Any body have any input on using the Century or Schneider Optics 1.6 TC on a Canon XHA1 for birds, smaller targets, wildlife at long range? Looking for input, anybody???

Any body have any input on using the Century or Schneider Optics 1.6 TC on a Canon XHA1 for birds, smaller targets, wildlife at long range? Looking for input, anybody???

This is all I can offer. Click on the Sample tab to see images.

1.6X TELE-CONVERTER HD CANON - Schneider Optics (http://www.schneideroptics.com/ecommerce/CatalogItemDetail.aspx?CID=1385&IID=6223)

Ryan Avery
Schneider Optics

Hi Tim,
What sort of range are you looking at, & how big are your targets? The Century tele extender will give you 1.6 x the focal length of the lens, so effectively you will end up with 1040mm in 35mm terms. To give you a better idea of what you will be able to achieve with this lens adaptor, zoom in all the way with your camera, & imagine then that what you have in frame would be cropped by roughly 40%. This will vary according to how far you are from your subject but that's a rough idea anyway.
I have been using a Raynox 1.8x tele extender & have been very impressed with the quality of what i get with it. The Century lens will be even better, just not quite as long.
Hope this helps,
Bryce

Hey Ryan, Hey Bryce, was looking for input from anyone with this TC on an XHA1 to see how it handled birds in flight, tracking, and image quality over all. I have the numbers you mentioned, and know what reach is capable as well as the vignetting issues associated with this TC. Thanks for the input. Anybody with any hands on out here please let me know.
Thanks again guys.

Hi again Tim,
The image quality of the TC you are looking at is probably the best you will get. As far as being able to track birds in flight, that will come down more to your skills, & how good your tripod is.
Bryce

If the image quality of the Century 1.6x converter for the V1/FX7 is as good as their 2.0x converter, you will be fine!

Hey Tim, I'm getting one of these for my XH-A1 today. I plan to use it for birds, mainly shooting on a tripod with minimal panning and tracking. I'll try to give you some feedback in the nexy few weeks.

Pat

Hey Tim, I'm getting one of these for my XH-A1 today. I plan to use it for birds, mainly shooting on a tripod with minimal panning and tracking. I'll try to give you some feedback in the nexy few weeks.

Pat

Hello Pat, Thanksfor the feedback and support. I would love hearing back from you regarding this as I am ready to do just the same thing as we speak. Perhaps we could share and learn together as we figure out what works and what fails? Thanks again and Please keep me posted as I will do that same for you.
Minimal panning and tracking, :) I have to agree with you on that for sure.

Tim

Hi Tim,

I have been playing around with the Century 1.6 TC this morning. No birds have cooperated yet, but here are my first impressions. It is listed at about one pound in weight (seems a little heavier than this), it will definitely make the XH-A1 a little front heavy. I have the Manfrotto 501HD fluid head, and I can just balance the camera on this but I bought the "long plate" that will allow me to perfectly balance the camera and TC on the head. The TC mounts easily; make sure you remove any filters you have on the A1 lens. The resolution of the TC images seems pretty good, maybe a little less than with the stock lens. Corner-to-corner sharpness seems adequate. The built in lens on the A1 is stellar even at 650 mm, so I have prepared myself to accept a little bit less than this with a TC on (and that would probably be true for most cameras and TCs).

I was filming a distant rock outcropping (1.5 miles) and saw quite a bit of purple fringing on the edges of the frame. Heat waves in the distance may have interferred with focusing, and out of focus edges can exascerbate purple fringing. Filming pine branches and needles against a blue sky, the purple fringing was much less obvious and was acceptable to my eyes at least. This is the kind of scene I will be more likely to film, with a brid on the tree of course. Playing with the presets is one way to reduce the appearance of purple fringing, should you find that it is an issue for you.

If you are manual focusing, the distance scale will be a little bit compressed (a 1.5 mile distant object was in focus when the camera reported a distance of about 1000 feet). If you are filming a relatively close larger bird, like a pelican flying along the beach or a raptor over a meadow, you may be able to do well with the built in lens range without a TC. We will have to learn when to use the TC and when not to. You can zoom out a fair amount with the TC on before there is vignetting, but the image quality at those focal lengths may be better with the stock lens. I'll be pretty busy in the next few weeks and may not have much time to provide any new info, so I will try to check back with you in 2 or 3 weeks. Enjoy your lens! It looks like a good TC.

Pat

Hi Pat, Thanks for the heads up. I appreciate you getting back to me with this info so fast. Well, purple fringing huh? I will have to watch for that.
I plan on picking my TC up as soon as I can get by Sammys during this coming week, hopefully Mon or Tues. Where did you get yours if I may ask?
I know what you mean by when to use it and not as I have the same dilemna dealing with all my Still Lenses and the collection of TC's I have for them.
I hope to hear more from you regarding your TC and findings and rest assured i will keep you up on mine as well.
Thanks again Pat and Take Care,
Tim

Tim, I've used the Century 1.6X teleconverter combined with Canon's 1.6 extender for many years on the Canon XL1 with excellent results. For 2 1/2 years now, I've been using this lens combination on the XLH1 with stunning results. If a clip didn't turn out razor sharp I don't blame this lens setup, but rather poor lighting, mirage, extreme range or myself. I backpack solo in the mountains alot and this setup packs well for me. Also, the best zoom lens you can use is your two legs, the closer the better, within reason of course on dangerous animals. I also find Century's .6X wide angle very good for scenic shots.

