I'm not saying that the 4 element is good, but that many other factors
go into the usefulness and enjoyment of the results.
Slides shot with it in tropical sunlight with small f-stops and viewed
in a living room through a kodak lens on a carousel can look pretty good.
Optical quailty and lighting are inextricably connected. With enough
light, a pinhole makes great pics. The whole dance of photography is
between light and all the balances between lens design, materials, size,
weight, speed, and film/sensor sensitivity, color balance, grain/dpi,
and focus, depth of field, shutter speed, vibration, etc.,etc. That's
where the art and fun come in. Our heart and mind use the equipment of
photography to dance with the light.
When I recently saw my first muskrat in Point Reyes National Seashore, I
knew it was unusual. The light was already starting to fade. The tripod
in the car a couple of miles away wasn't available. Light and it's
interaction with the equipment at hand IS the issue. So I underexposed
intentionally by a stop, knowing that Supra 400 has that latitude and
got my pics. Pull out the extender and try to hand hold an effectively
longer lens at a slower shutter speed and I'll just get a blur. Had I
known I would run across a mammal way outside the range shown in
Audobon's Mammal Guide, would I have carried a tripod on my hike? Hell
yes! I'd have carried my Bogen 3236 and 3047 head, 200-500mm zoom and
1000mm mirror lens out there (and perhaps required hospital care
later?). For much photography, it's still about knowing the tools
available and chosing those that will get the best image possible under
the circumstances.
Just MHO,
Moose
C.H.Ling wrote:
The lighting condition allow it or not is another issue, that is not
related to optical quality. A tripod is needed in most cases for tele
shoots if you want maximum sharpness. The Vivita 4 element 2x(?) must
be very special, I never happy with the Tamron 4 element 2x I once
owned, just far away from any 6/7 element 2x I have.
C.H.Ling
dreammoose wrote:
You will never see an 88mm image circle because of baffles in the
converter to limit it's output angle, but that's what is happening
optically and is the reason for the 2 stop (1/4 the light intensity)
exposure effect of the extender. I wasn't trying to say they are 'bad',
only to explain how they work. If we understand our tools and the
alternatives, we can use them more effectively. I've got some old slides
I love taken with a zoom and a little 4 element Vivitar extender. Would
I shoot negative film at 1/30 instead of 1/125 in order to get
magnification of an image in the camera at the clear risk of blurring it
when I can enlarge it later - no.
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