Is the TC-20EIII Worth It?

Now...for the past 6 months, I've been vascillating between lenses and teleconverters and I've been wondering if buying a teleconverter for the lens that I currently have (the AF-S VRII 70-200mm f/2.8 G ED) is worth the money expended on it. In determining the value of the TC-20EIII on the lens, I've undertaken the following test on this particular teleconverter to where I would be using the TC-20EIII the most - Green Timbers Urban Forest Park. The TC-20EIII attached to my 70-200mm f/2.8 would get me the equivalent focal length of a 140-400mm f/5.6 as I would lose the equivalent of two stops.

The Park Test - had to mimic the TC-20EIII on the lens by % increase of 200%


The Great Blue Heron Subject at 200mm


The Great Blue Heron Subject at 400mm (equiv w/% tweaking)

The Store Test - with the actual TC-20EIII attached to the 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII.


@200mm


@400mm (the subject being the blue line on the door)

Ultimately there is not much increase in the size of far-away objects with the TC-20EIII and there is a noticeable drop-off in image quality especially when used indoors as in the mall-test. The only other alternative is to get the 300mm f/2.8 VRII but that is quite a number of years away.


300mm range (shot with my 70-300mm f/4-5.6)


600mm equivalent range (TC-20EIII on 300mm f/2.8 equivalent (digi-tweaked))

It's all fine well and good if you're standing in the middle of a field to use your legs and get closer to the wildlife in question, but when you've got a skittish heron or other subject and the barrier in between you and getting closer is a lake...well, kinetic zoom is just out of luck. When you are stuck on the shore of a lake, a longer super-telephoto lens is your best bet for getting distance. However, if you haven't got the $$$ to cough up at least $10,000 for a 400mm, 500mm, or 600mm lens, a teleconverter may be your best friend, then you may end up having to crop to get the image you want.

For now, I think that the best solution for my distance problem is to get the TC-20EIII and use it in conjunction with trying to get as close as possible to the subject.