Happy shooting.

Leon Lorenz
www.wildlifevideos.ca

Tim, I shot some pine siskins and nuthatches this morning. I found that I will have to pay closer attention to focus, exposure, and depth of field than I have with the stock lens, but I was pleased with the peformance of the lens. I think the instant autofocus sensor is blocked by the TC, so auto focus is a little slower and less sure of itself. I bought the TC from B&H Photo.

Leon, thanks for the info. Glad to know that you are getting great results with the TC.

Pat

Once again Pat I Thank You for the input. Sounds like a great TC and well worth the investment. I have not yet had the time to go get mine as work keeps me hopping but I have mine on hold waiting for my pick up. Armed with your test input I am better prepared and well ahead of the game. Thanks!!! BTW, if you don't mind my asking what did you pay for yours? Thanks again Pat........Tim

Tim,
I shoot often with a Canon HR20 and a 2x Canon screw-on teleextender. It does small birds OK, but can't compare with a bigger camcorder. The autofocus is often blocked by the lens, depending on how far away the subject is.

Here is a short video I shot with the 2x extender, hand held.

A Busy Morning at Brigantine on Vimeo (http://www.vimeo.com/812647)

I paid $780 from B&H:

Century Precision Optics | VS-16TC-XL 1.6x | 0HD-16TC-XLH | B&H (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/154838-REG/Century_Precision_Optics_0HD_16TC_XLH_VS_16TC_XL_1_6x_Tele_Converter_Lens.html)

Pat

I paid $780 from B&H:

Century Precision Optics | VS-16TC-XL 1.6x | 0HD-16TC-XLH | B&H (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/154838-REG/Century_Precision_Optics_0HD_16TC_XLH_VS_16TC_XL_1_6x_Tele_Converter_Lens.html)

Pat

Good price Pat. I was quoted a few buck more than that, $800 to be exact but I can live with it. Thanks again for all the help.

I shoot a fair amount of animals and birds with a XH-A1 and the 1.6 TC, giving you somewhere in the 1000mm focal length equivalent. That works well for big animals and some big birds. But even with birds like eagles and ospreys, you will be doing well to get a half height shot. For smaller birds like flycatchers, forget it.

To do bird video, except in special circumstances, you really need more like 2000-3000mm focal length- or a blind.

The previous suggestion of taking your XH A1 out and shooting some samples will allow you to measure the bird height in the resulting video, so you can easily caliculate the focal length you will need.

Wild birds usually don't let you get close. So you probably need a camera that supports interchangeable lenses and a long 35mm lens.

Rick

I shoot a fair amount of animals and birds with a XH-A1 and the 1.6 TC, giving you somewhere in the 1000mm focal length equivalent. That works well for big animals and some big birds. But even with birds like eagles and ospreys, you will be doing well to get a half height shot. For smaller birds like flycatchers, forget it.

To do bird video, except in special circumstances, you really need more like 2000-3000mm focal length- or a blind.

The previous suggestion of taking your XH A1 out and shooting some samples will allow you to measure the bird height in the resulting video, so you can easily caliculate the focal length you will need.

Wild birds usually don't let you get close. So you probably need a camera that supports interchangeable lenses and a long 35mm lens.

Rick


Rick, thanks for the input. I am not sure I agree with you about them not letting you get close. If you check out my Web Site keep in mind these were all shot at 400 mm or less.

Tim-
I checked out your web site- nice pictures!
I presume that many of the pictures were cropped?

Also, I find it very hard to shoot birds in flight and keep it tight, especially with video. Any suggestions?

Rick

Century Optics 1.6 TC Follow up.....
Well, I finally made it over to Sammy's and picked mine up. First impression is Holly Crap! At least I know if I ever needed a boat anchor this will do fine as it has some definite weight to it.
I plan to do some testing with it this afternoon.
I have been testing the XHA1 for the past few weeks so I was in no big hurry to get this TC, I wanted to find the limitations of the stock lens. I will keep this thread updated as to my findings, Thanks again everyone, especially you Pat!
SoCal

Tim-
I checked out your web site- nice pictures!
I presume that many of the pictures were cropped?

Also, I find it very hard to shoot birds in flight and keep it tight, especially with video. Any suggestions?

Rick

Hey Rick, sorry about the delay I have not made it back to this therad in a while. Yes, of course many if not all of my BIF images are cropped.
As to keeping it tight with Video, I will let you know how I do as I am still in the early stages of BIF and Birds in general with the XHA1. My initial response to keeping it tight is "Focal Length" go big or go home. The down side to that is target aquisition but you get used to that.
Take Care Rick,
SoCal

Tim,

Shooting flying birds is what I do the most of. I used to use the gl2 with the century 2x.
Seems to me the lens has about the same magnifications.

the More telephoto the morre difficult it is to keep them relatively steady.

