Teleconverters for Mirrorless Wildlife Photography | Nikon Z7 + 500mm f/5.6E PF & 300mm f/2.8G VR II

I tested my 300mm f/2.8 VR II and 500mm f/5.6 PF VR lenses with teleconverters on my Nikon Z7, and honestly, I was surprised by the results! I think teleconverters may have a larger role to play in my mirrorless wildlife photography...


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I made a video in 2019 comparing my Nikon 300mm f/2.8G VR II lens with the 1.4x and 2x teleconverters, and my 200-500mm f/5.6 zoom lens. Two questions stood out in the feedback to that review:
i) how would the new Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF lens measure up?
ii) how would the 300mm lens get along with the 1.7x teleconverter?
I've been promising this video for quite a while and part of the reason for the delay is that I didn't think the test would be interesting - I was sure the 300mm and 1.7x converter would be no match for a 500mm prime (I was right). However, more and more I'm coming to realise that many of the traditional issues of teleconverters are not relevant to mirrorless, so I thought I would try out both my wildlife lenses with my three teleconverters and see how they performed with my Z7... I was very surprised by some of the results, and will definitely be thinking differently about teleconverters in the future!

Disclaimer: Results are likely to vary a little between different camera bodies (or even copies of the same lenses etc.), so your mileage may vary. For the autofocus speed tests, I don’t have a DSLR camera body to test with, but assume that in good light the AF might be faster, but probably slower or unusable at higher maximum apertures.


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This is a long video, so here's some timecode to help you skip to the bits you're most interested in!

Introduction
00:00 Introduction
02:32 Overview: Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF VR
03:45 Overview: Nikon 300mm f/2.8G VR II
04:44 What is a Teleconverter
05:54 Teleconverters: Loss of Light
06:31 Teleconverters: DSLR Autofocus Issues
08:35 Teleconverters: Mirrorless is Different
10:14 Teleconverters: General Considerations
12:01 Teleconverters: Field Tests
Image Quality Results
16:47 Image Quality: 300mm f/2.8G VR II
17:33 Image Quality: 300mm f/2.8 + TC-14E III
17:53 Image Quality: 300mm f/2.8 + TC-17E II
18:14 Image Quality: 300mm f/2.8 + TC-20E III
18:40 Image Quality: 300mm f/2.8 + 1.7x vs. 500mm f/5.6
20:07 Image Quality: 500mm f/5.6E PF VR
20:41 Image Quality: 500mm f/5.6E PF VR + TC-14E III
21:15 Image Quality: 500mm f/5.6E PF VR + TC-17E II
21:46 Image Quality: 500mm f/5.6E PF VR + TC-20E III
22:31 Image Quality: Cropping vs. Scaling
24:25 Stacking Teleconverters?
Autofocus Speed
25:46 Autofocus Speed with Teleconverters
Conclusions and Discussion
28:10 General Conclusions
29:57Test Conditions vs. Real Life Usage
32:02 Teleconverters for Video
32:41 The Faff Factor - is it worth it?
33:30 Using Teleconverters at Longer Distances
34:26 Final Thoughts
38:07 Sample Real-World Images


Equipment I used in this video (full list available here: http://www.tapiopix.com/Equipment.html)

** Nikon AF-S 300mm f/2.8G VR II Lens: https://www.nikon.co.uk

** Nikon AF-S 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR Lens: https://www.nikon.co.uk

** Nikon Teleconverter TC14e III: https://www.nikon.co.uk

** Nikon Teleconverter TC17e II: https://www.nikon.co.uk

** Nikon Teleconverter TC20e III: https://www.nikon.co.uk

Nikon Z7 FX Mirrorless Camera: https://www.nikon.co.uk
Nikon Z6 FX Mirrorless Camera: http://tinyurl.com/4t495d33
Nikon FTZ Adapter: https://www.nikon.co.uk
Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 S Lens: http://tinyurl.com/yckzsr4v
Nikon WR-R10/WR-T10/WR-A10 Wireless Remote System: http://tinyurl.com/3bev4vzp
Gitzo GT3543LS Systematic Carbon Tripod: http://tinyurl.com/25zewb9t
Really Right Stuff BH-55 Head: https://reallyrightstuff.com/
Lume Cube Panel Go LED Light: http://tinyurl.com/98ru7zs2
UURig Vlog Selfie Flip Screen Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/4maf2se8
Røde VideoMicro Mic: http://tinyurl.com/yzbsat7c

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#fieldtesting #mirrorless #teleconverters #gearreview #nikonz7 #wildlifephotography #behindthescenes