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At 21:17 5/5/98 -0400, Bob Macdonald wrote: > >After reading all of the rent and informative thread on teleconverters I >hurried off to my local Nikon dealer to see about one for my 80-200 F2.8. >The dealer informed me that indeed Nikon made such an animal but he was >reluctant to reccomend it due to the fact that it does not operate on AF. I >told him that real railroad photographers operate in manual mode only. His >next comment was that the 1.4 teleconverter lists for $695.00. Although I >have yet to call the boys on 42nd street that figure is reason enough >to [p]ause for thought. A recent B&H mailing lists the TC-14B for $539.95/$629.95 (gray market/ USA warranty). I suspect that the actual Nikon-suggested retail price for the TC-14B is actually higher than the $695 your retailer quoted. I purchased one of these a while back, primarily to give a little more reach to my 300mm 2.8 and have used it a few times with both the 300mm and the 80-200. It is extremely sharp (when the atmospheric conditions are right). When I've compared images shot with only the prime lens and ones with the prime lense and the TC, I cannot tell any diffeences in sharpness. Why do I use the TC with the 80-200, when I have the 300mm? Because the 300mm is a monster and is not alway convenient to carry around, whereas the TC takes up very little space in my main photo bag and costs me only one stop in light loss. As with all long lenses, atmospheric conditions and absolute camera stability (tripod, anyone?) are an important factor in getting the best results. Unfortunately, the best 300mm f2.8 will do you little good in shooting a distant subject through the typically southern US summer haze. As with all photo equipment, you have to make the call as to whether this item is important enough to you to invest the money. I do photography (not just of railroads) as a business, so it's important, to have an edge in equipment that will let me produce images that others cannot. I owned a 500mm f8 mirror lens on two different occasions. And though (1) its reach was nice for certain situations and (2) it was a sharp enough lens, it just didn't work well enough for most of the photography that I did. It was too slow for many of the lighting conditions and too difficult to focus on fast-moving subjects. (I actually do use the 300mm in autofocus mode more often than not when shooting wide open and with moving subjects.) Your mileage may vary. -- Ernest -- Ernest H. Robl, Durham,NC,USA Stock photography; photojournalism; writing Specializing in transportation and travel subjects for more than 25 years. mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone +1 (919) 286-3845 Fax +1 (919) 286-1696 http://www.robl.w1.com "I'd rather be on the train." At =NS milepost H-52. Intermodal Container FAQ: http://www.robl.w1.com/Transport/intermod.htm ======================================================= -> SPORRS: 'Serious Photographers Of Railroad Related Subjects' -> Web Site: http://www.anet-stl.com/acphotog/sporrs/ -> Message © 1998 SPORRS® - All Rights Reserved =======================================================
