What teleconverter should I buy for my tamron SP90 macro ?

-- Claus Sörensen (clausveis@privat.utfors.se), May 24, 2002

Answers

I've never seen any satisfactory proof that a particular brand of lens requires its own TC; all TCs do exactly the same thing. Some do it better than others. You won't go wrong with the FD 2X-B converter.

-- Alan Davenport (w7apd@email.com), May 26, 2002.

Yep, they're all the same. Except for their differences.

The good part of the above answer was the recommendation of Canon's original teleconverters, which are highly regarded.

Claus, what you want to buy next is made of paper, not glass. Get a copy of John Shaw's "Closeups in Nature" (Amphoto). That book will save you a great deal of money as you try to figure out what purchases to make in the world of macro/closeup equipment.

If you're planning on using the TC + Tamron combination for such high- magnification, Shaw's book can advise you well about the circumstances under which it will perform best.

If, though, you plan to use the Tamron as a general purpose 90mm lens (perfectly reasonable) with a 2x (or 1.4x) TC attached, you might find the combination a bit dark. I expect this is obvious to you.

-- Robert Segal (robertsegal@juno.com), May 27, 2002.

Thanks for you answer, I´ve allready read most of John Shaws books which have supplied me with a lot of information. My "problem" isn't really what kind of equipment combination I need since I've already tried out which ones that works for me. I´ve used a mc6 teleconverter with ok results, unfortunately this converter broke down so now I´ll need a new one. The canon original 2b is probaly great, but the price is still a bit too high for me. So what I want to know is: What brand of 3rd party teleconverter should I buy ? Maybe the tamron SP converter ?

-- Claus Sörensen (clausveis@privat.utfors.se), May 28, 2002.

Claus;

According to information I have read from reputable photographers/writers, the quality of the final picture depends more upon the quality of the "Prime Lens" than it does the converter. Apparently, the quality of teleconverters is much more important when using long telephoto lenses. When using them for macro or more realistically, close-focusing, the teleconverters basically just multiply the size of the image. If the original image is poor, for whatever reason, it gets worse when multiplied through a teleconverter, no matter how good the converter is. So, how good a teleconverter do you really need? Experimentation is probably the only answer. Recently, I purchased a macro focusing Vivitar teleconverter, which I expect should prove to be an excellent addition to my system, BUT, I have not tested it yet and can't confirm any of my suspicions as to how well it will perform. And I will be using a Canon 50mm Macro lens as my prime lens. The Vivitar (& others)are available on E-bay for reasonable prices.

Also, John Shaw's book "Closeups in Nature" is excellent and a great guide to go by. Another book I have come across that I believe to be one of the best I have read concerning close-up & macro photography is Lester Lefkowitz's "The Manual of Close-Up Photography" ISBN: 0-8174-2130-0 (Softbound)-Copyright 1979 (3rd printing 1982)amphoto. I purchased mine through E-bay, but you may be able to find it in local libraries. Very comprehensive and detailed on almost every aspect of close-up & macro photography!

Good luck with your endeavour!

MP

-- Malcolm Peake (mjpeake@shaw.ca), June 01, 2002.

I have used the Vivitar 2X Macro and have found it to be almost as good as the Canon 2X-B. I have my only complaint with it, that you have to be careful not the extend the focusing ring when mounting or dismounting it. other then that minor inconvenice I have found the three examples of this 2X to be very high quality and producing very high quality images when used properly.

-- Mark wahlster (awahlster@aol.com), June 02, 2002.