I own four Canon L lenses (135 /2, 70-200 /2.8, 300 /4 IS and 400 /2.8 II) that are compatible with the Canon 1.4x and 2.0x TC's, and I own both TC's for several years now. While I am very satisfied with the performance of the 1.4x I always felt that results with the 2.0x could be better. Subsequently, when the new Canon TC's were announced I was very eager to "upgrade" my old 2.0x TC to the new one, especially after reading that the new one feature a new optical design with superior optical performance (apart from better sealing, etc.). The new 1.4x TC did not interest me since it feature the same optical design than the original version.

About a week ago I received my new 2.0x II TC mail order from Adormama. I was about to sell my old 2.0x when I decided to do some tests. I used the 70-200 /2.8, 300 /4 and 400 /2.8 II for the test. After mounting a newspaper with fine print on a flat board, I mounted each lens on test in turn on a solid tripod and shoot the newspaper with my EOS 3 using MLU and cable release. I only tested the lenses wide open. First I shoot with the old TC and while the lens remained mounted on the tripod I replaced the TC with the new one and shoot the identical shot (after checking for accurate focus).

The results! What a disappointment. The old TC won hands down. In the case of all three lenses on test the newspaper print on the slides shot with the old TC were easy to read with a 8x loupe, while I had difficulty reading some of the fine print on slides shot with the new TC, especially in the corners. I really could not believe my eyes. Did I get a bad sample? What is the deal with Canon to market this "optically superior TC" while clearly it is not. My warning thus. Test before you "upgrade" to the new TC. I will be interested if someone can verify my findings. In the mean time anyone out there that want to buy a new Canon 2.0x II.

-- Nico Smit (Nico@anp.co.za), May 16, 2001

Answers

I reported similar results in the Nature Photography Forum.

I tested the new 2x II against the old 2x on a 300/4L, 500/4.5L and 70-200/4L. I found essentially no difference - in my case the new 2x II wasn't worse than the old 2x. In fact there may have been a very slight improvement with the 300/4L, but nothing you would notice in real world slides - I shot resolution test targets, MLU, heavy tripod, APX 25 B&W film.

It's possible the new 2x II is optimized for the new IS telephoto lenses. Since I don't own one or have access to one, I didn't test it with one!

-- Bob Atkins (bobatkins@hotmail.com), May 16, 2001.

Here's some more fuel for your fire. I bought an EF 2X last fall, just before the new version was released, to use with my 200/2.8L. Aside from being more critical to focus, I've found it to be a big improvement over the old Tamron 1.4 I had used previously. I haven't done any controlled tests, but my slides still have that "zing", as long as I can get the focus right. Unlike the Tamron, I haven't seen a hint of flare, or ghosting yet.

It is possible that your new converter is a lemon, or that the old samples were particularly good, but it appears that "upgrading" for the sake of buying something new, may not pay photographic dividends.

-- Geoff Doane (geoff_doane@cbc.ca), May 24, 2001.

I recall stories about photographers who have tested several EF teleconverters before finding a sharp one.

-- Ron Scheffler (ronscheffler@hotmail.com), May 25, 2001.

That hasn't been my experience. I compared several 2x TCs (the old one), since they were included with lenses I bought and I already had one. As far as I could tell they performed identically and I kept my original TC and sold the rest. I suppose they could all have been bad (or good), but it seems unlikely.

-- Bob Atkins (bobatkins@hotmail.com), May 26, 2001.

If you want, send it to me and I can compare it to my old 2X on my 300 2.8L IS :-)

-- Ken C (kenc@execpc.com), June 03, 2001.

Hmmm... I don't know if there's any connection but I had an original 2x which I used for about a month before it was stolen :-( In that month-long span, Canon had begun shipping the II version which I bought to replace the original. The first time I used it with my D30, I immediately noticed a HUGE difference in the AF speed. I went from objects close to far and back and it acted like it was in slow motion. Thinking that there was something wrong with it, I took it back to the store and we tried two more that they had in stock. Same results! I then tried a 1.4x II in the store and it performed like I remember the original 2x - very snappy. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? I have a call in to a Canon rep as well.

-- Doug Cornell (ubudoggy@yahoo.com), September 27, 2001.

Both the 1.4x and 2x TC are SUPPOSED to slow down AF. It's part of the system design. The 2x slows it down more than the 1.4x.

I don't know if the 2x II slows things down more than the old 2x did, but I didn't notice any significant difference when I tested them (on an EOS-3).

-- Bob Atkins (bobatkins@hotmail.com), September 27, 2001.