20 Best Teleconverter For Nikon (2022 Updated)

Works as described. Sharpness is only barely affected but nothing to keep me from using it. I really only noticed the sharpness decrease when shooting black text on white paper-as a test. I didn’t notice a decrease in sharpness while shooting organic objects.

F/11 is a bit of a bummer but as long as you know your limits then you’ll be happy. Certainly worth it to get to 1000mm on FX. Modern ISO capabilities counter act the loss of light from the f/11 aperture so it’s not a huge loss.

In trying to gain more reach for birds and wildlife I considered the superzoom bridge cameras and this teleconverter. I was put off by the small sensor of the bridge cameras, and didn’t want to spend a large sum on the high end models.

This teleconverter seemed like a compromise between reach and cost. I read several reviews suggesting it not be used on the contemporary version of the sigma 150-600 due to poor image quality but purchased anyway hoping to avoid issues with heavily cropping images from my Nikon d7500.

I have found those reviews to be generally accurate. Autofocus is very slow. It can lock focus on a stationary bird that isn’t surrounded by twigs/stems, but hunts if the bird is behind a few twigs. I have gotten a few decent stationary bird images, but for best results you need very bright light and stop down to around f11.

For larger, slow-moving animals like bears focus is okay, as long as the bear is out in the open. Even under the best lighting conditions and with stopping the lens down details are a little smudged from what one gets with the lens alone.

I have gotten a few images that are acceptable to me. I haven’t purchased the dock or tried calibrating, I may do that to see if the image quality can be improved. In hindsight, I wouldn’t have purchased this item.

I find that I leave it at home because it’s focus is just too slow, and it needs bright sunlight to produce an acceptable image. I rate it between two and three stars. It does get you some additional reach, but due to the problems with focus and image quality, you’re better off just trying to get closer or cropping.

In reference to the Oct 11, 2020 review below, I am pleased to provide my own discovery. The TC 1401 IS in fact, compatible with the Sigma 60 600 Sport lens! I have just run some preliminary tests with my D500 and this combination DOES autofocus at all focal lengths.

Please note that a the full 600 mm length ( Now 850 mm ), your aperture closes down to f9. Therefore, in order to achieve quality photos, good light is obviously a must. So, under the right conditions, the combination of the Sigma 60 600 sport, Tc 1401, the Nikon D500 and a stable tripod, quality photos should be possible.

Field tests to follow. Thanks.

A welcome addition to my Sigma 150-600mm contemporary. This teleconverter and lens combo really needs as much sunlight as you can find to allow for the shutter speeds and aperture ranges to produce a good image.

I have been able to get photos of birds at a reasonable distance wheras they would normally fly away without using it. This isn’t a 1200mm prime in terms of image quality, but having the range is worth it not costing 20k compared to Canons newest prime lens.

Know it’s limitations,. it is fun reaching new levels of zoom, but it can be difficult to tell if the images are in or out of focus while using the eyepiece as it is darker then normal. I still recommend it even with it’s limitations.

Thank you Sigma for making this 2x option on top of the 1. 4 converter.

I am using my TC-17 E II on a Nikon 70-200 f/4, mounted on a D500. The unit is reasonably small and light; it doesn’t make the lens much more cumbersome. All automatic functions are maintained, and all displays reflect the effectively reduced aperture, including the images’ metadata.

Autofocus is as fast or seemingly as fast as with the native lens. As other reviewers have pointed out, there is a sharpness penalty although it is manageable. I have to almost pixel peep to see loss of sharpness.

For the ways that I display my photographs, it is a non-issue. So all in all, this is a versatile piece of equipment that lets me use a relatively small and relatively light lens and get to 340mm rather than carry a considerably heavier lens to get to the same focal length.

The tradeoff is the slight sharpness penalty; that tradeoff is acceptable to me.

Using with a 70-200 f2. 8 VR and performance, fit and finish are top notch. Fitted to a D850 it gives me the option of max zoom of 340mm in FX mode or 510mm in DX mode. All with VR active and nearly same image quality the 70-200 is famous for without the teleconverter attached.

The combo suits my shooting style with minimal added weight. Verify that your lens/camera set meets minimum requirements and is compatible. Not for budget level lenses like 55-200 for example.

