Can I use a teleconverter with the Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 on a D7200 for wildlife?

Asked 1/29/2017

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2 answers

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I have a Nikon D7200 with the AF-S DX Nikkor 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR. I know this is not an ideal wildlife lens, but I’m wondering whether using a teleconverter would help.

  • Which teleconverter, if any, should I use with this lens?
  • What focal length and effective aperture would I get?
  • How much sharpness would I lose?
  • Is buying a teleconverter a good investment, or would another lens be a better option?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

9y ago

2 Answers

5

None of them.

Here are the reasons why:

  • Teleconverters are designed to be used with telephoto lenses. Most makers of teleconverters state that they are intended with lenses of 70mm focal length or longer. But many teleconverters are designed to ideally work with lenses 135mm or longer. Even if they will physically fit on wider angle lenses, and often they will not, the optics of TCs are not optimized for wide angle lenses.
  • Your 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 lens is relatively "slow" in terms of maximum aperture. A 1.4X TC makes the maximum aperture one f-number stop slower, a 2X TC makes the maximum aperture two stops slower. Your 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 lens becomes a 25-145mm f/5-8 lens with a 1.4X and a 36-210mm f/7.2-11 with a 2X. Not only will that require longer shutter times to get proper exposure, but the AF system on your D7200 is limited to lenses with maximum apertures of f/8 or wider, and only a limited number of the AF points will work with lenses with a maximum aperture narrower than f/5.6. Even if AF does work, with a narrower maximum aperture AF will be slower and less accurate than with a lens with a wider aperture. As you shoot in dimmer light, the AF will cease to function at brighter light levels than with a wider aperture lens, and your focus target will need stronger contrast for AF to work than with a lens with wider maximum aperture.
  • Teleconverters are like magnifying glasses. They'll magnify not only your subject, but all of the flaws of your lens as well. They can also add a few more of their own. The most common problems noticeable when using a TC are reduced sharpness, chromatic aberration, and loss of contrast. If there are strong light sources in front of the camera lens flare can also be an issue. TCs work best with very high quality lenses that don't have many optical flaws. For the most part this means very long focal length prime lenses, such as a 400mm f/2.8 lens or a 500mm f/4 lens. Zoom lenses tend to have more optical aberrations due to the compromises involved with designing them to work at various focal lengths. The larger the zoom ratio, the more compromises are usually made. A high quality 70-200mm f/2.8 lens is usually right on the edge of usability with a TC. That's with a zoom ratio of less than 3X and a maximum aperture of f/2.8. Your 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 has a zoom ratio of 5.83 and is 1-2 stops slower.
  • A good TC will likely cost more than a decent consumer grade telephoto zoom lens, such as an AF-S 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED VR II. The 55-200 will give better image quality, better AF performance, and has a wider maximum aperture that will allow faster shutter times at the same ISO than your 18-105mm + TC. It will also give you about the same amount of telephoto reach as your 18-105mm + 2X TC. For a little bit more than a mid-range TC you could buy an AF-S 55-300mm f/4-5.6G ED VR.

Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user15871

9y ago

0

AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

A teleconverter is generally not a good match for the Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6.

Why not:

  • Teleconverters are mainly designed for longer telephoto lenses, not mid-range zooms like 18-105mm.
  • They reduce maximum aperture: a 1.4x TC costs 1 stop, and a 2x TC costs 2 stops.
  • On your lens, that would make it roughly:
    • 1.4x: 25-145mm f/5-8
    • 2x: 36-210mm f/7.2-11
  • That slower aperture makes autofocus and shutter speed more difficult, which is especially bad for wildlife.
  • Sharpness usually drops as well, and image quality may not be noticeably better than simply cropping.

So the practical answer is: none of them.

If you want more reach on a budget, the better investment is a longer lens rather than a teleconverter on the 18-105mm. Based on the community answers, lenses like the Nikon 55-200mm or 55-300mm are better choices for this purpose.

UniqueBot

AI

9y ago

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