How the teleconverter works. Teleconverter Soligor AF PRO 1.4x review

Teleconverter - This is a special device that helps to increase the focal length of the lens.

Teleconverter - article from Radozhiva

Teleconverter - article from Radozhiva

In fact, the focal length of the lens is a physical quantity and it simply cannot be increased. But due to the fact that the lens with the converter behaves in a completely different way, it is convenient to say that the tele-converter changes the focal length of the lens.

What is a teleconverter for?

The answer is very simple - to increase the focal length of the lens. For example, you have a 55-200mm telephoto lens, and desperately need a stronger zoom. There are two ways out: either buy a new lens or buy a converter. With a teleconverter with a magnification of 2x, you can achieve a focal length of 400mm with the same lens. It is very comfortable. Teleconverter can be used with any lens. If you have several lenses, then you can increase the focal length of any of them.

How does the teleconverter work?

The teleconverter actually enlarges the image from the center of the picture (from the center of the lens). This results in a visible increase in focal length. Teleconverter mounted between camera and lens. Usually, I install the tele-converter on the lens, and then install the resulting bundle on the camera. On the one hand, the teleconverter has exactly the same bayonet connector as the camera. On the other hand, it has exactly the same mounting connector as the lens.

The difference in focal length is 1.4 times. The place from which they filmed is one and the same.

The difference in focal length is 1.4 times. The place from which they were filming is the same.

Magnification factor

Teleconverters are mainly characterized by a magnification factor. For example, the most common teleconverters have a multiplicity of 1.4X, 2X, 3X. This means that when using a lens with a converter, the focal length of such a bundle will increase 1.4 or 2 or 3 times, depending on the tele-converter.

Example of use

If I use a tele-converter with a magnification of 1.4x and with a 50-200mm lens, the result is a lens with a focal length of 70-280mm. And if you use a 2X converter with a 70-300mm lens, you get a 140-600mm lens. And 600mm is already really impressive.

Attention, keep in mind that by increasing the focal length, you thereby decrease the value of the relative aperture. If the teleconverter has a magnification of 2x, then in addition to doubling the focal length of the lens, the aperture value will increase by 2 times. And attention, the catch is that the difference in power will not change 2 times, but 2 stops - that is, 4 times.

Therefore, a teleconverter with a magnification of 1.4x reduces aperture 2 times (Exposition ceteris paribus falls by 1 stop). A teleconverter with a magnification of 2X reduces aperture 4 times (Exposition ceteris paribus falls by 2 stops). A teleconverter in 3X reduces aperture 9 times (Exposition decreases by more than 3 feet). It turns out that with a teleconverter with a power of 3x, the focal length increases by 3 times, but aperture falls 9 times. The aperture drop is equal to the square of the teleconverter multiplicity, for example, with a multiplicity of 1.7X aperture decrease by 1.7 * 1.7 = 2,89 times (actually 3 times, because 1.7 approximately corresponds to the square root of 3). Such subtle tricks can rarely be found anywhere, because carefully consider the loss of aperture when buying a teleconverter.

I will explain in more detail. We wanted to shoot the moon, so we took a 2x tele-converter and hooked it onto a 300mm F5.6 lens, after which the lens turned into a 600mm F11.2. If we shot the moon at 300mm F5.6 and at any one ISO value, let them have a shutter speed of 1 / 80s. Shooting the same moon at 600mm F11.2, we get an exposure of 1 / 20s. Difference in shutter speed is 4 times, and the difference in focal length is 2 times. And for a long focal length it is very critical and we cannot do without a tripod. About the importance excerpts at large focal lengths, you can read in the article how take pictures with hand.

View of the lens with a dressed teleconverter

View of the lens with the installed teleconverter

Types of Teleconverters

Converters for cameras are mainly of two types - with autofocus support and without autofocus support... Both types can be used equally well for photographing. The only thing is that converters without autofocus support will not allow you to get autofocus with your lens. Nikon has another type of converters that support the communication of the camera with the lens, but for lenses with autofocus but without a focus motor, they cannot provide autofocus. Also, good teleconverters write in EXIF image data the increased value of the focal length and aperture, because the camera understands that the aperture is quite small when using the tele-converter, and the focal length is large.