I bought this as it the middle road one in the 3 available, the x2 one I think will degrade quality to much but I will try at some stage, the 1. 4 is to expensive so thus this is the one I thought I would have a go with? I have been using it with a 300 F2.

8 lens and my Nikon D810 giving approx 510mm reach and F4. 8 wide open, but better stopped down if the light allows? The images included though are all wide open at F4. 8! The first thing I noticed is that the lightning fast autofocus of the 300 F2.

8 lens is slightly slower with this converter, not a deal breaker slow but it is noticeable especially in not perfect light! The second thing to note is it does effect image quality slightly and I have found that the best conditions are good light then the images are more than acceptable even when you a pixel peeper like me! You can get some great images with the extra reach more than making up for the slight loss in IQ? Certainly better than cropping alone even with 36mp! The other side of the coin is that if the light isn’t perfect I would not consider using it as the drop in IQ is much more apparent in my tests at least? So overall I am happy with the lens with my combo using the 300 F2.

8, obviously it may be different with other lenses so take that into consideration if you are looking at this converter?.

Teamed up the TC-X14 1. 4X with Tamron’s 70-200 and 150-600 G2 lenses on a Nikon D750. This TC will not work with Nikon brand lenses. In good lighting the results were great as long as I stabilized with a tripod.

The TC creates a thin field of focus and hand holding creates Blur very easily from camera shake. At 600mm converted up to 840mm the field of focus is razer thin. At that high zoom level the subject is slightly soft, but can be easily sharpened with any software.

The results are great. Auto-focus with the TC is slower. Using switch on lens to limit focus range helps speed up focusing. Auto-focus slows as light drops. The unit wont auto focus in low light, you could manual focus in that environment.

I would use this for nesting birds. Focusing on birds in flight is possible but difficult because of the thin FoF. Interesting, the Tamron 150-600 g2 and TC worked with macro rings. With TC-x14 and macro ring the minimum focusing distance is reduced to about 60in from 86.

6IN. At 5ft objects measuring 1″ fill the frame at 840mm.

First time newbie using a teleconverter lens here. I had a really hard time getting crisp focus using this TC with my Tamron 150-600mm lens. I admit my lens is heavy and I always have a little shake when not using a tripod.

I didn’t have much luck with this TC trying to focus. I even consulted with the Lensrentals pros and showed them a photo that was soft. They were very kind and replied back and forth to several emails offering tips and tricks (most notably, try it with a tripod to see if that eliminates the softness.

) What I learned from this experience is a TC takes practice and patience (which clearly I don’t have LOL) and a steady hand as with additional zoom comes other shortfalls. I’m sure a TC is a great choice for many but not for this amateur.

I love having the opportunity to rent lenses at such an affordable price to see what equipment will work for me and what won’t.

The teleconverter takes some getting used to. I photograph wildlife. The key seem to be get the focus on something larger in the area, then move to the subject and refine. It is hard to be super spontaneous without extensive practice with this extender.

I am an amateur; I used it to take photos of a collegiate ultimate frisbee tournament with a Nikon Z6, outdoors, on cloudy to partly cloudy days. As you might expect, there was a slight lag between when I pressed the shutter release and when the shutter actually opened, but this was less than I had anticipated.

I did not try to accurately determine how much light loss it caused, but I’m guessing between 1 and 2 f/stops (if you see an actual measurement, believe it, not this review). Most of my photos were sharp and properly exposed.

For those action shots of players flying through the air, I would ideally have pressed the shutter release a half second sooner, which I learned to do as the tournament progressed, but you can’t always anticipate when you need to do that.

I would not use the teleconverter for night games; I would use the 400mm zoom lens with the FTZ adapter instead with the Z6 body. A 300-400 zoom lens with a Z-mount would be ideal.

I have previously used the TC-2iii with the 70-200 f/2. 8E and a 300 f/2. 8. It wasn’t bad, especially with the 300 prime. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I did not find the Z TC-2 on the 70-200 Z lens significantly better.

I found I got the best results stopped down to f/8 and in very good light. I am returning it and will get the Z TC-1. 4 instead and maybe look at the TC2 again with a Z prime. It’s very well made and the results are good, but I wasn’t getting the detail and definition I was looking for and I can’t gamble on perfect lighting for results.

