Canon EF 1.4X II Extender Telephoto Accessory

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by: Mark Elliott Smith (Lima, Peru)
on: Tuesday, 19-October-2010

Great optics, works seamlessly even in AF mode. But doesnt work with all lenses: I use it with a Canon 70-200mm L f/2.8 IS, but it wont attach to the 24-105 L f/4.0 IS. As a comparison, I also have a Vivitar 2x which works with any lens, has very good optics, but does not always AF well.

by: Aware (Bay Area, California usa)
on: Saturday, 25-September-2010

On my 70-200 F4L IS, the images were, if anything, quite as good as without it - shows the merit of a manufacturer matched teleconverter, even with a used unit, as purchased here.

by: Guillermo Quintana (United States)
on: Sunday, 25-July-2010

This can be a great addition to the Canon 70-200 F4L regardless if you have the IS model or not. The combination is great despite the higher F-Stop at 5.6, which makes very little difference outdoors as long as you have a clear forecast.

by: MiRSD (United States)
on: Friday, 4-June-2010

I picked this up a little over a year ago - looking to turn my 70-200 lens into something a bit longer. I had high hopes after reading the other reviews -- I have to say though, after using it Im kind of disappointed!

The 70-200L lens is one of my sharpest lenses - even at 100% its loaded with detail. I figured there would be some detail loss with the 1.4x, but accepted it in exchange for the increase. Unfortunately, I found the detail loss to be so significant that I just dont use the 1.4x anymore (if needed, I get better results by simply cropping or enlarging in photoshop). So much detail is lost and the autofocus also takes a hit. For the price and the fact it only works with professional lenses, I expected more. My 70-300 (non-L) lens provided better results than the 70-200L with the extender.

The 3rd party models, which I hear arent as good, at least work with all lenses and come in at a much lower price point.

by: K. Tran (San Jose, CA USA)
on: Monday, 24-May-2010

I used this 1.4X TC for 135mm f/2L lens. The lens + 1.4X TC becomes a 189mm f/2.8 lens, which is excellent! Raw Image quality out of the camera is already very good, only slightly softer than the 135mm raw image. Post processing easily corrects that softness.

Hightly recommended!

by: Eugene Polaski (Erie, PA USA)
on: Wednesday, 12-May-2010

Product arrived very timely and was well packed. It was in excellent condition and worked well.

by: M. Fischetti (Port Saint Lucie Fl)
on: Sunday, 11-April-2010

I bought this extender in hopes of liting my load when out in the feild. I shoot a Canon 40D and a XTI as my backup. My thought was attach this baby to the back of my canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS and extend my range and leave the Canon EF100-400L F/4.5 5.6IS at home when not out birding. Auto focus and IS work well on the 2.8 but as you know it does not work for the F/4.5 Well here it is, image quality suffers to much for my taste. For a guy like me this must be used when on a tripod. I dont believe this is the soulution for a serious photographer or even serious amiture. take the 300 bucks and stash it away for a lens with a longer focal legth and buy what you want the first time. Just my two cents!

by: Kamakea (Honolulu,Hawaii)
on: Sunday, 4-April-2010

I expected some reduction in resolution but clarity is very satisfactory for my needs 4 x 6/ 5 x 7 reprduction and I get much needed extra reach for birds. Very pleased and happy with my purchase. Results are in line with customers reviews of this equipment.

by: Mr. Paul Willis (Alsace, France)
on: Monday, 29-March-2010

This extender is very good, when attached to my 70-200 the results were sharper with it!
Well worth the money.

by: Jennifer Richards (Allen Park, MI USA)
on: Sunday, 28-March-2010

this is a great add on to my growing collection of equipment. The price is great, the quality is great, built rugged, worth the money.

by: PJ (GTA, Canada)
on: Monday, 11-January-2010

Like:

- Smaller than the Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye USM.
- Solid build.
- Dust and water resistant.
- Drawstring pouch.
- Minor resolution loss on my 70-200/4L IS and 300/2.8L IS (nothing to worry about).
- Maintains autofocus with lenses f/4.0 and faster (this is important to remember).
- Maintains optical image stabilization.



Dislike:

- Extender Cap II (front cap) cannot be used as a camera body cap.

by: Michael A. Duvernois (Minneapolis, MN United States)
on: Friday, 6-November-2009

Dont do it! It sounds just plausible on paper, with a 1D professional camera itll even autofocus using the central focal sensor (on lesser bodies it wont autofocus unless you tape up some contacts to fool the camera into trying, then itll sometimes autofocus), and the 1.4x generally doesnt soften images too much. But no. Its not a usable combination on either professional or amateur bodies, the image quality just takes too much of a hit.

