenting with the TC, I decided that this would be the best solution for me. I shoot a lot of stage performances at high ISO, so bumping ISO is not scary. Ultimately, given any kind of daylight situation, I found I could take advantage of the virtual dual base iso on my A1 and get great images at any ISO below 1,000 with no noise and good resolution.
Hi Steve, that is great to hear that the TC is working for you and not adding too much weight to your camera bag. I have the 200-600 lens and it is heavy especially for those big adventures. I hope you have a great time in Alaska (or had a great time) :)
I have all those lenses and both TC's. With the 200-600mm the main subject here being "Heavy" and such, you have to have the right way to carry it while in the field. But first Canon/Nikon have problems with AF if a combo goes over f/8 in that regard Sony kicks it and all lenses work great. I use the 200-600mm for birds/wildlife but also closeups of the moon at 1800mm 2X at APS-C. To carry use a heavy duty binocular harness, it lays on your chest and when needed it is there and ready, yes carry a pole for steadiness. I just found a great rookery in a nearby park at it is like a 150 yards out in a lake. The first image is cropped but sharp eye focus of the little babies, the last is perfect focus on the stick in the beak but eye AF cube came on when shot. After the updates on the lens when back button focus on the lens stabilized very well and a hand held shot was no problem. Also have a top button with APS-C to get that closer capture. Note: with auto ISO and going neg with EV dial to rid zebras SS gets faster. Lastly when did people worry about high ISO noise with a Sony also a dark image when getting rid of zebras comes very bright in post, you get better feather detail with zebras gone. I also get great bokeh with the 200-600mm for the DOF is very short and blurr of both forward and behind the focus point. The one TC I rarely use is the 1.4x because just using the APS-C you get a 1.5 x AND the center of the sensor giving faster AF even.
Hi Edwin, very good points made here and it's great to hear how you have optimised the gear to work with your shooting style and subjects
Thanks for the great review! I've been having my eye on that teleconverter now for a couple of years. So.. your review was kinda in line with what I was hoping for. I have a large zoom lens, but it's about 10lbs. I like to backpack and take photographs. I can back pack it in. But... by the time you figure all of my camera equipment for the trip it's nearing 20lbs or more just for the camera stuff. Let alone my other gear required for the trip. However, I have a 300mm lens that's maybe 1~2lbs. If I brought the teleconverter it doesn't quite get the range of the lens I have, but it's close enough. This brings the camera equipment weight below 10lbs. And is much more doable.
Usually I like to photograph landscapes. I figured there'd be a cost to using it as far as image quality goes. But it's nice to know that maybe the 300mm lens I have it might not be as big of a deal. And I thought about my larger lens. If I'm not backpacking, maybe I could add that to it and get a larger range when required. Thanks!