Technical reviews on-line have confirmed that while good. it’s still a teleconverter and no free lunch. I may ultimately get the 100-400 instead.

Works as described. Sharpness is only barely affected but nothing to keep me from using it. I really only noticed the sharpness decrease when shooting black text on white paper-as a test. I didn’t notice a decrease in sharpness while shooting organic objects.

F/11 is a bit of a bummer but as long as you know your limits then you’ll be happy. Certainly worth it to get to 1000mm on FX. Modern ISO capabilities counter act the loss of light from the f/11 aperture so it’s not a huge loss.

If you own a Sigma lens and want to extend it’s focal range, then the Sigma 1. 4x EX DG APO teleconverter is the version of choice. It’s compact, lightweight and retains the vast majority of the lens IQ so delivers superb results.

Ideally you’ll need to use it on a sigma lens that has internal focus (IF) which is has an aperture no larger than F/4. 5 in order to retain auto-focus (AF). Internal focus lenses have a static real lens element, thus when fitted, the gap between the rear lens element and the TC is paper thin (this is why the IQ is retained).

I bought this lens to use with both the 300/2. 8 EX DG (IF) APO and 100-300/4 EX DG (IF) APO, so whilst it adds additional range, it also allows for greater flexibility whether used on a long range tele-zoom or tele-prime lenses, so it’s an ideal partner for both lens types.

Depending on the lens and camera, when a teleconverter is fitted, it can reduce the auto-focus (AF) speed on DSLR’s though I don’t know if the speed is retained or reduced when used with HSM lenses and/or on Sony SLT cameras.

Older models of this teleconverter ‘may’ be incompatible with HSM lenses and SLT cameras, but if early models were re-calibrated by Sigma, the box will have a sticker on it saying something like ‘compatible with HSM lenses and Sony A33/A55’.

If it doesn’t, contact Sigma with the serial number as they may still offer their free ‘upgrade’ to make it compatible, though later models are fully compatible with all Sony camera models and Sigma lens types, but there is a Sigma teleconverter compatibility chart online, so you can see based on serial number and lens model what functions are available or not.

As a dedicated teleconverter, it’s one the best, though it can only be used with Sigma lenses depending on model/type. It’s build quality is first class as are the optics and finish. It’s a definite ‘must have’ accessory if you want to extend the focal range of your lens(es), though from experience it’s best used with prime or fixed aperture (IF) lens types such as F/2.

8 – F/4 for example. This teleconverter version has all the coatings and finish of Sigma’s top level EX DG APO lenses, so it’s a perfect match in every respect, so don’t confuse it with the earlier EX APO version as the coatings are different and that version only has 5 contact pins whereas the EX DG APO version has 8 contact pins like modern 8 pin lenses which allows for additional functionality which includes ADI flash metering as opposed to TTL.

In summary, this is an excellent teleconverter that’s specifically designed for Sigma lenses (especially (IF) models) and is the preferred version over the 2x converter. There’s very little loss of IQ, though there may be a reduction in AF speed when used on DSLR cameras.

It’s compact and extremely well constructed. Prices can vary from 80. 00 – 200. 00 for this model.

It is the older model of the sigma teleconverter but a great addition if your into wildlife photography. Works great much better then the 2x teleconverter where you need lots and lots of light to focus.

Recommend this product. For its price as well.

All of these reviews are old. The newest review is from 2013 and that’s over 7 years old! The rest are 10 to 12 years old! When dealing with Tech, even a few years can make a big difference! I know that Sigma makes some good solid quality lenses in recent years, one would think getting a current review wouldn’t be too difficult.

I have the TC-14E iii on a Nikon 200-500mm VR, through the FTX adapter into a z7ii. It does, as is well known, lose a stop and a half, but the superior ISO capabilities of the z7ii easily overcome that.

From the Exif data, I can clearly see the ISO increase a bit, and the Fstop change, but visually I can barely tell any difference between 500mm native and 700mm with the TC. Just a little bit more reach, but totally worth it, on my gear at least.

I’m even going to try the 1. 7x next.

If you’re reading this then you are probably considering buying this teleconverter to extend the reach of your telephoto lens in a reasonably economical way, at least compared to purchasing a longer lens.

