|
|
600mm: TC-20EIII plus AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4. |
A few weeks ago I reviewed my AF-S 300mm f/4 in conjunction with my Nikon 1 V2 plus FT-1 (see my article). The image quality of that combination is very good, but there are practical issues. Therefore I decided to run another test for getting more reach: the TC-20EIII between my D4 and my 300mm lens.
In 2013 I tried manual 2x converters between my D700 and the 300mm. Especially the TC-200/TC-201 delivers good image quality here. But firstly, the image quality is not good enough for getting significantly more reach and secondly, without any help of the AF system such a combination is only suitable for static subjects.
The D4 has an improved AF system, 11 of the 51 sensors still work at F8. Thus, the combination of TC-20EIII plus 300mm f/4 works with AF. Moreover, due to the improved optical design of the teleconverter including an aspherical lens element, my expectations for the image quality were high.
The autofocus of the D4 works fine with that combination. The restriction on 11 sensors is a drawback but overall the AF-System works much better than that of the 1 V2 with its limitations in conjunction with F-Mount lenses. Especially the availability of AF-C is an important advantage of the D4 plus TC-20EIII combination.
Next I compared the 1 V2 plus FT-1 with the D4 plus TC-20EIII at an FX equivalent of 810mm in terms of optical quality. I did it indoors with a distance of 5.5 metres between sensor and subject. For getting an equivalent of 810mm I had to take a 9MP crop from the D4 image. I downpixelled the 1 V2 image to the same size. Otherwise both images were just RAW converted with Capture NX2 without any additional processing. The 300mm lens was mounted on a tripod and the lens' weak tripod mount was stabilised (see my review of the AF-S 300mm f/4). I illuminated the subject with three daylight lamps. The images were captured with a shutter speed of 1/100sec. The 1 V2 was set to ISO 800 and F5.6, the D4 to ISO 3200 and F11. Of course, both cameras were released by wireless remote controls and the D4 was set to mirror-up mode.
|
|
The image for the comparison. The focus was set to the centre of the frame (not otherwise possible with the 1 V2). Please note the different sizes of the AF sensors. Below there are three 100% crops of the above image - on the left D4 plus TC-20EIII, on the right 1 V2 plus FT-1. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The 1 V2 shows a little bit more colour fringing but otherwise it clearly delivers the better image quality here! In terms of bokeh I do not see significant differences.
Firstly I thought there still would be problems with the tripod mount. Therefore I made another shot with the D4 without lamps but with flashes and 1/250sec. But the result was the same: the combination of TC-20EIII plus AF-S 300mm f/4 delivers slightly soft images.
Between D4 and AF-S 300mm f/4 the TC-20EIII performs on the level of the older TC-200/TC-201.
Besides: the images above also show the 1 V2 has an excellent noise performance!
I hoped to find both, very good image quality and usability in the field. But the result after two trials for getting more reach is not really satifying - I can only get either one or the other.
Are there further more alternatives?
What is about the just announced AF-S 300mmm f/4E PF VR? Maybe, it works better in conjunction with the TC-20EIII optically. But please take a look into the users's manual of the new lens. Nikon says on the TC-17E and TC-20E converters only AF-S mode would be available! Such a hint is not stated in the user's manuals of the newest cameras (D4S, D810, D750). Therefore I expect it is a lens-specific problem. Thus, getting more reach with the new 300mm PF means to pass on AF-C mode - with the TC-20EIII as well as with a Nikon 1 camera. For me that implies the 300mm PF is not the better tool for getting more reach.
And what about a DX camera? I also made test shots with my family's D5100 plus TC-14EII plus AF-S 300mm f/4 at ISO 1600 and F8. But I found the performance to be below the D4 plus TC-20EIII! Maybe, Nikon's newer 24MP DX imager without low-pass filter would deliver a bit more here. But I guess even the D7100 will not level with the 1 V2 plus!
At least only one alternative for a hand-held solution remains: the 1 Nikkor 70-300mm VR zoom on a 1 camera. The lens has a very good reputation but it is not exactly cheap...
For now I have decided not to test further lenses in order to get more reach.
The 1 Nikkor 70-300mm VR seems to be a nice lens, but at 300mm it is one stop slower than the 300mm f/4 and there is no teleconverter option like the TC-14EII. I expect an image quality a bit worse than the 300mm f/4. The advantage of the CX zoom lens is more AF flexibility. But as of April 2015 it costs about 900 euros.
As a compromise I will use the 300mm f/4 plus CX body combination because of its great image quality and despite its practical issues. If necessary I will use a tripod, too. That offers to me the option of using the 1.4 TC additionally.
After studying the first reviews and reports on Nikon's new 300mm f/4 E PF lens on the Web I decided not to buy that lens in the near future. Instead I invested some euros in a Kirk tripod mount for my 300mm lens and in a matching new ball head for my tripod. You can find my impressions about the Kirk mount in my updated AF-S 300mm f/4 review.
|
|
Stabilised: Nikon 1V2 plus FT-1 plus AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4 with Kirk NC-300 tripod mount on Sirui K-40X. |
|
|
D4 + TC-20EIII + AF-S 300mm at ISO 2000, F11, 1/500sec, rested on the fence. The D4's AF system works fine! |
|
|
Wide open: D4 + TC-20EIII + AF-S 300mm at ISO 2000, F8 and 1/2500, hand-held. |
|
|
100% crop of the above image. |
|
|
D4 + TC-20EIII + AF-S 300mm at ISO 2000, F11, 1/800sec, hand-held. |
