Lenses & TCs Test @ 300mm + x1.7 + x1.4 etc.

Recent debates on the virtues or otherwise of certain lense & TC combinations had me resolve to at least check what I have to hand - I need to know, when I go birding in particular, what is going to give me the best results (even though I don't shoot on a tripod very often). This was not designed to be a scientifically perfect test - only to give me real world results under real world conditions.

Methodology
K5 on a tripod + ball head, Manual Exposure (1/250, f8, ISO 200), timer : 2 second delay, SR off, AWB, AF-S, Spot Focus, Centre Weighted Metering. AF or MF (when AF unable to lock focus) : Shot taken on camera focus confirmation (beep).
2 shots per lense per combination - best shot selected, inferior shot deleted.
Subject was a broken white plant pot with blue floral design placed at 15 metres (ca. 16.5 yards or 50 feet).
Note - the camera will not display the exact f stop for some lenses with TCs attached (when the minimum exceeds f so you can calculate the exact stop yourselves from the camera max f stop + TCs. I don't find this particularly relevant for two reasons :
a) you can't reduce this minimum f stop for the lense + TC combination
b) I wouldn't be using faster lenses at those smaller apertures.

Post Processing
Auto Curves all shots to make viewing easier for darker shots.
Resizing for upload to online storage (1250 x 1080) + Forum compression.

Conditions
Bright but overcast. Sun directly behind the tripod (early afternoon). No wind. Sheltered garden. Dog was not permitted to chew, bury or otherwise molest the photographic equipment. A cup of tea was consumer after 1 hour. No toilet breaks.

Lenses Used.
S150 = Sigma 50-150 / f2.8 (this was the lense currently on the camera so I added it to the test anyway) @ 150mm
F210 = Pentax F 70-210 / f4 - f5.6 @210
DA55300 = Pentax DA 55-300 / f4 - f5.8 @300
*300 = Pentax DA*300 / f4
T500 = Tamron BB 500 Mirror / f8
SMC300 = SMC Takumar 300 / f4 - NB. No TC shots taken as I didn't want to risk the adapter getting stuck on one of them ! Also note an error in exposure settings (mistakenly f6.3 instead of f.

Teleconverters Used.
P17 = Pentax AFA x1.7
T14 = Tamron Pz x1.4

Combinations Tested.
S150 (no TC) (+T14) (+P17) - NB. Stacked TCs unresponsive so no shot taken.
F210 (no TC) (+T14) (+P17) (T14+P17)
DA55300 (no TC) (+T14) (+P17) (T14+P17) - NB. Focus lock achieved with P17 only 1 in 5 attempts. MF used for T14+P17 as no focus lock could be achieved in AF.
*300 (no TC) (+T14) (+P17) (T14+P17)
T500 (no TC) (+T14) (+P17) - NB. Stacked TCs - focus lock unresponsive so no shot taken.
Various 300mm @ 100%
Various 500mm @ 100%
Various 700mm @ 100%

Draw your own conclusions !
____________________________

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Test-Shots/Sigma-50-15028-300mm-Test/1246308211_pKGnc-XL.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Test-Shots/Pentax-F70-210-ALL/1246308284_c5fUq-XL.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Test-Shots/Pentax-DA55-300-ALL/1246307900_VvWPA-XL.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Test-Shots/Pentax-DA300-ALL/1246307774_8ZEuP-XL.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Test-Shots/Tamron-BB-500-ALL/1246308630_SaQQ3-XL.jpg[/IMG]

@300mm

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Test-Shots/Various-300mm-100/1246308616_puxqe-XL.jpg[/IMG]

@500mm

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Test-Shots/Various-500mm-100/1246308864_ikDWD-XL.jpg[/IMG]

@700mm

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Test-Shots/Various-700mm-100-2/1246308959_pbDXP-XL.jpg[/IMG]

Small point; it is method, not methodology. We are not the 51st state!

Thanks for taking the trouble to do the work and post the results.

Some surprises.

It has rekindled my lust for a DA*300

Pentax 50-135 SDM + Pentax AF1.7TC, hand held K7.




and again




Not too sure why your AF1.7 shots look off.

Best regards

Thanks for the comparison! It's clear to me I need either a DA 300 or a Tamron tc. I'm guessing the DA won't fit the budget though.

Regards

that 1.7 af does play well with the 100 mm macro....

Thank you Oggy !

Can't blame you Hefty - IMO it's the best, and most versatile, lense I own !

K10D - yes the 50-135 is renown for it's excellent IQ with a TC installed. With the x1.7 I suppose you must take into consideration that these are 100% crops and the x1.7 is delivering almost twice the added magnification of the x1.4. When viewed at normal size the majority of these are more than acceptable. The Tamron x1.4 is a great little TC but so is the AFA x1.7.

Thank you Sam !

The AFA x1.7 seems to play well with almost all lenses Don !

Just out of interest, did u cover the eye piece ??

Good point.

Actually I forgot .... though as it was exactly the same for all shots then it shouldn't influence the results as far as a comparison is concerned.

Really interesting and thank you. It is still very difficult decision and several on here including me have asked very similar questions. I do think that in most instances the most expensive option gives the best results (not surprisingly!). For what it's worth I have had some fabulous results with my 55-300mm DAL but it can be horrendously slow and embarrassingly noisy to focus as it hunts up and down. (Add that to the K-x shutter and focus bleep and you could get thrown out the hide!) This applies to low contrast as well as low light conditions. I use the Tamron mirror in bright light and have had some excellent results for £100 but you can't really just walk around and point and shoot! I think I would prefer the 300mm DA* plus TC but you are up to a grand then so will probably go for the bargain priced 150-500 Sigma which seems to be best value. For special trips lasting three days or more I think I will hire the DA*300 from SRS !
Dave
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcweather/
Birds mostly with 55-300 DAL
K-x, DAL 55-300mm,various Adaptall lenses, TeleTakumar 200mm (a fantastic little £25 lens!), Raynox 150 plus various other bits and pieces.

I know exactly what you mean Dave re. the occasional noisy hunting from the 55-300 (LoL at the 'thrown out of the hide jest). I was still impressed with the lense for the money (though may be the best 'value for money' lense is the Tamron 70-300). However when you want better quality I'm afraid there is a steep price curve.

The Tamron BB 500 mirror just has to be the best value 500mm out there ... if you are happy with MF and the restrictions that can bring, it just depends on your intended use.

I've seen some really great shots from the 150-500 and it seems like a superb birding lense !

The old F 70-210 appears to do really well, I always new it to be a good lens but never tried it with a TC.

John

Great set of images for IQ evaluation. Thank you very much for your time effort and trouble.

I reckon the Pentax 300 Da will be the one for me.

This lens surprises me John. I got it in a package I bought on EBay and although I've hardly used it I can't bring myself to sell it .. yet. Sharp, fast AF but ugly as sin and noisy. Still an excellent lens though.