More nuances

There are converters that are installed in front of the lens as an attachment. Most often, such converters make a wider viewing angle. Often used on camcorders. Converters can be installed on the lens sequentially and you can achieve a super huge increase in focal length. Also, many cameras cannot focus properly with apertures below 5.6 - read about this in the specifications of your camera. For instance, Nikon D4 can focus on apertures up to 8.0

Useful Tips

A good teleconverter is quite expensive, because it can change the focal lengths of all your lenses. Sometimes it’s better to buy a good telephoto lens right away than a cheap telephoto lens and a cheap teleconverter. Typically, a teleconverter enhances the disadvantages of lenses, especially you need to watch to enhance aberration and sharpening. Also, the teleconverter can change the settings white balance - change the color range that the lens gives. But, at the same time, the teleconverter can save the image from the lens from excessive distortion.

How much the teleconverter affects the quality of the photo, let's look at a real example of a teleconverter

Teleconverter Soligor AF PRO tele-converter AFd 1.4x N / AFd review

Teleconverter Soligor AF PRO tele-converter AFd 1.4x review

Teleconverter Soligor AF PRO tele-converter AFd 1.4x review

Let us now familiarize ourselves with the work of the tele-converter in practice, and at the same time draw for ourselves several conclusions about the quality of my Soligor 1.4X AF / D APO. This teleconverter showed good picture quality when working with different lenses.

Two test shots on Soligor tele-converter 1.4x

Two test shots on Soligor tele-converter 1.4x

Below are the crop (cuttings) of the parts of the image in the proportions of 1 to 1, so that you can judge the sharpness and HA.

Crops of pictures for the test of the tele-converter

Crops of pictures for the test of the tele-converter

The test was carried out with a tripod, focusing through Live View, several test shots were taken and the best ones were chosen to achieve the most objective output. The shooting was done using the remote control ML-L3... As you can see, the sharpness has suffered. Also, keep in mind that when you change the focal length, the composition of the frame and metering change. exposure will be different, because automation can show a decrease excerpts not exactly 2 times, but more or less.

Virtue This teleconverter is the fact that with it it will focus almost all lenses without a built-in AF motor, and all lenses with a built-in AF-S motor. I used this teleconverter with a non-motorized lens without any problems Nikon 50mm F1.8D AF. The teleconverter has practically no effect on the focusing speed, just like on the correct focusing. The teleconverter also transfers the desired value from the camera through the diaphragm jump lever. The converter very easily becomes and is removed from the lens and camera, well assembled, small and weighty.

The disadvantage This teleconverter is not the ability to multiply the focal length and aperture by 1.4 to transfer them to the camera, because the camera sees that it simply has a native lens installed without any converter. Also, the lenses give off a slightly yellow color, this distorts the native color rendition of the lens.

Here are the prices for the 'native' teleconverters:

All prices on TC-20E

Conclusions

Teleconverter - very useful tool for the photographerthat needs long focal lengths. You need to remember, in addition to increasing the focal length of any lens, the teleconverter reduces aperture the lens. Teleconverter Soligor 1.4X AFD APO (from this review) allows you to automatically focus on any Nikon AF and AF-S lens and has good performance.

If you have a question - ask in the comments. Thanks for attention. Arkady Shapoval.

Add a comment: Vladimir

 

 

Comments: 87, on the topic: How the teleconverter works. Teleconverter Soligor AF PRO 1.4x review

  • Vitaliy Donetsk

    Good afternoon! I can say so beginner but wanting to take good pictures.
    I have a canon eos 50d camera and a CANON EF 70-200 mm f / 4.0L USM lens.
    So, I took off a little with this lens and realized that I did not have enough zoom.
    And the question is: should I buy this extender EF 1.4x III or immediately get another lens like Canon EF 100-400 f4.5-5.6 L IS USM
    Thanks in advance for your reply.

    • Arkady Shapoval

      For the future - in any case, you will have to take a "longer" lens. But whether a longer lens is needed at all - in practice, a teleconverter with 200-400 4 will be able to tell.

