Customer Reviews

Canon EF 1.4X II Extender Telephoto Accessory

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The 1.4X II teleconverter is a modest update to Canon's earlier 1.4X TC. The mark II allows this extender to be stacked with another of Canon's extenders (either another 1.4X II or the 2X II) without having to separate the two with an extension tube (although the loss of sharpness from stacking extenders may not be acceptable to you). Otherwise, the quality of the newer 1.4X II is supposed to be very similar to the older model, which I've never owned.

The 1.4X II is a great way to extend the reach of compatible lenses. Note that not every Canon lens is compatible with this extender. The following is from Canon's Web site: "This tele extender can be used with fixed focal length lenses 135mm and longer (except the 135mm f/2.8 Softfocus lens), and the EF 70-200 f/2.8L, 70-200 f/2.8L IS, 70-200 f/4.0L, and 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS zoom lenses."

I use it frequently with my Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS, which turns it into a 98-280mm zoom. The extra reach it adds is not tremendous, but it's very welcome when I just need a little more than what the lens alone can give me.

I've found no appreciable loss in sharpness from using the 1.4X. Of course, any extender is going to reduce sharpness to some degree, but with normal examination, I can't distinguish photos taken with the 70-200mm that use the 1.4X from those that don't. The fact that the 70-200mm f/2.8L is a very sharp lens to begin with helps in this department.

Using the 1.4X decreases your lens' widest aperture 'capability' by one stop. With some lenses, that can be more significant than it appears on the surface; when using a non-pro Canon body (such as my 20D) the lens must have a minimum wide-open aperture 'capability' of f/5.6 for autofocus to work. The lens doesn't have to be set at f/5.6, it just has to be 'capable' of at least f/5.6 after adjusting for the one stop loss from the 1.4X. That means with some camera/lens combinations, adding the 1.4X will force you to focus all of your shots manually. (Note: There is a known 'fix' for this that restores autofocus. I've never needed to try it, but it involves taping over some connector pins on the 1.4X to fool the camera body. Proceed with caution if you try this, and do a Google search to learn how to do it right before attempting it.)

The 1.4X also reduces focus speed very slightly. I've only used it on my 70-200mm IS, which has Canon's USM and is a fast-focusing lens to begin with, but the decrease in speed is so slight I really don't notice it. And it does not affect IS (Image Stabilization) at all.

The 1.4X is built to the quality of Canon's L-series lenses, which means that it is weather sealed and will keep a Canon pro body and L-series lens weather sealed when used with them.

If you're considering this extender, you're probably also considering Canon's 2X II teleconverter. I do not own the 2X but did a lot of research on it before ultimately deciding to go with the 1.4X. The 2X decreases your aperture by two stops, and is reported to have a noticable decrease in sharpness--more than some photographers are willing to live with. On the other hand, I've never read a review that complained about the loss of sharpness from the 1.4X.

If you've already invested a lot of money in telephoto lenses, the 1.4X II is a relatively inexpensive way to get even more reach (and value) out of your investment while adding only a modest amount of bulk to your camera bag. Highly recommended.

I have both the 1.4x and 2x teleconverters from Canon. Neither, despite what people say, produces an image that just as sharp as the original lens. But images through the 2x are noticably bad from even a casual inspection while images through the 1.4x hold up very well. Carefully controlled test shots are the easiest way to really see the problems in this converter. But for the most part the 1.4x won't be a liability in sharpness.

The 1.4x loses one stop of light. So while this does work on a 100mm-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS L lens, I wouldn't reccommend it. Save this for the 200mm f/2.8 L, and the 300mm f/2.8 IS L, and any bigger primes you have.

I have used the 1.4x II extender for over a year. It gives me amazing detail with my 70-200L f/4 lens on a 20D. I use it mostly for wildlife and butterflies. Contrast is good with colors that pop. When shooting on a sunny day the shutter speeds are still quick with the f/5.6 and the background is blurred beautifully. In shade areas and low light a tripod is a must! There hasn't been any sacrifice in subject detail. I can see individual hairs on butterfly bodies even when shooting wide open. This is a great way to get closer without paying a significant amount for a supertelephoto lens.