You may or may not know that this, as any teleconverter, will rob some light, change the maximum aperture of your lens, slightly degrade image quality and somewhat slow focusing. If you can accept that compromise as I have, then this teleconverter will not disappoint.

I upgraded to the TC-14E III from the TC-14E II, primarily due to the weather sealing of the newer model. I do a lot of surfing and wildlife photography and wanted my system, which is composed of the Nikon D500, the Nikon 300mm f/4 E PF VR AF-S lens, and the 14E III teleconverter, to be able to withstand the elements in the outdoor environments I shoot in.

The addition of the teleconverter gives me the extra reach I need to capture the surfing action at the outer breaks and birds without having to get so close as to influence behavior. I am extremely happy with the image quality I am getting and this teleconverter is pretty much a standard fixture now on my setup.

If you are using Nikon gear and want more reach, then this teleconverter is definitely worth considering. Is it worth upgrading if you already own the older model 14E II? For me the answer was yes because of the weather resistance, and while the optics on the older model are very good, I think that there is also a slight enhancement in image quality with the newer model.

But if you don’t shoot much in wet or dusty conditions, then you can get some great deals on the older model and will likely be quite satisfied if it works with the lens you are using.

i got the TC-14EIII to replace my aging “II” version for use on my newest Nikon lens, the 500mmf5. 6PF. Although this makes the aperture maximum only f8, it still gives razor sharp images and focuses quite well, especially on the new mirrorless Nikon Z7.

For those of you who photograph birds of all types, this combination will give you 700mm with the added bonus of not requiring a tripod. Using the 45mp Z7 allows for extra cropping thus creating images over 1000mm in equivalent focal length (and still have over 20mp of resolution!) Seriously, times have changed.

Using the above equipment results in a total weight of less than 6 pounds. You can take it hiking, on a plane or about anywhere else you can think of. I own the mammoth Nikon 400mmf2. 8 but it is a beast that often ends up sitting on the shelf.

The best camera stuff is what you have with you, not what you left at home. I am now getting fantastic images that only lighter portable equipment can provide.

Nikon D3300, zoom 55-200mm The Vivitar teleconverter is sharp enough and works fine except for AF that doesn’t work anymore. Auto Focus keeps moving back and forth and the lens needs to be in manual focus mode to be properly operated.

Without the converter, the 55-200mm zoom can be used with Auto Focus.

I bought this teleconverter to increase effective focal length of my nikon 70 to 300mm zoom lense. The device did not allow autofocus at all. I took images using manual focus, and in all cases the resulting image had extremely poor contrast and unacceptablely poor sharpness.

Results were much worse than simply cropping an image shot with the straight lense without teleconverter. I rated this teleconverter 1 star, because zero is not an option.

I have had this tele converter only a short time and have not used it much. AF works fine with my Nikon D3300 and AF-S DX 55-300 lens, but is a little slow as other reviewers have indicated. I will probably end up using MF more often with this tele converter.

I have really not used it enough to evaluate photo quality.

Ummm. it’s not exactly true that this works only on “professional” cameras. It’ll work on any camera that matches the mount (Canon or Nikon) and any fully compatible lenses. But it’s also true that ANY teleconverter also has a light loss, which is equal to the teleconversion gain.

So, since this is a 2x teleconverter, you will generally lose 2 stops of light to “pay” for the “gain” of 2x mm in focal length. So, if one has an 18-300mm lens which stops down to f/5. 6 at the long end, this addition will force another two stops down to f/11.

Similarly, if the lens ordinarily opens up to f/4 at the 18mm end, this teleconverter will convert the focal length to 36mm, but at the same time stop the aperture down to f/8. The “speed” of the lens will go down two stops in each case.

Hope this helps anybody else who is confused. That said, I agree that customers of the Adorama site cannot be expected to know all this, so they should have mentioned the light loss factor. As it stands, the item description makes it sound like there is a focal length gain without any kind of loss! Caveat: The manufacturers state that this converter will only work with “genuine” lenses, by which I assume they mean lenses by the same maker as the mount types, i.

e. , Canon, Nikon, etc. ,) and is not guaranteed to work with other lenses.

I bought this teleconverter planning to use it with my 70-300mm AF-P lenses, both DX and FX, on my D500 and Z7 (via the FTZ adapter). First and foremost, neither lens will autofocus at all using the FTZ.