  • Roma

    I’m taking pictures at Zenith 11, I want to buy a teleconverter for shopping mall 2
    Have you met him? what reviews can you give about it?

    • Arkady Shapoval

      I have not met.

  • Leo

    You forgot another type of tele-converter.
    One of a kind mass-produced.
    “SMC Pentax-F 1.7x AF Adapter” it is able to transform any non-autofocus lens into autofocus. By itself, it combines all the advantages and disadvantages of a teleconverter.
    A literal flight 5-6 years ago cost 100 bucks, now it’s even about $ 500 with it.

    • ozls

      Not the only one! There was another Nikon TC-16A

  • steady-rock

    Is it possible to use two converters? for example, on a fotik zenith em with a 44m lens? and what will come of it ??) thanks

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Yes you can. It will turn out a system with two tele converters.

    • Vitaliy Polum'yaniy

      Not a good effect! Converters do not multiply fokusna vіdstan parallel to one of one!

      Buy more beautiful MC K-1 2x M42x1 virobnitstva Arsenal - 200 UAH.

      Можу продати: +38(063)788-50-45

      • Arkady Shapoval

        Are you sure there will be no effect? If you put a teleconverter on the lens, and one more on it, then the focal length will be multiplied by the first and second.

        • Antonina

          And the aperture will fall by how much !!! Is it worth using two converters if the aperture ratio is minimal?

          • Arkady Shapoval

            How much the aperture will fall is described in detail in the article. When using two converters, the aperture drops twice.

    • Denis

      By the way, not all teleconverters support the sequential operation of several converters. Therefore, we must look in a particular case. For example, Kenko 3x will not work with another teleconverter.

  • Konstantin

    Hello. And give a protest? :-))

    • Arkady Shapoval

      It's not my.

  • Valery

    Hello.
    In the instruction manual for the D90 with 18-105mm f / 3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S DX Nikkor lens, the lens specifications section says: “The following accessories must not be used: teleconverters (all types),… ..”
    Does it really mean that this lens really cannot be used with a teleconverter, or “The teleconverter can be used with any lens.”

    • Arkady Shapoval

      It is impossible. The ban is associated with the focusing system, it does not support apertures lower than 5.6, and when using the body of the converter, it will be smaller for any.

  • Valery

    Thanks for the answer and for the site. A lot of useful information.
    Correctly, I realized that in conjunction with the Helios81N and D90 MCs, will the Teleconverter work?

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Yes, it will.

  • Novel

    If you put the K-37 135X converter on Jupiter 1A (2mm), then what is the focal length, 270mm or about 400mm? Canon 450D

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Real - 270mm, EGF for 450D will be about 430mm

  • Alexander

    Good day. I am new to photography and recently became the owner of the Nikon D3100 camera, and for a start I got two lenses (more precisely one, the second Kit) Nikkor 18-55 and 55-200. I carefully read all your articles (thanks for such a great site), learned a lot of new things, and experiment with photography.
    But there is a small misunderstanding about the zoom. As a former owner of Canon SX 5,10,20,30, I could not understand about dancing with a zoom on a DSLR - is there a Nikkor zoom lens with AF-S and VR budget level, magnification 30x-40x? Scrolling through the list of zoom lenses, I was quite unpleasantly surprised by the price policy! Why is the cost of zoom lenses comparable to the cost of 10-20 new Canon SX30s? The manufacturing technology is almost the same, the stabilization system is also! They have a case made of gold, and the optics are made of diamond?
    There is a task - photographs of the Moon and a desire to stay with lenses from the Nikkor series with AF-S VR!
    I would like to get advice on solving this problem:
    1. What lens (if any) is available from the Nikkor series with AF-S VR comparable to the Canon SX30 (30x-35x) zoom?
    2. Will the teleconverter help? Which one is suitable for working with Nikkor? so that the autofocus and stabilization functions work?

    Thank you in advance for your advice.

    P / S / I would very much like to see an article from you, for a beginner, about the explanation about the zoom on the DSLRs in comparison with the digital soap dishes, since when switching from a digital to a mirror, newcomers get confused about the zoom.

