When to use teleconverters?

Canon 1.4x II teleconverter

What is a teleconverter?

A teleconverter is an adapter that is used in between your lens and your camera, and they typically magnify your focal length by 1.4x or 2x. If you have a Nikon lens you will get the best quality with a Nikon teleconverter, and the same goes for Canon and other lens manufacturers. I am not a fan of off-brand manufacturers, such as Kenko.

• Canon makes 1.4x and 2x teleconverters
• Nikon makes 1.4x, 1.7x and 2x teleconverters
• Other manufacturers make 1.4x teleconverters at a minimum

A 300mm lens with a 2x teleconverter becomes a 600mm effective focal length. A 400mm with a 1.4x teleconverter becomes a 560mm.

Canon 2x II teleconverter

When you use a teleconverter, you also lose light coming into the lens. With a 1.4x you lose 1 f/stop of light, a 1.7x you lose 1.5 stops, and with a 2x you lose 2 stops. With a 300mm f/2.8 lens mated to a 1.4x teleconverter you end up with a 420mm f/4 lens.

Nikon 1.7x TC-17EII teleconverter

When do we use a teleconverter?

You will want to use a teleconverter when you would like to have more focal length.

What are the downsides to using a teleconverter?

Unless you are using the best glass on the market, you are likely losing optical quality. You are also losing 1 to 2 stops of light, so you will need to make sure that you can afford the light loss. I am often shooting at ISO 1600 and above at the end of the day, and I usually do not use a teleconverter when I am at the edge of my minimum shutter speed. Additionally, some cameras cannot autofocus when a lens is wide open at f/8. For example, for Canon shooters with a 500mm f/4 and a 2x teleconverter, you will be at f/8 as your wide open aperture, and on some cameras you cannot maintain autofocus with that configuration. A big down side, for sure. Canon 1-series cameras can maintain autofocus at f/8, however only with the center AF point.

Kenko 1.4x teleconverter

Which lenses can be used with a teleconverter?

A rule of thumb is that fast telephotos are the only lenses that you can use a teleconverter with, and zoom lenses will not work. There are exceptions, but not many. Here is a short list of lenses where you can use a teleconverter, and there are certainly more:

• 70-200mm f/2.8
• 70-200mm f/4
• 300mm f/2.8
• 300mm f/4
• 400mm f/4 DO
• 400mm f/2.8
• 200-400mm f/4
• 500mm f/4
• 600mm f/4

You technically can use a teleconverter on the popular 100-400mm, but please do not attempt it. Yes, technically it will fit together, however the optical quality absolutely sucks. Really sucks. I see this attempted all of the time, and I cannot emphasize strongly enough that it isn’t worth the effort.

I always travel with at least a 1.4 teleconverter for my longest telephoto lens, so it is an easy for me to gain more focal length without carrying more lenses and more weight.



One-on-One Print Mentoring page updated

I have just updated my One-on-One Print Mentoring page to reflect some updates to my equipment selection here in the studio. Here are the curent printers that I am using:

• Canon iPF 8300 large format 44" 12-ink pigment ink printer
• Epson 9900 large format 44" pigment ink printer
• HP Z3200 44" wide format pigment ink printer
• Epson Pro 3880 17" pigment ink printer

We also have the following equipment to help us with the entire digital workflow:

• Mac Pro desktop with 12GB of memory
• Dual LCD displays (Apple 30" Cinema and a 24")
• Speed Mat mat cutter and Rising 8-ply and 4-ply museum board
• X-rite i1 and iO scanning table for profiling
• GTI display booth with D50 light source
• Epsn V750 flatbed scanner
• Plenty of workspace to layout prints
• All Moab Paper products, including Colorado Fiber Satine, Entrada Bright 300gsm, as well as Crane Silver Rag, Epson Exhibition Fiber, Hahnemuhle Fine Art Pearl and Photo Rag.

If you are in the market for a new printer, consider coming over to my studio to test drive these printers prior to your purchase. They are well maintained, and I have spent much time on all of them and understand how they all work. I do work for Moab Paper, which means I have relationships with printer manufacturers and access to their technical resources.

Head on over to my One-on-One Print Mentoring page to read more about what a day of printing can look like.

Availability on upcoming safaris

I you are looking for a unique photographic safari in Africa, I have 1 spot available SOLD OUT for the rest of the year on safaris that I am personally leading. Here is a quick recap:

African Wildlife Photography Boot Camp in Botswana and South Africa. August 3-12, 2010.

I have 1 remaining spot available. This is a very unique safari for me, as there is a fair amount of teaching involved on this workshop. 

This safari will be a combination of morning and afternoon game drives, mid-day lectures, evening slide shows and critiques. We will repeat the schedule each day, working one on one with all participants to foster a better understanding of wildlife photography. We will have discussion and assistance on specialized topics such as long lens technique, projection flash usage, action shooting, wildlife observation, field craft and African animal behavior. Advanced techniques will be constantly discussed, demonstrated and put into practice. The end goal is for all participants to end up with new skills to help elevate their African wildlife photography, as well as coming home with excellent photographs.