The four stars are for using this well built tool with a more appropriate lens, the 70-200mm f/2.8 or any of the telephoto primes. But there are lots of reviews telling you that.

by: Paul S. Embley (Williamsburg, VA)
on: Tuesday, 6-October-2009

Im using this with a 70-200 2.8L IS USM lens and it works great. Fast focusing, great alternative to another lens. The only downside is the loss of an f-stop.

by: Casual Guru (Minneapolis, MN)
on: Saturday, 3-October-2009

You want reach? You want weather sealing? Here it is. Too bad there is some obvious image degradation. This is my second copy. It seems to work better (that is to say I dont notice the IQ difference as much) than the first one, however, so I am pleased about that. Its an inexpensive and cost-effective way to gain a little reach and it only costs one stop of light, so for the most part, its worth it. Recommended.

by: Craig Dickson (San Mateo, CA USA)
on: Thursday, 1-October-2009

The EF 1.4x II Extender is a cost-effective and highly portable way to add some extra reach to your telephoto lenses. One thing to note right up front, though, since apparently some shoppers seem not to realize it, is that it is not compatible with all lenses. It is, in fact, compatible only with a specific set of Canon EF lenses: L-series primes of 135mm or longer, and the 70-200mm L and 100-400mm L zooms. It will not work with other lenses, and in particular it will not work with third-party lenses from Sigma, Tamron, or other manufacturers. It is not a completely generic adapter; a lens must be designed to fit it.

The Extender increases the focal length of a compatible lens by 1.4x, and correspondingly decreases the lenss maximum effective aperture by one stop. A 70-200mm f/2.8 lens thus becomes a 98-280mm f/4 lens, and a 400mm f/5.6 lens becomes a 560mm f/8 lens. Extended focal length and effective aperture are correctly reported to the camera by the Extender. Auto-focus may become somewhat slower (though with my 70-200mm f/2.8 I have not noticed it), and if maximum aperture falls below f/5.6, auto-focus may be unable to function. (This is not the fault of the Extender, but a limitation of most of Canons camera bodies, which require an aperture of f/5.6 or better for auto-focus.)

Image quality is quite good, though one should not expect a lens with the Extender to deliver performance comparable to a longer lens. Canons 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 lens, for example, will deliver a somewhat sharper image at the same focal length and aperture than the Extender with a 70-200 f/2.8 lens (though you may have to go pixel-peeping, or print your photos out at an extremely large size, to see the difference). The standard I apply is that the Extender should do a better job than simply shooting without the Extender and using software to crop and blow up the image. By this measure, it succeeds, though if focus is less than perfect the difference is easily lost.

Along with the increase in focal length comes a corresponding reduction in depth of field, which for some applications will be just as important as the increased magnification. A 200mm lens with the Extender has the same depth of field as a 280mm lens at the same aperture.

So, to sum up, while the Extender wont deliver results quite as good as longer lenses would, it does a good job, and its a lot less expensive than adding to your lens collection, and much more portable than carrying around more lenses. Plus, if you ever do buy longer lenses (assuming that theyre Canon L-series), the Extender will work with them too!

by: E. Lombard (Pueblo, CO USA)
on: Tuesday, 22-September-2009

This Canon EF 1.4X II Extender is a must when using the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens. It really complaints the lens and adds to the zoom when needing to get close. Im really happy I purchase the Extender when I purchased the new lens. You wont be disappointed at all.

by: J. Wong (Northridge,Calif.)
on: Sunday, 13-September-2009

I have this canon extender and works wonder if you want longer range. Most of the extender is use for the white lens except for the 28-300mm f4.5-5.6 L lens. Highly recommend this teleconverter.

by: mhnstr (Christchurch, New Zealand)
on: Saturday, 22-August-2009

I purchased the 1.4 extender to increase the range of my Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens. I checked the Canon website to ensure compatibility and read the reviews regarding image quality before purchasing. What I missed was that the extender increases the lens to an f/8 which exceeds the aperture opening auto focus requirement of my Canon 40D. Therefore, to use the 1.4 extender, you must rely on manual focus with the 100-400mm lens. There are a number of websites out there which discuss how to tape the contacts of the extender to allow the autofocus to work. The results of the modification are mixed with some people claiming that the performance of the lens can be affected.

The loss of autofocus may be an acceptable compromise when compared to the cost of purchasing the longer Canon lenses. However, it is something to be aware of before purchasing the 1.4 extender for the 100-400mm lens.

by: R. Ho (USA)
on: Monday, 27-July-2009

From what I heard all the 3rd party extenders are quite close to this Canon, I just want to stick with Canon though the price is a bit high. The IQ is more or less the same without the extender, which is a good thing, the only bad thing is that AF is out with my 400mm f5.6L, which makes shooting fast moving things a bit difficult.

by: James L. Hicks (lithonia ga)
on: Monday, 13-July-2009

This is a great addition to the accessories bag if you need that little
extra mm for distant photos.I experienced too much pq loss to be totally
convinced this was what I really needed. I am better served with a longer
lens for those keeper shots, I have gotten spoiled with my [L] lens
quality pictures.This may work fine on some lens with good light and
short to moderate distances, this is a quality product and may work well
for some people.