Tamron 200-500mm lens & 1.4x extender

[gurtch]

I just bought a used 200-500 Tamron on ebay for a very reasonable price, in Nikon mount. Thinking I may need a little more reach for wading birds in our area, I considered a Tamron SP 1.4x extender. Concerned with compatibility, I emailed Tamron, to check compatibility. To my amazement, and surprise, I was told Tamron extenders "were not for use with digital cameras". They referred me to a technical bullitin that said image quality would be extremely degraded, and there would possibly be communication errors. Their SP series are said to be Pro -Level, so i was surprised. I was aware I would loose auto focus, but I am amazed Tamron is letting the extender market slip away. Anyone using an extender with this specific lens? Which extender?
Thanks in advance
Dave

 

[D&A]

Hi Dave,

Putting aside for the moment whether Tamron is correct in suggesting not to use their 1.4x with any digital camera...I would suspect that due to the optical nature of the wide range Tamron 200-500 f5.6 zoom, that even if the 1.4x was OK to use, that optically, the results might be fair at best. This is simply an educated guess...but knowing what files from the 200-500 are like (have examined quite a few raw images taken with it.

As for the Tamron 1,4x in general, I am truly surprised by Tamron's statement as I've used that exact teleconverter with their 90mm f2.8 lens and it was for the most part fine. Maybe they feel some of the internal glass surfaces aren't coated (or multicaoted) and thus believe there is a good chance for deterioration with use on a sensor based camera. Anyhow, if you did order one say from B&H, you could always test it out on the lens and see whether you are pleased with the results or not, and have the otpion to return it. Just some personal thoughts.

Dave (D&A)

 

[gurtch]

Thanks, Dave, I can always count on you to supply well thought out and accurate info. Here is a copy and paste from Tamron; hard to believe. I have used Canon 1DS, 1DSII, 1DSIII, and 500 mm f4 IS, so I know what really top notch files look like, as you do. In another forum, looking for advice, I, in my, niaevate, i recievd some pretty rude beating up. Thank you again, you are a gentleman.
Dave
Hi Dave,
Thanks for contacting Tamron! Teleconverters are not compatible with digital lenses/cameras. You may experience extreme image quality or communication issues. *For more information, please see this service update: Teleconverter Service Updates

If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to contact me!


Regards,

Pamela Follett
Customer Service Supervisor
Tamron USA, Inc

 

[D&A]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the kind words and posting the coorispondence from Tamron. I can understand if they were concerned about proper electronic communicatiion between the teleconverter and recent DSLR, since they haven't updated this converter as far as I know in many years and those using certain Canon DSLR's along with this converter and some of Tamron lenses have reported issues with communication. This has not been the case in so far as I know with Nikon. Maybe they just issued this as a blanket statement (regarding communication) in general, not wanting to break it down camera by camera (and manufacturer by manufacturer).

As for optical degredation, as I mentioned, this converter worked extremely well with the Tamron 90mm f2.8 macro and optically was impressive but as I previously mentioned, I think the optical quality we both expect might not be there with the 200-500 and 1.4x...but one never knows till they try. If you do any testing, let us know what you observe. Thanks!

Dave (D&A)