Nikon TC-14E III AF-S Teleconverter for Camera

Product Information

These two teleconverters are only compatible with specific Nikon Z-series lenses. At the time of this review’s publication, the following lenses are supported: One of my biggest frustrations with the Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 Sport lens, was the fact that it will not take any of the Nikon teleconverters – they simply will not physically mount. I am not sure if there is a technical reason for not allowing that, but given that teleconverters are mostly “pass-through” lenses for magnification purposes, I initially did not think that I would be faced with any cross-brand compatibility issues.

Personally, I found the 1.4x teleconverter to have the least impact on lens calibration, with the 1.7x and 2.0x being the worst offenders. Others have reported more serious issues when using the 1.4x with some specific lenses, such as the Nikon 70-200mm f/4, 300mm f/4 and 200-400mm. Constructed from tough, textured anodized aluminium, the design of this teleconverter blends smoothly with your Nikon Z camera. And with your NIKKOR Z lens. My Nikon system works as well with or without this converter, which means this converter is doing what it should.It is important to point out that the above percentages are only for the center of the frame. If you look at the numbers, you will notice that the teleconverters impact mid-frame and corner performance differently. This is due to the fact that the extreme corners magnify lens aberrations heavily. In the case of the Nikon TC-20E III, the lens sharpness was much worse compared to the center at 43% sharpness loss. D700, D3S pixel pitch 8.42 µm, D850 4.34 µm, Sony Alpha 7Sii 8.32 µm, Sony Alpha 7Riv 3.76 µm, Canon EOS 90D 3.19 µm. This Z 1.4× Teleconverter increases a lens' focal length by 40%, but also makes its maximum aperture one stop slower and requires a shutter speed twice as long or an ISO twice as high, or a combination of the two. Of course at smaller apertures it's all the same, but with long lenses we're usually shooting at maximum aperture to stop action and/or camera shake. Lens sharpness has nothing to do with picture sharpness; every lens made in the past 100 years is more than sharp enough to make super-sharp pictures if you know what you're doing. The only limitation to picture sharpness is your skill as a photographer. It's the least talented who spend the most time worrying about lens sharpness and blame crummy pictures on their equipment rather than themselves. Skilled photographers make great images with whatever camera is in their hands; I've made some of my best images of all time with an irreparably broken camera! Most pixels are thrown away before you see them, but camera makers don't want you to know that.

Increasing focal length can also magnify other variables, such as thermal distortion. That in itself can be a very frustrating issue to deal with in the field. This image shows quite a bit of thermal distortion, with thermal waves making parts of the image look very soft and mushy

I measured the sharpness of the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8E FL VR, with and without teleconverters using Imatest, to see how its sharpness is affected. The three teleconverters used were the Nikon TC-14E III, TC-17E II, and the TC-20E III. The Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8E FL VR was set to 70mm at f/5.6, its sharpest focal length and aperture. With the three teleconverters, the focal length change was roughly equivalent to 100mm (1.4x), 120mm (1.7x) and 140mm (2.0x). Below are the results that I was able to obtain: It's just as sharp with the 2x teleconverter. You can see more fine details, even though the heat shimmer is magnified twice as much as the first image without the teleconverter. Now keep in mind that this is the best-case scenario when everything is stopped down to the best aperture for the lens. I shot the TC-14E III at f/5.6, TC-17E III at f/6.3, and TC-20E III at f/8. Opening up or stopping down the lens produced inferior results. He is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts, holds a Foundation Degree in Equitation Science and is a Master of Arts in Publishing. He is member of Nikon NPS and has been a Nikon user since the film days using a Nikon F5 and saw the digital transition with Nikon's D series cameras and is still to this day the youngest member to be elected in to BEWA, The British Equestrian Writers' Association.

Nikon stopped offering 5-year lens warranties in 2021 in an effort to save themselves money at our expense. Here’s another example, this time with a lens that has a bit more chromatic aberration in the first place – the Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S. In the chart below, the “560mm” entry refers to the 1.4x TC, and the “800mm” entry refers to the 2.0x TC: It becomes compatible with the new tele converters once the lens firmware is updated to Ver. 1.03 or later. The Nikon TC-14E III multiplies the focal length of your lens by 1.4×, and makes the lens one stop slower. Your teleconverter must include a U. S. A. warranty card like the one shown above from Nikon, Inc. The U. S. A. office is Nikon, Inc.; the Japanese headquarters is Nikon Corporation. The card should be inside your box. The serial number on the card must match the serial number on the bottom of your teleconverter:As you can already tell, some teleconverters have serious disadvantages that you have to keep in mind. Aside from lens compatibility and cross-brand compatibility issues, teleconverters decrease the overall sharpness of the primary lens, magnify its lens aberrations, and reduce autofocus speed and accuracy. This is especially true for 2.0x and longer teleconverters.

Personally, aside from a couple of specific combinations, I personally avoid using 2.0x teleconverters. I regularly use 1.4x and sometimes 1.7x teleconverters, but I find 2.0x to be too much of a compromise on most lenses out there due to the above-mentioned AF issues and severe loss of sharpness/contrast. Sharpness and contrast can be improved in the post, but focus problems cannot. Desert Floor as Seen from Six Miles (10 km) Away, 2:23 PM, Thursday, 10 November 2022. Nikon Z7II, Nikon Z 400mm f/4.5 VR with Z TC 2× teleconverter (making this an 800mm lens) wide open at f/9 hand-held at 1/ 250 at Auto ISO 64 ( LV15.0), Radiant Photo Software to cut through the haze. bigger or full resolution. The Nikon Z 1.4x teleconverter- a compact and lightweight AF TeleConverter with a powerful 1.4x magnification factor and just 1 stop exposure loss. Supports the Nikon VR function, Environmentally friendly glass. I’ve tested four copies of both Nikon Z teleconverters, including three copies of each teleconverter in the lab with Imatest data. (You’ll see more on that in the “Sample Variation” section later in the review.) On top of that, our team at Photography Life has tested both teleconverters on every compatible Nikon Z lens aside from the 600mm f/4 TC VR S. I’ll do my best to get to the bottom of all your questions based on this extensive testing. Nikon Z Teleconverter Specifications Nikon D7200 + Nikkor 300 mm f/4 PF + TC-14E-III. Без использования конвертера никаких нареканий (кроме своих кривых рук) у меня не возникает… А вот с конвертером начинаются проблемы. Я понимаю, что так или иначе резкость должна быть хуже, но еще и гораздо хуже становится работа автофокуса. Но вопрос даже не в этом, а в том, что при использовании конвертера иной раз при похожих условиях съемки вся серия получается не резкой в той или иной степени.The Nikon TC-20E III is much better than its predecessor (which was very disappointing on many lenses). It performs surprisingly well on the 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II (stop down to f/8 for best results), but not so well on the newer FL version in terms of potential sharpness and AF accuracy. It works like a champ with the 300mm f/2.8 and 400mm f/2.8 lenses. On slower f/4 lenses, however, it is pretty disappointing. It is unusable on both Nikon 300mm f/4D / PF, and 200-400mm f/4 lenses, and while it will work with the 500mm f/4 and 600mm f/4 lenses, you will have to stop down to f/11 to get anything reasonably good. You will also need to use one of the latest Nikon DSLRs like D850 and D5 that focus better in low light. Not a great setup for fast action, but could work for large animals when shooting over long distances. NIKON D810 + 300mm f/4D @ 420mm (1.4x TC), ISO 1600, 44 seconds, f/5.6 Sony Teleconverter Overview