Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x AF Teleconverter

Comments about Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x AF Teleconverter:

I carry a Nikon F5 and use two lenses bought from B&H Photo. One is a Nikon AF28-300VRED and the other a Nikon AFVR80-400ED. I use the Kenko 1.4 Teleplus Pro 300 teleconverter for wildlife images. I needed the extra reach to capture images last month in Yellowstone National Park. Moose, bear, bison, elk and wolves images were taken using the Nikon AFVR80-400ED and the Kenko teleconverter. I am extemely pleased with the results.

Comments about Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x AF Teleconverter:

AF works good on my Nikon AF-S 70-300 mm 1:4.5-5.6

my camera is a Nikon d90
regards
Kees Nix
The Netherlands

Comments about Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x AF Teleconverter:

Unit is suppose to still allow your telephoto lens Auto Focus to function as normal, but my experience is that it only works sometimes and is very slow to perform.

Comments about Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x AF Teleconverter:

I rented a Nikon 1.4 teleconverter - used it with my 70-200 Nikon lens and loved it - I then read about the Kenko 1.4 and decided to give it a try. Bought it from B&H - rcvd it ASAP - frankly I think it works just as well as the Nikon - and am able to use it with more lenses than I could use the Nikon teleconverter.
I have used it with several Nikon lenses - no probs with autofocus at all.

Comments about Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x AF Teleconverter:

I used it with my D-300 & 70-200 lens. When I put the teleconverter on my camera the Low Battery comes on even with 2 fully charged batteries. So I returned it for a new one & now I have the same problem again.

Comments about Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x AF Teleconverter:

Using the camera on a tripod or hand holding it gave my 70-300 lens the reach I wanted. However I was Very disappointed that the auto focus does not work in the camera when using the telecoverter with my AF lens. I didn't find out till I couldn't autofocus and then read it in the insert instructions which came with it.

I will still use it but must manual focus which us o.k. With stationary subjects.

Comments about Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x AF Teleconverter:

I've seen some threads on various forums discussing Kenko teleconverters and Nikkor DX 17-55 f/2.8 on a FX body. Consensus was inconclusive so I wanted to see for myself. The Nikon teleconverters are incompatible with this lens.

I ordered a Kenko 1.4x teleplus PRO 300 DGX teleconverter from B&H. Came in just a few days through Purolator ground.

A very quick 10 shot test shows that this product performs as advertised. The build quality is nice and solid, metal body and lens flanges. Nice fit and finish to the quality plastic barrel, nice even glass coatings, a very professional looking product.

Mounted my 17-55 f/2.8 AFS DX on my D700 and had a go.

When that lens is mounted directly to the d700 there is vignetting at all focal lengths and all apertures, and especially so with the petal lens hood.

With the teleconverter:

The mounted lens feels solid and secure, no wiggles.
The lens does not vignette at any aperture or focal length, even with the lens hood.
The teleconverter has contacts for lens and body and it has a chip in it. All camera and lens functions work just fine.

The camera now reports this lens as having a f/4.0 max aperture and will meter as such. You don't have to fool the meter or use exposure compensation to account for the reduced 1 stop aperture. Exif data shows the increased length and reduced aperture. A shot at max aperture and lens set to 55 mm gets reported in the exif as f4 and 77 mm. However the lens model gets reported as 17-55 f/2.8.

Image quality does not seem to be adversely affected, but I didn't do any 400% pixel peeping. At 100% crop this teleconcerter is essentially transparent, to me anyway.

It also works just fine with 18-77 variable aperture AFS DX.

I tried it with my 70-200 f/2.8 VR-I (not the new VR-II), all works just fine, as above, but with a pleasant little surprise. The corner sharpness of the image is a little better with the teleconverter. This lens now has the same great performance on FX as it did on my DX bodies but with a one stop loss of maximum aperture, supposedly because I am now only using the central area of the projected image. Don't read more into this than there is. The 70-200 VR-I on FX is a fantastic lens, teleconverter or not. If you have this lens and a new FX body don't go selling it off at a discount because some pixel peeper on a forum says it doesn't cut the mustard. Not true!

So far so good!

Pat

Comments about Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x AF Teleconverter:

I mainly take pictures of wildlife and often it is impossible to get physically close so high-strength telephoto lenses are a requirement.
Good lenses are also quite expensive though and for those of us on a budget a couple thousand USD on a lens is difficult.

This teleconverter however can give an inexpensive mid-range zoom much more useful range with a minimal impact on aperture (1 stop) and image quality.
It also works well with far more lenses than Nikon's own teleconverters.

There are caveats, of course- a lens that fully extended is f5.6 or more will probably have difficulty with autofocus, at least on a D90; there is also some image softening when using the tc.
But the extra range you get more than compensates for the few issues and in general any TC will have the same exact issues. (Note that Nikon's TC's don't tend to soften as much- and work only on Nikon 2.8 lenses, AND cost twice as much.)

If you are on a budget and need a teleconverter this is a good one.
If you want to use some non-F2.8 Nikon lenses with a teleconverter this is a good choice.
If you can afford to buy all Nikon stuff and f2.8 lenses- I am jealous.

Comments about Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x AF Teleconverter:

I mostly shoot wildlife, often at ponds or lakes where it is impossible to get physically close.
I am an amateur on a tight (for photography!) budget.

I have a Sigma 70-300 which does well and an 80s vintage Nikon AF 70-210 F4 which is excellent, but neither gets me as close as I would like.
I simply cannot afford the equipment that would get both the quality and shots I would really like- but adding this teleconverter gets me closer at a relatively low cost.

Any teleconverter will require better light than a dedicated lens, and the fact that this TC works with lenses with a max aperture of F4 makes this even more noticeable- but it still makes it POSSIBLE to use such lenses with a teleconverter!