    • Arkady Shapoval

      There are no lenses with a high zoom factor of about 30X for SLR cameras. The price depends on the dimensions of the lens and the amount of optical glass spent on the lens, so a telephoto, for example, such - https://radojuva.com.ua/2012/11/obzor-nikon-if-ed-af-300mm-2-8/ weighing 2.7 kg will be equal to 5 PowerShot SX30. About zoom and its magnification is written here https://radojuva.com.ua/2012/04/kind-of-lens/

    • Victor

      I myself am a beginner, but I will try to help others in this matter. Experienced photographers smartly operate with focal lengths and viewing angles, but you will not hear a word about the real increase in the lens of a SLR camera. So, approximately the increase can be obtained by EGF divided by 50, i.e. for example: there is a Tamron lens of 70-300 mm, for a crop of 1,5 (Nikon) EGF (effective focal length) at the long end will be 1,5 * 300 = 450 mm. divided by 50 we get a 9x increase, if with a 2x teleconverter, we get an EGF of 900, and an increase of 18x, but with a loss of aperture of 2 times, something like that.

      • Arkady Shapoval

        You are wrong here. With a teleconverter 2x aperture is lost 4 times.

        • Victor

          I agree, I made a mistake with 2x 4 times, but this does not change the essence of the answer for calculating the increase.

      • Paul

        Victor, dear. The magnification of zoom lenses is considered very simple. You need to divide the maximum focal length by the minimum. This has nothing to do with approaching. Since the angle of the lens on a full frame is close to the human angle of view, it corresponds approximately to a focal length of 50mm on a full frame, or about 35mm on a crop. The approximation can be considered only after 50mm FF on full frame or 35mm on crop. That is, if the lens is 17-55, then it does not bring it closer to the focal length of 35mm at all ... At 17 it simply “removes”, at 20mm it simply does not “remove” so much. And only up to 35mm does it not remove or zoom in - it “shows approximately the same thing that we see without it. In total, its maximum approximation is… 55/35 = 1.57. If we take the 70-300mm lens mentioned above, then at the long end on the full frame we get an approximation of 6 (300/50 = 6), and on the crop… 8.57 (300/35 = 8.57).

    • twin

      about the moon. I recently photographed it at 18-200. it was small, but it turned out pretty well. if you wait a month, it will be three times more ... bliznets.photogrammer.com.ua shot without a tripod, leaning against the window frame.

      • anonym

        Where are the photos? What, you are not allowed to attach a photo so that we look. (And then they’ll write, and think what is there?) It’s direct, like a fisherman’s story about fishing! Photos must be attached in confirmation of their words. This applies to ALL! :-)

  • Victor

    I really liked your site, a lot of interesting and a lot of informative, thanks for your work!

  • Sergei

    Unfortunately, there are no bright thoughts, but now I know what a converter is and why it is needed. I got enlightened, thank you very much!

  • Denis

    For a long time I chose a fix on Nikon 5100, but I was constantly tormented by doubts: 35mm or 50mm? 35mm for an apartment itself, but at corporate parties it was necessary to poke the lens right in the face. 50mm at home even climb the wall ... And here it is! Teleconverter :) Now I have a Nikkor 35mm f1.8 and Kenko x 1,7 (the golden mean between x1,4 and x2 IMHO) with which my fix turns into 60mm. Recommend. Now a question for connoisseurs: how can you calculate how much the aperture drops with a x1,7 converter (crop camera, crop lens)? And what is your opinion about such a bundle?

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Aperture drops 1,7 * 1,7 = 2,89 times (3 times), aperture does not depend on whether it is a lens on a crop, or on a full frame. Often there is a wrong impression due to the fact that the number F is recounted for depth of field.

