Nikon Auto Focus-S FX TC-20E III Teleconverter Lens with Auto Focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras

This is the most versatile lens (I guess you can call it that) in my bag. After reading all of the horror stories about 2x converters, I was about the purchase a 1.4x converter and then this came along. It's outstanding. Even though you lose 2 stops of light when it's attached, the optical clarity on this thing is unbelievable. I've shown other photographers (some of them professional) who were totally against a 2x converter, photos that were taken with this converter; and, not a one could tell which photos were taken with the extender and which were not.One of the areas of photography that I'm starting to get into is macro photography. I was trying to decide on which lens to get. My current lens is an old (22 years and still kicking), but excellent, Nikon 55mm. I wanted to get a new lens with a longer reach so I started looking at lenses over 150mm. Well, in the end, I got the Nikon 105mm. The combination of this 2x converter and the 105mm, gives me the reach of 210mm lens when I need it, with (and this is also important) no changes on lens performance. As as added bonus, when the converter is attached to the D800 (or the D4), the 105mmm can also autofocus. This was the reason I chose the 105mm. Nice.

Wanted to get a bit more reach with my D7000 + a 70-200 f2.8 to shoot birds in my backyard, so I purchased this and was greatly disappointed. I did several tests comparing the images with and w/o teleconverter at the same subject zoom, and i always got better results by just cropping the 70-200 image to the zoom I wanted. I returned the teleconverter and hats off to Amazon for such great service! I turned around and bought the Nikon 55-300 f4.5-5.6 and wow, I got a bit more reach and a very sharp image. The 55-300 is not a bright lens nor fast at focusing, but it is sharp and for the money a very good way to get to 300mm. I own five quality Nikon lenses and three Nikon bodies and have not been disappointed until now.

First let me say that I'm a novice at photography. About the only thing I don't photograph is people. Lately I have enjoyed photographing birds and that is why I purchased the Nikon TC-20E III 2x Teleconverter. Previously I had been using my Nikon D7000 and Nikon 300mm f/4.0 lens coupled with the Nikon TC-14E II teleconverter which was giving me good results but wanted a little more reach if possible. This converter so far has passed my expectations. I am aware that Nikon claims that the TC-20E III 2x teleconverter will not auto focus with the 300mm f/4.0 lens or the Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens for that matter, but in the couple of days I've had it, it has been autofocusing really well. Right after the sun set this evening I attempted to photograph a red finch about 50 yards away and had to manual focus, but had been shooting that distance all day with auto focus and while viewing only with maximum zoom on my LCD screen the results have been looking well.This week I will catalog and review my photos in Lightroom. Also I plan on taking the trip into the forest or one of the lakes to see if I can capture a bald eagle.If I experience problems in the future I will update this review. But at the present the TC-20E III 2x Teleconverter will remain attached to my 300mm f/4.0 lens as did the TC-14E II previously. On another note it works quit well with my Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens, but since I have the Nikon TC-14E II teleconverter it will probably remain a part of my micro lens.

The product was described as fitting AF-S and AF-i lenses. I have 4 AF-S lenses, this Teleconverter would not fit ANY of them. The included instruction sheet does list the which lenses it is compatible with, if the seller isn't going to provide this list, they should at the very least, IN BOLD PRINT, warn potential buyers of this short-coming. My lenses all have an element that sticks out the rear of the lens a few mm, this prevents the lens from engaging into the teleconverter.

Bottom Line: If you need to resort to using a TC due to cost, space or other limitation then this is the best 2X TC out there for the Nikon Mount. With proper technique on a high quality lens it will give excellent results. However...1. TCs in general are specifically designed for longer focal length lenses; at least 100mm and usually 200mm and longer. They are not intended to be used on your 28-70mm!2. This TC in particular is designed and will work on only a limited set of AF-S and AF-I longer focal length(Read that big and expensive) Nikkor lenses. Even then, it will not permit AF on a lot of them. Googlle Nikon's TC Compatiblity Chart.3. There will be 2 F-Stops of light loss. This is a result of physics and is unavoidable. For autofocus and unless you have good eyes and aclimate to low light levels for manual focus, you need to use this product on a lens with at least a maximum f stop of f/2.8 because it turns this fast lens into a slow f/5.6 lens. What is the minimum f stop recommened for AF: f/5.6! So on an f/4 lense, AF is a no go!4. With high magnification, technique becomes extremely important. Adding 2x magnification to a long, heavy, high magnification lens means mounting on a solid tripod or other platform and a remote or timed release of the shutter. It means reducing wind and sources of vibration.5. A 2x TC paired with a XXXmm lens will never equal a similar quality 2XXXmm lens in sharpness. Even with high quality lenses, you will be cutting the into the resolving power of the lens. A lens is designed to resolve an image circle of a particular size. By adding the TC, you are taking a much smaller image circle and spreading it over the same area. This is almost the exact opposite of putting an FX lens on a DX sensor camera and cutting the best part of the image out.

I was looking for something to add extra zoom to my sports photos, specifically outfield baseball and football. Works great with my Nikon 70-200mm 2.8 lens. It does knock down a couple f-stops so depending on the lighting at evening or indoor sports it does impact clarity of photos a little but still produces great shots.