This workshop is about shooting. Lots of shooting. We will be taking over the use of two lodges, which means we will have a completely private safari where we will relax, learn, photograph by ourselves and enjoy our surroundings. We also have secured private charter aircraft for this safari, with virtually unlimited weight allowances per person, allowing us to bring all of our camera gear.

Safari Highlights

• We have private vehicles throughout the entire safari, with only 1 person per row of seating (except for the sharing spouses / partners - see details below).
• A very liberal amount of weight per person of up to 100 pounds. Bring as much gear as you can! Standard weight allowance is typically only 44 pounds by comparison, but we have secured extra seats on the inter-camp charters.
• This safari offers superb game viewing and photographic opportunities in some of the best areas in Southern Africa.
• This itinerary focuses on a real wildlife experience from the surroundings of your premier accommodations.
• The reserves you will visit offer an insight to the fantastic wildlife in in both of the prime areas we will visit.
• Game viewing is done in open 4x4 vehicles and you will be led by some of the leading guides in Botswana and South Africa.

Photo of the Day - Gal
ápagos Islands

I have been back from the Gal
ápagos Islands for a week now, and I just want to say a public 'Thank You' to all 19 people who spent an amazing week in the islands aboard our private ship. I could not have asked for a more perfect and cohesive group to travel with. Thank you thank you thank you!

I will be planning a trip for 2011!

May 2010 Gal
ápagos Islands travelers, plus our 2 outstanding naturalists

WGN-TV appearance today

Today I made an appearance on the syndicated news channel in Chicago, WGN-TV. The conversation was a bit hurried, as we knew that President Obama would be interrupting the broadcast for a speech, however we had a fun time chatting about my photography and some helpful photographic tips.

Andy Biggs WGN-TV appearance on May 27, 2010

Photo of the Day - Galapagos Islands

The Mother Ship

Canon 20D, 24-105mm f/4 L IS, 1/60 @ f/4, ISO 400

Santiago, Galapagos Islands

Photo of the Day - Galapagos Islands

Workshop participants (with happy smiles!) :-)

Canon 1DsMkII, 100-400mm, 1/2000 @ f/5.0, ISO 800

Mahale Mountains National Park (Part 3 of 3)

Today we did the same morning routine again, and again went out on our morning hike with the chimpanzees after breakfast. The hike was much longer today, and I think we were gone around 4 to 4.5 hours. In the whole scheme of what these hikes could be, it was certainly middle of the road. The forest behind our camp is quite dark with dappled light coming through, and this is very difficult for photography. One has to pay attention to every little light source, and hopefully one of those light sources can help illuminate a dark face.

I decided to take my D700 instead of my D300, primarily because I was wanting to shoot higher than ISO 1600. My shutter speeds from my first attempt weren't quite what I would want, so I took the risk that my subjects would be closer to me and I could get close to filling the frame at 200mm. Technically we are not allowed to be closer than 10 meters away, however the chimpanzees make the rules in the jungle and they would come close to us after we had stopped at the 10 meter point.

Here are some photos from the day:

Nikon D700, 70-200mm f/2.8 VR, 1/200 @ f/2.8, ISO 3200

Teddy

Nikon D700, 70-200mm f/2.8 VR, 1/1250 @ f/2.8, ISO 5000

The Thinker

Nikon D700, 70-200mm f/2.8 VR, 1/400 @ f/2.8, ISO 4000

A Walk In The Forest

Nikon D700, 70-200mm f/2.8 VR, 1/1000 @ f/2.8, ISO 5000

Nikon D700, 70-200mm f/2.8 VR, 1/320 @ f/2.8, ISO 6400

Nikon D700, 70-200mm f/2.8 VR, 1/800 @ f/2.8, ISO 6400

'Chimping' wild animals in the forest

Nikon D700, 70-200mm f/2.8 VR, 1/640 @ f/5, ISO 6400

Today's light was technically better than on our first hike with the chimpanzees, as it was more overcast. The challenge was that I easily lost at least 2 stops of light because of it. I was very very happy that I chose to bring my D700 instead of the D300, and when I go back to Mahale I will definitely take the best low light camera in my bag. I would rather have better pixels at the same ISO or be able to push it higher, even if it means cropping. Fewer pixels that are better will definitely trump the larger file sizes.

My time at Mahale was a magical one. I had amazing travelers/customers who I absolutely loved spending my time with, the setting along the shores of Lake Tanganyika were otherwordly, and at the top of my list was spending time with the largest free-living colony of chimpanzees on the planet. It isn't for everyone, however I am now hooked on photographing primates in the wild. Large primates. Chimpanzees have human qualities in many things that they do, and it is easy to bond with them (this only goes 1 way, as they don't really regard us when were were there).

Highly recommended. Greystoke Mahale is a location that isn't to be missed.