I've used the Canon 1.4x tele-extender for about six months with my Rebel XTi and two lenses - a f/4.0 70-200mm (non-IS) and the f/4.0 300mm IS. Most of my shots are of kid soccer and baseball.

For these applications, the 1.4x tele-extender is a great accessory. Because of the extra reach, you can get more frame-filling shots. The loss of image sharpness is minimal and tends to be offset by the fact that you can doing less cropping. Since both lenses are f/4.0, they maintain their autofocus capabilities. If there's any slowdown in focusing speed, it's not obvious.

I took the same equipment on a two week safari in Tanazania. Without the extender I'd have had a much harder time capturing decent wildlife shots. The f/4.0 300mm + 1.4x gave me an effective f/5.6 420mm lens with image stabilization. That was about the minimum for many shots (a leopard with its kill in a tree 120 yards away, for example). Even then, I often wished for more length, but to get it you have to move up to serious telephoto lenses that are much more expensive (and much heavier).

As other reviewers have pointed out, there are many lenses - including Canon lenses - that are not compatible with Canon tele-extenders. Check the list of compatible lenses carefully before you buy. 3rd party teleconverters from Tamron and Kenko are reputedly less finicky, although image quality may not be quite as good.

Many photo equipment reviewers (e.g. Bob Atkins) claim that teleconverters work better with primes than with telephotos. That may account for the complaints about the 1.4x with the Canon 100-400mm telephoto. It works fine with my 70-200mm, but that's generally thought to be a sharper lens than the 100-400mm.

Overall, the 1.4x teleconverter is a relatively inexpensive way to extend the range of your Canon telephoto lenses without significant loss of image quality.

I'm using my new Canon EF 1.4X II teleconverter with my Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM Lens - and so far, so good. (I've only had it for a few weeks). The 100-400mm will not auto-focus with the 1.4x attached to it. Yes, there are ways to tape 3 pins on the lens or teleconverter to override the unit so that it will try to auto-focus, but I've decided NOT to do that. Canon blocked that for a purpose. I've read that you can over-tax (burn out, though I don't know if that's the actual issue) the USM motor since it will hunt back and forth a lot in low light situations if you tape the pins.. so again, I just decided the 100-400mm was too expensive to try that option. Overall, the quality of the lens combination is still really clear (I'm using it with a Canon 30D). I am getting used to manually focusing this combination, but it really helps to use a monopod or a tripod when shotting with this set at full zoom.

I was able to use the Canon EF 1.4X II Extender for some nature photography recently in Wyoming. I shot elk in low light conditions so I was shooting pretty much wide open. The extender did not compromise the inherent sharpness of the lens at all. You could see the hairs on the animals heads. It's fantastic.

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.

Make sure to check the compatibility charts to verify that your lenses will work with this before buying it since only a handful of L series lenses are compatible. If you do already have one or more of these lenses though this is a nice addition. The AF only works with lenses f/4 and faster on most camera bodies. You do also give up a little image quality by putting this between your lens and camera body, but the extra reach is really nice.

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 lens's 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 Canon's 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. Canon's 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 won't deliver results quite as good as longer lenses would, it does a good job, and it's 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 they're Canon L-series), the Extender will work with them too!

I have the 2x converter but found this to be a bit soft and certainly slow on autofocus with both my 100-400 and 70-200f2.8 lenses. A fellow enthusiast told me to try this converter and I am so glad I took his advice. I used it with my 70-200 at the local airshow and was amazed at some of the shots I got even into the sun [you dont get an option usually at an airshow] The focussing was fast and accurate. Follow the instructions though about attaching this as regards sequence and switch the camera power off whilst adding it otherwise I have found the auto focus doesnt pick up so well if you add it with power on.