1DSIII with Canon 100-400 + TC

sjprg · #1 10-09-2008, 01:45 AM

I've been searching the forums for info on using the 100-400 with TC on the 1DSIII, haven't found anything. Does anyone here use this combination and have any comments? I've been using my Bigma which works well on a tripod, but I can't hold it steady enough for handheld. I'm hoping the IS on the 100-400 will help with the motion blur.

Johan_Elzenga · #2 10-09-2008, 11:08 AM

I haven't used that combination, but I would think that the optical quality is not on par with the demands of the 1DsIII...

Noel_Carboni · #3 10-09-2008, 03:18 PM

I don't have the photosite sizes on hand right now, but I can tell you this: The 100-400 without teleconverter will produce fairly sharp results with a 1.6x body (which have smaller photosites than most of the full frame cameras) provided you pull back the zoom from the maximum focal length a bit. 300mm seems the ideal focal length for the lens.

Most 100-400s get a little soft right near and at 400mm, and the teleconverter just makes this worse. I have tried mine with and without 1.4x and upsampling the "without" images digitally produces just as good results as using the TC.

Also, I've seen some variation between copies with regard to spherical aberration... Some - like mine - make nice soft-edged bokeh in the out-of-focus background while foreground bokeh are hard-edged. I find this to be just what I want, as out-of-focus foregrounds usually aren't of much use in telephotography.

That said, I have a friend who has a 100-400 that's just the opposite: His background bokeh are hard edged with dark centers, which frankly I find distracting.

If you do choose a 100-400, try before you buy: I suggest you shoot through it and critically evaluate the images. Post 'em here if you'd like and we'll all have a look.

By the way, I do a LOT of handheld photography with my 100-400. I have fairly steady hands, but the IS in this thing really works.

-Noel

sjprg · #4 10-09-2008, 08:18 PM

I put an image in my photo gallery. Not quite sure how to link to it.

Noel_Carboni · #5 10-09-2008, 10:53 PM

This appears to be the photo you wanted to link. There's a line you can copy that's shown by the gallery view and paste in here...

I have to assume this image is a downsized copy of the out-of-camera image...

YOW! Besides being horribly backfocused, that lens is returning a SERIOUS amount of chromatic aberration out at the edges. I imagine you can adjust the focus point using the camera's menus, but that CA is greater than what I see. Of course, I use a 1.6x sensor, and so I'm not looking out that far from the image circle center. That CA should be correctable for the most part in Adobe Camera Raw.

-Noel

sjprg · #6 10-10-2008, 02:06 AM

I just added another. Now how do I delete the first one?

Johan_Elzenga · #7 10-10-2008, 01:20 PM

I'd say you are proving my point quite nicely. There is nothing really sharp, not even in the very centre. I would find this combo totally unacceptable for a camera that costed me 8000 dollars...