They register on the camera as manual focus lenses and focus-by-wire doesnt work. On the D500, the FX lens works in both AF-C and AF-S, but the teleconverter does not show up in AF fine tune, meaning the setting defaults to the adjustment set for the lens only.

The lens will AF fairly quickly to *almost* in focus, and then it takes another second or two to lock, but this is only on high contrast subject matter in outdoor sunlight. Images appear to be correctly focused but lacking in acuity.

With the 70-300mm DX lens, using AF-C generates a jumpy image in the viewfinder and the lens seldom finds focus. With AF-S, the jumpy image issue is less pronounced; and in good light on contrasting subject matter, fairly sharp images with decent acuity are produced whenever the camera is able to lock focus.

Build quality of the teleconverter appears to be okay, and it isnt defective. Its unfortunate, though, that the people most likely to buy this item, long lens shooters, are the ones most likely to be disappointed with it.

Adorama neglected to say this product only is for a professional-grade digital camera. In order to be able to capture birds on the fly or wildlife moving along, one must be able to set focus automatically.

This product requires an aperture of 3. 5 in order to use auto focus. My camera stops at 7. 1, with this product attached, requiring manual focus, which is not possible when a bird is flying overhead.

This product came highly recommended by a professional photographer, so I will have to assume it is a great product with the proper camera. Mine is a Canon EOS Rebel SL2, with Sigma 18-300 lens.

This item was exactly what I was looking for. It worked well on my Sigma telephoto lens. The auto focus feature also worked and it recorded the metadata on the SD card in the camera (Nikon D750) what type of lens the tele converter has made it into.

I have an older (EX DG APO) telephoto lens. This tele converter will only work with these types of lenses. Read carefully before you buy a Sigma tele converter. You could also call Sigma. They were great in helping confirm this would work.

I am considering buying the 2X tele converter. Hope the image I have included came through. It is a very good item to buy, buy only if you have specific Sigma lenses.

Do NOT buy this Kenko teleconverter, it won’t work. The images degraded so much you actual get a better photo by not using the extender and just crop out the images. See the attached photos for proof.

The first photo was taken with the Kenko 1. 4x extender and you can see the image “glows” and is actually much softer than the second photo which was taken without the extender. The third image was taken with the genuine Canon 1.

4x extender mark III which is a bit sharper. All images were taken with the Canon 135mm F2. 0L lens, jpeg straight out of camera about 5m away from the subject. I ended up purchasing the genuine Canon extender and returned the Kenko, don’t waste your time and money on the Kenko.

I use this in conjunction with my 70-300mm Nikon telephoto zoom lens and has certainly improved my long range shooting capabilities. I think its good for anyone on a low budget that needs a little extra reach.

Still experimenting with low light/auto focus operation but so far seems to be working as advertised. B&H was very easy to deal with, been using them on & off for about 30+ years, still not disappointed.

I use this Nikon TC-14b 1. 4x converter on my Nikon 400mm F3. 5 EDIF and Nikon D800. It gives me a 560mm F5 full frame. On that camera with that lens it does not seem to loose much quality with the converter.

Maybe if anything a little softer in corners but I am being picky. Also I now have to stop down one stop to get the most out of the combo when before I could shoot the lens wide open in most cases and do well.

These are not unexpected results though and I am more then happy with the combo. Especially for the price!.

Did a bit of investigation between Nikon teleconverters and which lenses they were designed to work best with. I own a Tokina SD-ATX 300mm f/2. 8 and getting so-so results with my TC-201. Decided the TC14B would be the best way to go and not lose as much sharpness.

And I was completely correct in that assumption. Ran tests both on film and digital, heavily damped tripod w/mirror lock up. Aperture settings from wide open to 4 stops down. Immense improvement over using the TC201.

Next I’m going to try out a TC301 and see what I can get with that combo.

I’ve been using my TC-14b with a 300mm Ai-S ED IF Nikkor f/4. 5, and it works really well. It adds only a little length and weight to the lens, and the pictures are still nice and sharp. The unit is very small and sturdy – like a metal hockey puck.

I have just received my Nikon Z TC 2x Teleconverter and I am delighted with how this piece of kit works. Straight out of the box, it’s evident that the converter is superbly engineered (as I have come to expect from all Nikon products) and is reassuringly heavy.

