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

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.

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.

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.

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.

after reading all the comments I was a bit skeptical if it would work well. It worked really well for the purpose I bought which was to photograph the one of the super moons, to be used with the Nikon 200-500mm mounted on a D750. Unfortunately, people don't check the compatibility chart and say the teleconverter is not good because it is not compatible with their lenses. Also it does not autofocus but I was aware of it. I really like the results. Just be realistic and do your research.

I've had a Kenko 1.4 teleconverter for years that works with every Nikon body and lens that I own including the 28-300 that I got with my D810. I figured it was time to increase the power and thought it was worth spending the extra money for Nikon equipment. Nikon has always boasted compatibility, that's why you stick with a brand. When I bought this there was a dropdown to select your camera which I thought was odd as it is a Nikon, I just figured maybe it was auto focus or something which doesn't bother me. But when I got this teleconverter something was wrong, the lens wasn't going to fit. So I spent some time searching online and found Nikon doesn't care so much about compatibility and even had an excuse that you wouldn't want to increase the power of your zoom. What? It was obviously an excuse, who wouldn't want to convert their 300 to 600 or even 900 in DX mode even it's not perfect. What a huge disappointment. Really decreases my desire to upgrade to the new mirrorless cameras...

I really wanted this to work, and based on some of the positive reviews I was hopeful. However I found it was worse than nothing on the long lens I wanted to use it with. I'm giving it two stars vs. one because it allowed the camera and lens to work properly. The professional lens is on Nikon's approved list for this teleconverter. I shot several hundred images in the field with a Nikon 400mm F2.8 VR lens and this 2x tele on a tripod with a Wimberley Gimbal head, shooting with a D600 at shutter speed of 1600, F8. Focus distance was 200 feet and beyond. By itself this is a very sharp lens, but none of these images were sharp, all were soft focus. Too soft for me. Lack of animal eye highlights was really an issue. After this I did a simple test comparing an enlarged 400mm image with an 800mm image made with the tele, and found the native 400mm image was far sharper and had better contrast. Example images attached. I finished my field shoot using just the lens, and got results I could live with. In all cases I was better off without the tele than with it, so I've returned it. I don't think the description is quite right... I didn't get any cleaning set in the Nikon box.

First off, you will lose some sharpness and contrast with this teleconverter. Second off, you will lose some sharpness and contrast with every teleconverter so you should be aware of this before buying one. Third off, you will not lose as much sharpness and contrast with this teleconverter as you will with previous iterations or with generic third party converters. If you need a 2x teleconverter for compatible Nikon lenses, this is the way to go. I mostly use this with a 70-200mm f/4 as I don't particularly need a faster 400mm nor do I feel like paying for one (let's not even mention how heavy a 400mm prime can be). In this particular case, it's superb and requires just a touch of sharpening and contrast adjustment in Photoshop or Lightroom. Focusing isn't super fast on a D600, but it's adequate. If I was going for better performance here then I would have bought a more substantial 400mm. I've also used it with a 300mm f/2.8 and I can get away without additional sharpening in post, but just because I can get away with it doesn't mean that I will. Focus speed is also pretty excellent with the 300mm (effectively a 600mm f/5.6). Overall, I'm pleased. It does precisely what I want it to, nothing more and nothing less.

Great adaptor, have retired my 1.7x one as it was old. Optics are great as you'd expect from Nikon, I use F2.8 lenses, so F5.6 isn't bad. I keep it in my bag all the time, and use it regularly Paid £329, guess Brexit is to blame for the increase.

Ottimo prodotto, lo uso in coppia con un Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VRII e la resa è fantastica, scatto tranquillamente a 400mm senza perdere qualità in modo evidente. Valido compromesso se si vuole un teleobiettivo spinto valido senza spendere una cifra, anche se a dirla tutta questo TC è piuttosto costoso.

Très efficace

Realiza su función perfectamente. Buena terminación para lo que vale.

Lo uso con un Lente AF-S 200-500 mm f/5.6 ED VR y el Adaptador FTZ en una Nikon Z6 y el resultado ha sido mejor de lo que esperaba