Almost all of the time I will be at the very end of the lens and yes as we all already know, 200mm is not long enough! (there is no such thing as long enough when it comes to focal length :biggrin As I'm still dreaming about the 300mm, I finally decided to try a TC for my 70-200 VR. My question is do any of you guys here used other brand than Nikon's? If yes, how is the performance, IQ, focusing speed etc? I'm in need of the TC very soon but the price of the Nikon's TC is way too much for me right now. So my only choice is the ones from Kenko which is the Pro 300 DG 1.4X. Any advise would be great and thanks guys
I do not know about the other brands, but my 70/200 loves the nikon 1.4, it is fairly fast on the focus.
If you can't afford a new Nikkor, then wait to find a good used TC-14 or TC-17. It's worth it. Or sell something to get the extra $200. Although I have heard good things about the Kenko, the one I had wouldn't auto focus and the build quality was very basic. The Nikkors are worth the money.
I have the Nikon 1.7 TC, which is quite good with the 70-200/VR (and the AF-S 300/f4). Later, when wanting less than 500mm of reach (and 1.5 stops light loss) with the 300/f4 + 1.7TC, instead of getting the Nikon 1.4 TC, I opted for the Kenko 1.4 Pro 300 DG that you are considering. My first copy was not satisfactory (softness in the corners and large play in the mount), so I returned to B&H. The second copy is as good as I could have expected. A nice bonus: you can use this TC with nearly every lens, as you don't have to worry about hitting the back element, unlike the Nikon, even if you performed the modification that allows its operation with non-AFS lenses. I think that there have been several versions of the Kenko TC over time, and the one you are considering is indeed well built, and at least one out of my 2 samples works fine.
My experience with the 70-200 and the 1.4 is the combination is very sharp (though to tell the TC was used), but AF acquisition is noticable slower when shooting action. That said, once focus is acquired, tracking seems fine.
FWIW, I too am beginning to lust for a 300 f/2.8 VR, but with pending lens annoucements, I'm going to wait.
I am using the kenlo pro 300 1.4 on my 80-400 VR and the 70-300 VR and can use on the (24-120 VR) (thats silly but fun) It does a good job for me. Would always recomend the Nikon first though. I have used the nikon 1.7 on the 70-200 VR when I had it. Worked great