      • Maksim

        Good afternoon!
        Let me disagree with your, Arkady, calculation of the magnitude of the fall in the luminosity in this case. You yourself wrote in the article that with a 3x converter the aperture drops by 8 times. And 8 is 2 to the power of 3, but not 3 * 3!
        Thus, with a 1,7x converter, the aperture will fall by a factor of 2 equal to 1,7 to a power of 3,25 = XNUMX times!
        And with conv. 1,4x - 2,65 times - correct in the article!
        If I'm wrong, throw me stones)

  • Denis

    Those. aperture with the converter will not be f1,8? and f5,2? Right? Can this value be used for sharpening a picture? Do I need to set the aperture in the menu f5,2 or by default f1,8 will be equal to f5,2? The camera does not see the converter and with it shows that aperture 1,8

  • aidyn

    Arkady, tell me please
    acquired a Samyang 500 mirror lens with a Tmount-Nikon adapter
    which converter is more suitable to use 1 lens 2 adapter nikon 3 converter or 1 lens 2 converter 3 adapter

  • Anatoly

    Kindly tell me. I need a teleconverter. But, one of the conditions is the ability to autofocus. From motor lenses I have only 24-70 F / 2.8 The rest without a motor. I wanted to buy a Nikon TC-17E II, but I can’t find the exact information whether it will work with non-motorized fixes (35mm 2.0, 85mm 1.4) and from 80-200 2.8. Thanks.

  • Boris

    I was thinking of buying a tele-converter for my nikkor 18-105 lens so as not to buy a more expensive nikkor 55-300 lens. But, having looked at your comparative pictures and seeing how much the teleconverter worsens sharpness, I decided to abandon this venture. Thank you for the article.

    • anonym

      I watched test shots from my native Nikonov converters. The quality is very good, but they are two to three times more expensive than analogues.

  • Hleb

    And how does the teleconverter affect bokeh (blurring the background) with the same aperture value on the lens at the same scale (in the frame / on the matrix, the object occupies the same part of the frame, for example, a full-length portrait frame). On the one hand, we increase focus (more bokeh), on the other, the aperture decreases after conversion (less bokeh). If a practical comparison, a photo of one object on one scale? I want to take 24-70 IS f / 4 on the canon only to increase bokeh, does it make sense?

  • anonym

    Good day! Please tell me if there are converters that reduce the output image. Those. Desirable from a lens for a full-frame camera lens for crop. Thanks, Regards, Rinat.

  • the material moisture meter shows you the

    Hello. 2 teleconverters on canon 100-400 will do? some say yes, others no?

  • Alexander Yarygin

    By the way, there is a moment, for Canon there is no converter for EF-S lenses. Only EF. At least I looked through all the ebay and other resources and did not find the converter.

  • Kiba

    On Chinese sites there are teleconverters for $ 10, but without support for auto-functions in general, i.e. without contacts, in this case you need a lens with completely manual settings or you need to stick a lever in the converter to open the diaphragm (it turns out completely closed with such a converter).
    Are there any feedback or thoughts about using such converters?

    • Kiba

      Oh, and the next article is about this, the question is being removed, thanks)))

  • Oleg

    Everything is right about teleconverters. I will only add that the most unpleasant thing besides a drop in the aperture ratio and a slower shutter speed, inevitably there is a loss of image quality. Any lens is, first of all, “a thing in itself”, a self-sufficient tool. Any attempts to attach some kind of additive to it lead to a deterioration in its optical properties, because initially it is not intended for hybridization with anything. In any case, it is better to immediately have optics of a longer "property" than to lengthen it with converters

  • Vladimir

    Happy New Year to all of you!
    I am a beginner in photography, so there are many more questions than answers. I purchased a lot from eBay, including a Fujica Teleconverter 2x for X-Fujinon mount lenses a week ago. The product description said that everything was working fine, so no questions arose out of ignorance. But when I took the teleconverter in hand, I caught the sound of something dangling in it. Indeed, one of the 2 levers (which with a long stroke) freely moved with your finger from side to side, in contrast to the second (bent with the letter "G" with a short stroke), which has a spring. I was confused, not knowing if this was normal or not. But I thought to myself that both levers should have springs. By the way, what each of the levers is responsible for. Professionals, I hope for your help. There is a teleconverter image for clarity, but I don't know how to add it.

  • Vladimir

    So far, I figured out what the levers are responsible for: a lever with a short stroke - a "jump rope", with a long stroke - a diaphragm. If not right, correct.

  • twin

    I still wanted to know about the converter, which is wound on top of the lens. It is much cheaper. but in quality?

    • a guest

      Can I have examples of the names of those? :)

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