A couple things. I used a shoulder mount for the camera, still have it about if you want to try it out for a few weeks. I think the spyder brace with a manfrotto 521 camera control is about the best as the spider prace uses two front hand holds. Some times I wished I had one like it that could manage my xl2 and xlh1!!

Sense you are shooting hd, you could crop the hd images down and then display them in SD. It would give you more latitude.

Of course shooting off a set of sticks is best but much bird footage is needed to be shot off the shoulder in my book!

It takes a huge amount of practice.

Tim,

Shooting flying birds is what I do the most of. I used to use the gl2 with the century 2x.
Seems to me the lens has about the same magnifications.

the More telephoto the morre difficult it is to keep them relatively steady.

A couple things. I used a shoulder mount for the camera, still have it about if you want to try it out for a few weeks. I think the spyder brace with a manfrotto 521 camera control is about the best as the spider prace uses two front hand holds. Some times I wished I had one like it that could manage my xl2 and xlh1!!

Sense you are shooting hd, you could crop the hd images down and then display them in SD. It would give you more latitude.

Of course shooting off a set of sticks is best but much bird footage is needed to be shot off the shoulder in my book!

It takes a huge amount of practice.


Hey Dale, Thanks for the offer to use your gear but I think I will stick to the way I have been doing things as it seems to work out well for my style of shooting.
Personally? I would never dream of downgrading HD footage to SD for reasons of gaining a tighter shot. That seems counter productive in my opinion. I realize there may be contradictory opinions on that but again, it is my line of thinking and what works for me to achieve the end result I am after.

I took the Century TC with me to the Big Island of Hawaii last month. I was initially planning to spend a fair amount of time filming honey creepers at Volcanoes National Park. We ended up having fairly limited time for filming there (a half day), so I didn't get much footage. Honey creepers are small and hyperactive. With the TC, I had to basically target a patch of Ohia Lehua flowers and wait for a bird to show up. Wind and rain were an issue, but I can tell from the clips that the Century TC performs very well. Tim, let us know how your tests go.

Pat

Hey Pat, so far all I can say is I am pleasantly surprised. This TC is a sharp shooter. I was expecting a bit of sacrifce with regards to crispness but found it to be surprisingly sharp on even jittery little birds with no dicsernable issues other than vignetting which comes to play at about 40-45 % but I knew that before buying this TC, it is just the nature of the beast. Besides, I did not buy this TC for pulled back images.
Pushed way out to full FL this thing really delivers!
Well worth the investment and two big thumbs up for sure.
Just like any other long reach optic, target aquisition on fast and small moving subjects will require practice but can be mastered and with very crisp results.

Thanks for the report back Tim. I am seriously considering getting one for my EX1. I do a lot of BIF photography and would love to start adding video.

Mick Haensler

One of my earliest post here, was about TC's.

I have a Raynox and a Canon TC and WC, and was having some chromatic abberation, in certain situations.

One of the many knowledgeable members, had gone through the same thing, and mention that if I take the UV filter off, and just put the TC on, it should clear things up. It did greatly.

I was wondering if the Century TC, had this issue.

The century tc is a nice piece of glass and i would recomend it over any other for cameras that can not change lenses.

when I am shooting volitile birds i do not use the brace: elbows in two handed shoot keeping it pressed against the eye for a third point. some of my stuff people think its shot off a tripod, but then I throw alot of hand held stuff out!!

iT IS ALWAYS A CHALLENGE AND A LOT OF FUN.


I WAS LOOKING AT THE ADD FOR YOUR 1.6. AND MUST HAVE LAUGHED:: THE SIGN IN THE PICTURE SATICOY BLVD IS NOT FAR FROM WHERE I GREW UP!!!!!! I did notice they did not give the lines of horizontal rsolution, probably because it would be mis interpreted.

In my opoinion the 2x does go a bit soft in the far end of its work. However I know a friend of mine can't even see the difference. So that must mean its pretty darn good.

I think the 1.6 is a better lens!

do you have some clips up ypou have shot for us to look at?

Sam, if I am not mistaken the Century 1.6 will not fit on the Canon XH-A1 if you have a filter on the camera lens. I'm not sure about the Century TCs for other cameras.

Pat

Sam, if I am not mistaken the Century 1.6 will not fit on the Canon XH-A1 if you have a filter on the camera lens. I'm not sure about the Century TCs for other cameras.

Pat


That is correct Pat, no go with a filter using the 1.6
It sure is nice getting so much reach and having it so sharp to boot. I am definitely happy with this tele-converter.
Target aquisition on the fly with small targets, which was my original question here, will require a lot of practice but that is typical with my other long range optics. Kind of like trying to find a flying gnat through a drinking straw.