Without spending the money there is no way to get the quality of top-notch equipment and lenses that are designed for a single focal range, but for those who can't afford the cost (or WEIGHT!) of 200mm, 300mm and 400mm zooms in their camera bag, this teleconverter may be a big help.
*It works well with most lenses (at least on a Nikon D40 and D90.)
*Relatively low cost
*Decent image quality (worst at edges)
*It DOES need bright light to work well, but increasing iso can help with that a great deal. And ANY teleconverter requires better light.

The Kenko Pro 300 DGX 1.4 is a great addition to my camera bag and will be getting a serious workout this year.

Comments about Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x AF Teleconverter:

What I like most is that I can autofocus.
I can also take CLOSEUPS using my Nikon af-s nikkor
55-300mm 1:4.5-5.6 ged. Perfect

Comments about Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x AF Teleconverter:

Tested on tripod with 2 different lenses, image was sharper cropped without the teleconverter than with it.

Comments about Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x AF Teleconverter:

Let's face it everyone is looking to stretch their wallet for the best bargain at the lowest price. I purchased this Kenko teleconverter to get a little extra reach with my several telephoto lenses. I have used this on my Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 and my Nikon 300mm f/4 lens. I'm primarily a freelance sports photographer for a number of local newspapers and found this teleconverter useful shooting high school baseball and soccer. It has produced some outstanding images of batters at the plate from both first and third base shooting areas. It also makes images shot at high school soccer games easier to capture and not as much background waste has to be cropped from images for newsprint work. It was an excellent bargain and it's built in circuity tells accurate readings of shutter and f stop values when coupled with all my lenses. Will most likely buy the 2.0x model now as well.

If there's one complaint I have about this... it's that the casing is plastic. Will have to remember it's build quality is not the same as my pro lenses build quality.

Comments about Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x AF Teleconverter:

If you need to get close then this teleconverter will help. It works well with my Nikon equipment. Not the best or most sharp photos, but it does the job.

Comments about Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x AF Teleconverter:

I am using this teleconverter on my Nikon D90 with 80-200mm 2.8 lens. It works great, no problems what so ever.

Comments about Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x AF Teleconverter:

I will use it to shoot nesting Egrets and Blue Heron in april here in Louisiana.

Comments about Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x AF Teleconverter:

I don't do a real lot of long telephoto shooting and felt my camera bag was already heavy enough. So, buying and lugging a bigger, heavier tele just wasn't an attractive option. Nikon's TCs only work with a few of their lenses, but this little Kenko works with all of them. So, I figured I'd give it a try. And, I was pleasantly surprised at how well it performs.

Construction seems good to me. It fits snugly, keeps a low profile and communicates perfectly with the camera body.

All my test shots were taken at f11, so please consider that when reading my review. If you want to shoot wide open with a teleconverter, I suspect you really should go the distance and buy Nikon's TC and a lens that is designed for that.

Only one of my lenses is designed to work with the current Nikon 1.4x TC and I wanted something I could use on as many of my lenses as possible.

FX lenses I tried it on were Nikon's 300mm f4 AF (not SWM), 70-200mm f2.8 VRII and 70-300mm VR. DX lenses I tried it on were 18-200mm VR and the new 55-300mm VR. All tests were done at the lens' maximum reach and in each case, the limiting factor was more the lens than the TC.

Lenses that are still sharp at their max were still sharp with the Kenko TC. Lenses that were soft at their max were soft with the Kenko TC. There was never a case where a digital enlargement looked better than what I got out of the teleconverter.

Nothing is free, and you do lose a little contrast. But, I judged the loss acceptably low. I'd rather shoot with this little TC and fool with contrast in post than try to make up for lost pixels.

Another concern is auto focus with teleconverters. I shot without flash in normal interior light tethered and tripod mounted. Typical exposures were done at F11 with a shutter speed between 2-3 seconds. I never once had any problems with auto focus. This was to be expected with an f2.8 lens, but even on some of the lenses which were f5.6 at the tele end (f8 with the teleconverter) auto focus worked just fine.

So, actually all of these lenses except the 18-200mm VR (unusable) looked at least very good and some of them looked excellent. The surprise lens was the new DX 55-300mm VR. Maybe I just got a unit that was a happy accident, but I was amazed at how well it stood up to comparison. Not the best, but very respectable.

Please note that I made sure to buy the PRO 300 DGX. I can't vouch for earlier or less expensive versions. Also, not wanting to push my luck, I settled for the 1.4X model.

One more thing -- I also tried it with a 60mm f2.8D Macro and got the expected boost in magnification for macro shots. This allows me to either get more magnification or more working space. Images stayed tack sharp. Nice.

Hope this helps someone.

Comments about Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x AF Teleconverter:

Works with all my Nikon lens and gives the camera the correct readings. Seems to be a clear image.

Comments about Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x AF Teleconverter:

This is a great addition to my kit. It works great with every Nikon lens that I have tried it on, including the 70-200 VRII, the 300 F4 and even my little 60mm micro D lens. Ironically this little unit gets better results that the equivalent Nikon.

Comments about Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x AF Teleconverter:

I have tested this teleconverter with a 70-300 VR Nikon lens. At wide apertures the out of focus areas take on a reddish or bluish cast, but at f22 or f32 that disappears. I tested with and without a 25mm extension tube. I used a flash, a tripod, and with the mirror up on a d200. I would put the sharpness at B+ which should be able to make satisfactory pictures of small animals which are difficult to approach. This is about 1/2 life size at about 6 feet. Since I carry a tripod and a flash, this technique is not a big deal for me.

Comments about Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x AF Teleconverter:

Sharp!! it can improve my Nikon 80-400 ED VR for more reach for distant wildlife!