Customer Reviews

Tamron AF 1.4x Teleconverter for Canon Mount Lenses

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm using this teleconverter on a Canon 100-400L lens with my Canon 20D and 5D. The autofocus still functions just as the manufacturer claimed it should, and it even seems to focus just as fast as before. There is a detectable drop in sharpness however, which is to be expected with any teleconverter, especially when you're using a zoom lens. This TC would be an ideal choice for people with prime lenses who need autofocus intact (i.e. for birds in flight) and maybe for zoom lens owners who don't intend to make big enlargements or crop their prints heavily.

I was able to compare it with the more expensive Tamron 1.4x Pro and found absolutely no difference between the two in image quality. Autofocus doesn't even work with the Pro version when you've got a slower lens like mine (f/4.5-5.6) and Tamron even says there's no real advantage to the Pro TC unless you've got a fast 2.8 lens.

I only wish I owned a prime telephoto lens to check if it's worthy of a five star rating.

I opened the box and saw those descriptions were missing from the Amazon product descriptions:

From Tamron manual in the box -

"For best results, use the Tamron tele-converter with telephoto lenses ranging from 50mm to 135mm."

"When used on Digital SLR cameras: This teleconverter is not designed for digital use. We do not guarantee its performance when used on Digital SLR cameras."

I bought the Tamron 1.4x Teleconverter because I'd rather loose one f-stop, than two (which is what would have happened had I bought the 2x one). I use it mainly with a Canon 70-300 IS USM lens and on a sunny day it works great and auto-focuses with no problem at all.

However, I've found that on a heavy overcast day, or a rainy day, or in the early morning, or late evening, (anytime you have "low light" conditions) the Canon lens finds it harder to auto-focus with the 1.4x attached. But, by using the manual focus ring on the Canon lens, I can get a fairly sharp image. Usually, I'll just snap several pics as I slowly turn the manual focus ring on the lens. One of them will usually be in good focus.

In short, I'm enjoying the Tamron 1.4x Teleconverter, but more so on a sunny day.

i mainly ordered this for my canon 70-200L lens but noticed a loss of sharpness and not enough zoom for my needs.it did seem to work ok on the 28-105 with no auto focus problems, on both lenses.maybe the canon version is sharper but its a bit over priced.i may sell the 70-200 and get the 100-400L with image stabilize, when i can afford it.

I have been using the 1.4 teleconverter with a Tamron 75-300 lens that's pretty slow (f5.6 at 300), so I can only use manual focus. I have read that teleconverters will give images that are no better than what you would get by cropping and then enlarging with a regular telephoto. I am glad to say that I have found the images with this teleconverter to be much better than that. When I was cropping and enlarging images taken at 300 mm, I was able to see identifying marks on birds but the images themselves were really bad. The images with this teleconverter are much better, though it's true that I've only used it in daylight and with a fairly high ISO to get a decent shurtter speed. I find some of the images to be a bit soft around the edges, but am overall quite pleased with this relatively inexpensive solution to needing more reach to take pictures of birds and wildlife. Someday I hope to be able to afford a really good, really long telephoto. Until then, this teleconverter and the Tamron 75-300 together cost about one fourth the cost of the cheapest good long telephoto I've seen.

Am using this teleconverter on my Canon 40D with a 200L lens mostly for shots of wildlife. The auto focus works great, and I can tweak it manually if desired. With wildlife standing in their native habitat of brush and trees any drop off in sharpness has not been noticeable.
Have also tried a few long range shots of mountains with unusual lighting and cloud formations. The results have been great so far.

I've had this product for only 3 weeks. It has been used on two occasions to test its viability with my system, a Canon EOS 40D. I've used the teleconvertor with a 70-200 L Series Canon lens. Results have been very satisfactory with a total of approximately 50 photos that have been reviewed carefully with Photoshop Elements 6.0. The af feature works flawlessly with my lens, and my very sharp lens still produces excellent results, only with a longer focal distance. I'm very pleased at this point. I wanted a neutral extender with no coloration and got it - at a much better price than one from other sources.

The Tamron teleconverters will not work with Canon's EF-S lens line for cameras with APS-C sensors. The Canon lens will not mount on the teleconverter due to the changed mounting configuration (white dot) on these lenses. The Tamron teleconverter works as advertised with full frame (EF) lenses.

Tamron AF 1.4x Teleconverter for Canon Mount Lenses
Just received this item and took a few quick test shots using a Canon 60D. I intended to take this teleconverter on an extended trip to the UK and India, and wanted a little extra reach for the Tamron 28-300mm f3.5-6.3 IF Macro that will be my primary lens: this extender will take it to 420MM (also bringing a Canon EF-S 10-22MM f3.5-4.5 USM in case you're curious.)
I did a comparison using my Canon 100-400 f4.5-5.6 L IS as a base line (FYI-I didn't want to bring such a big and expensive piece of glass with me on this trip, as it is very obvious, and having already used the Tamron 28-300 on an earlier trip, I found it the perfect unobtrusive companion for handling 80% of my photo opportunities.)
The 100-400 zoom was set on auto-focus and image stabilized. Exposure was f6.3 1/320 sec., and ISO was set at 1000 (overcast day)
The Tamron 28-300 zoom was manually focused (I used Live View mode-magnified to get the sharpest focus that I could manage hand-held) and image stabilized. Exposure was f9.0 1/320, and ISO was set at 2000 so I could achieve a similar shutter speed.
Notwithstanding the pains I took to sharpen the manual focus with Live View (magnified), the Tamron still came out somewhat less sharp than the Canon 100-400 on autofocus. There was also a loss of contrast, although I expected that given the difference in quality of glass between the Canon and the two-piece Tamron set-up.
Concerning the auto-focus on the Tamron, I noticed that auto-focus worked, but only up to 100mm of zoom; after that, I had to manually focus. Since I will likely only be using this extender at full zoom extension, I will be manually focusing. Given the situations I expect to be doing that, I don't think it will be a problem.
Net, for the money, this looks like it will be an inexpensive, compact and useful solution to my problem.

If you're buying this, you likely have done a lot of research to make sure it will fit with your lenses, and do what you want. If you haven't done this research yet, you need to go read reviews and forum posts about it, and then make sure it will still do what you want. I tested this on a Canon 50D on an overcast day with my Canon 300mm f4L EF IS lens and my Tamron 24-135mm zoom...and it fit both lenses, and auto focus DID work with both as well. With less light coming in through the lens, it DID cause the auto focus to search a little harder on both lenses, and it couldn't always resolve...so consider that you really want to be out on a well lit day to expect quick and always accurate auto focus with this attached to your lenses. The less light, and the higher the aperature, the more difficult the auto focus seems to have. I photo birds, and if they are in flight, you'll need to be out on a bright day for the auto focus to be near fast enough. This, as your research should have told you by now is reported to work much better with f2.8 lenses.