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Purchased a decent tele kit recently: Nikkor AF-S 300mm, TC-14E II, Kirk NC-300 collar and Markins M20 ballhead - for now the Manfrotto 055PROB stix had better suffice 'cos I did pretty well dispatching the contents of my bank account

Only had it all for a bit over week, so haven't had much chance to put it through its paces, but so far I'm very happy with results in my inexperienced hands. The sharpness, contrast and AF speed with the 1.4x tele-converter is all I had expected and read about i.e. superb. I had spent a long time thinking about Sigma options, but couldn't go past the performance, bokeh and piece of mind of the Nikon prime, especially wide-open which is where I'll be shooting most of the time. The 1.4x TC renders 420mm f/5.6 DX or 630mm FX/film equivalent.

I've never used a ballhead, the Markins M20 is revelation - decided to 'buy it once, buy it right',smooth, easy to use and simplicity of one main knob for friction/tension looked to suit me more than Kirk BH-1 model.
Mark





TC-14E II attached for 420mm f/5.6:


TC-14E II attached for 420mm f/5.6:


100% crop TC-14E II @ 420mm

Hi monyx - very nice kit: AF-S 300mm f/4 + TC-14EII + Kirk NC-300 replacement collar + M20. The lens is excellent value for money, and produces very nice boheh.

It will probably take you up to 3 weeks of use to familiarize yourself with the new setup, so be patient and the results will come through.

fozzie

Mark,

I've got a similar combo and really like it. Enjoy.

André

agree, i have the 300/4 afs with the 1.7x tc and i LOVE it. works fantastic and is tack sharp once you get the hang of it. i didnt bother with the replacement tripod colour, for my purposes the stock one is good enough.

Rooz wrote:agree, i have the 300/4 afs with the 1.7x tc and i LOVE it. works fantastic and is tack sharp once you get the hang of it. i didnt bother with the replacement tripod colour, for my purposes the stock one is good enough.

I was apprehensive paying AUD417 (delivered) for only a 1.4x...agonized over it vs the 1.7 but I ended up at the AF-S prime after trying TC201 + 80-200 f/2.8D, then bought a 80-400VR...sold it a little underhwelmed. Sharpness and AF performance were paramount, in the end I bore in mind the price of a sharp 420mm that the 1.4 was getting me.

Yeah, some of the nice extras sure bumped me up in price, but as they say lens only as good as it's support:


Was considering a Sigma 120-300 f/2.8 but I was uneasy about reported Sigma focus probs, resale etc.

Mark

i may end up getting a collar one day but i rarely use the lens at slow shutter speeds so the collar isn't that much of a priority for me anyway. (besides, the standard collar is not great but nowhere near as bad as i had read about before i bough the lens).

i hand hold alot or have it mounted to a monopod for some support. the 1.4 is definitely a bit sharper than the 1.7 but the 1.7 is still sharp enough for me. if i could be bothered i'd sharpen these to get the best out of em but i'm pretty lazy. lol

some samples with the 300 and 1.7.

Although the TC-14E II almost lives on my 300, I devoted some time to testing the TC201 2x this weekend, pleasantly surprised at the results once the tele is stopped down 1 or 2 stops, need a bit light though as the 2x loses 2-stops of light.
600mm f5.6 (effective f11) 1/500 ISO200



100% crop: