On Thu, 7 Mar 2002 Peter Kotsinadelis wrote: EOS Here we go again.... > Chip Louie (edited): > > PS Dump the Tamron converter and get the real thing. > - --------------------------------------------------------- > Chip, > > If he is using the Tamron PRO SP 1.4x its every bit as > good as the 1.4x EF TC plus you can use it with any lens. > Something not possible with the Canon. > But, if he needs to feel good about having a Canon > label, he will have to spend twice as much to get > the same optical quality. > > Peter K
Hi Guys, The reasons I went with the SP instead of the EF converter were: 1. Price (in Australia the EF is just over 3 times (!!) the price of the SP). 2. Reports that it is similar in quality to the EF. 3. The ability to use it (when travelling light) with the 28-135 IS lens (or even with the 50/1.4). Yes it makes the 28-135 an f8 lens at the long end, but it still has *reasonable* AF and the IS still works. Sure it's not as good as either 70-200, but when hiking I often end up carrying one of my daughters as well as my EOS gear (sometimes it's both of them - not at the same time thankfully, but they line up for turns!). Now that they're getting older (and bigger) carrying them is a less frequent (but more tiring!!) event, so taking the longer lens as well is more realistic. In use I have no complaints about the Tamron SP. It works fine with little noticeable image degradation - except for a tendency for movement induced blurring at 280mm (my movement while holding it that is). The IS lens seems to help there :-) I don't have a EF 1.4 to compare it with, but the combo is certainly better than the xx-300 zooms I previously had - I was quite disappointed with their low contrast at 200mm+, but they were ok (actually quite good considering their price) at the short end. If I ever end up buying a 2x extender I'd seriously consider the EF II version as well as the Tamron SP. The Tamron SP 2x is reportedly on a par with the earlier version EF, but the Mk II is supposedly improved. The EF 2x is cheaper than the EF 1.4x, but the SP 2x is more expensive than the SP 1.4x (don't you just love consistency). So - the EF 2x is just over twice the price of the SP 2x here in Oz. At the moment however I'm happy with 280mm at the long end, so the purchase is a moot point anyway (just as well, as I've just shelled out for the 16-35 and the piggy bank is looking very lean). Thanks also to Malcolm Stewart for the advice about backpacks. For similar reasons I've recently made the move from the shoulder bags that I've used for the last 20 years to a backpack (LowePro) for travel and hiking, but I still use shoulder bags at other times. I can also recommend the LowePro backpack harness for occasional use with their shoulder bags - it's very comfortable, but a dedicated backpack is better still. Regards Gary This mail has passed through an insecure network. All enquires should be directed to the message author. * **** ******* *********************************************************** * For list instructions, including unsubscribe, see: * http://www.a1.nl/phomepag/markerink/eos_list.htm ***********************************************************