Fitted to my Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2. 8 (currently the ONLY lens this converter will work with) it extends my zoom reach to 400mm, whilst still enabling an aperture of f/5. 6. The results are as razor sharp as they are from the lens alone (which is phenominal) so, all-in-all, I am extremely satisfied.

The only two cons that spring to mind are, 1. the eye-watering price and 2. the fact that when fitted to lens and camera, the assembled kit won’t now fit in my backpack. These reservations are, however, inconsequential considering the benefits of the extra reach.

After all, the cost only hurts on the day of purchase and I’ll just have to buy a bigger bag.

This teleconverter is currently only comparable with the z 70-200mm f/2. 8 S lens. When combined with that lens you get a 140-400mm f/5. 6 effective which retains almost all of the excellent performance of the 70-200.

Without doubt the best 2x converter ever made it is expensive but worth the cost for the flexibility. Highly recommended.

This little gem saved my bacon!! More on that later, but first, let me say I feel this is a very nice optic, and it did not impede the AF function of the lenses I tested it with (Tamron 150-600 & Canon 200/f2.

8L) EXCEPT when there wasn’t enough light, which is hardly the fault of the teleconverter, more just the normal limitations of AF in general. I liked how well the camera & lens communicated with the TC in place, AND that the aperture was adjusted in the EXIF to reflect the TC effect accurately (so that the “wide-open” 6.

3 @ 600mm became a 12. 6 @ 1200, as it necessarily does when doubling the focal length). The metering, at least during the limited time I had to try it out, stayed spot on, too. I liked the IQ, but didn’t get enough chance to really thoroughly evaluate it before it broke in half, which is actually a GOOD thing.

Allow me to explain. While the build quality is more than adequate for the task in GENERAL, it has a lot of plastic & is NOT “built like a tank”. I absolutely believe it would have held together very well & functioned as designed for YEARS had it not been for a 4-foot drop off the tripod (onto hard, largely gravel, road shoulder) when this teleconverter was situated between my 6D & the aforementioned Tamron behemoth super-zoom.

I had been on the interstate when I happened to notice a razor-thin crescent moon was about to set. Excited by the opportunity (because my BRAND NEW zoom lens, camera & TC were all with me), I took the nearest off-ramp & hastily set up in the waning, post-sunset dusk.

Unfortunately, I failed to secure the camera/lens assembly to the tripod before it fell at least 4 feet, smacked the shoulder of the road, and rolled, in TWO pieces now, into the deep ditch. Naturally, I was horrified & immediately feared they worst, and if anything like this has ever happened to you, you may well relate to the sinking feeling I was experiencing in the pit of my gut, and possibly even pardon the shrieking and stream of foul verbiage which spewed, seemingly involuntarily, from my mouth!! But to my utter amazement, the camera AND lens were COMPLETELY UNDAMAGED (I kid you not, not so much as a SCRATCH), because the Teleplus had literally snapped in half and apparently absorbed the brunt of the impact in so doing!! ALL THAT ENERGY HAD TO GO SOMEWHERE, and had it not been for the destruction of the teleconverter, I can’t imagine EITHER the lens OR the camera being functional at this point.

This, I feel, proves the superior design of ALL THREE components; the camera & lens for being so very tough, and the TC for taking the impact & dissipating the tremendous force. I am NOT at a place right now (having just shelled out $$$ for gear) to replace the super-zoom OR the camera body, but I can HARDLY WAIT to get another one of these affordable little miracles!! In fact, I think I’ll feel safer with it ON (though won’t actually NEED it with the 600mm very often)!.

I brought this item hoping to be able to get AF from my 70-400mm but to no avail. It tries to auto-focus but fails and causes rapid focusing beyond AF capabilities. The most you can focus is around 90-100 which is 180-200 and thus is completely useless.

However if held still I am able to get shots of the moon bu for moving objects on the other hand I doubt it. You need to have steady shot off or else when pressing the button to make a picture it will not be in focus even if the.

I shoot a lot of bird pictures and this brings them in closer, which is what I wanted. I thought it would be better in that respect, but it is just OK. After shooting I have to use another program to sharpen the pictures, which is disappointing.

Overall, it was worth the cost, but I hoped for better results.