Pros and Cons of Built-in Teleconverters
One lens to rule them all…!
Nested (shot with a Nikon Z8 and a 600mm lens with a built-in 1.4x teleconverter at 840mm)
Photography is full of trade-offs, and it’s annoying to have to choose between zooms and primes, but what if there were a third option? I’ve recently traded in my Sony ⍺1 and Sony FE 600 mm f/4 G Master lens for a Nikon Z8 and a NIKKOR Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S lens with a built-in 1.4x teleconverter. I get the same image quality and maximum aperture of a normal prime, but with some of the flexibility, portability and convenience of a zoom. So is it worth it? Let’s look at the pros and cons…
Pros
Panning for Gold (shot with a Nikon Z8 and a 600mm lens with a built-in 1.4x teleconverter at 600mm)
No lens will give you everything you want or need as a photographer. However, a lens with a built-in teleconverter (or extender) lets you change between two focal lengths by simply flipping a switch!
One Telephoto Instead of Two
High-end telephoto lenses are often very heavy and bulky, so having a 400mm or 600mm lens with a built-in 1.4x teleconverter means that one lens can do the job of two. Your 400mm can also become a 560mm lens, or your 600mm can become an 840mm lens. If you want to cover both focal lengths, that can be a big saving in terms of size, weight and cash!
I used to have a Sony FE 400 mm f/2.8 G Master lens as well as my 600mm, and I occasionally took them on safari. However, they wouldn’t both fit in my camera bag, so I sometimes had to put the 400mm in a separate dry bag. That was a real pain when going through security or trying to find room in the overhead lockers on the plane!
Even when I took both lenses with me on game drives or boat rides, I found they gave me less flexibility, not more. That’s because I only had two camera bodies, so I couldn’t use both telephotos and a mid-range lens like my Sony FE 70-200 mm f/2.8 G Master OSS II.
After a while, I noticed that I’d stopped taking my 400mm lens on game drives, so I started leaving it at home. That was a huge waste of money, so I eventually ended up selling it. A few months later, I went the whole hog and swapped my Sony 600mm for my new Nikon 600mm with the built-in teleconverter.
Less Need to Change Lenses
Wildlife photography often involves facing extreme conditions in far-flung places, so the last thing you want to do is change lenses when you’re in the middle of a dust cloud or a thunderstorm! It’s inconvenient and slows you down, so you might miss the shot, and there’s a good chance you’ll end up with sensor spots—or worse…
Having a lens with a built-in teleconverter lets you keep the same lens(es) on your camera(s) almost all the time, so you can easily switch focal lengths to alternate between a close-up and a wider view or capture a small bird flying past when you’re photographing an elephant!
No more missing the crucial shot and no more sensor spots…
Wider Maximum Aperture
Having a ‘fast’ lens with a wide maximum aperture is crucial for most wildlife photographers. That’s because it keeps down the ISO (and therefore noise levels) when shooting in low light and also provides creamy ‘bokeh’ (ie background blur).
One of the major benefits of primes over zooms is that they almost always have wider maximum apertures. Zooms are usually made for the mass market, and the need for extra lens elements that move around inside the barrel of the lens makes it very hard to manufacture a zoom with a wide maximum aperture like f/2.8 or f/4.
If the choice is between a zoom lens and a 400mm or 600mm prime with a built-in 1.4x teleconverter, you’ll almost certainly get a wider maximum aperture with the prime. My 600mm NIKKOR goes down to f/4, and the 400mm version goes all the way to f/2.8!
Better Image Quality
Another advantage of primes over zooms is the optical quality. If you want pin-sharp photos without any lens flare when shooting into the sun, you’re going to be much better off with a high-end prime. That doesn’t matter so much if you just want to publish your shots on Instagram, but it makes a big difference if you want a print to fill your living room wall!
Cons
Wing Beat (shot with a Nikon Z8 and a 600mm lens with a built-in 1.4x teleconverter at 600mm)
Unfortunately, there’s a price to pay for all the advantages—and it’s a hefty one!
Lack of Choice
If you’re interested in buying a lens with a built-in teleconverter, you don’t have many options—even if you happen to have a Nikon camera! Neither Sony nor Canon currently offers telephoto lenses with built-in teleconverters for mirrorless cameras, and the only other two on the market are the 2013 Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x and the 2019 Olympus 150-400mm F4.5 TC 1.25x IS PRO.
Your best bet is Nikon, which offers the 400mm and 600mm F4 TC VR S lenses for its Nikon Z mirrorless cameras and the older Nikon AF-S 180-400mm F/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR lens for its DSLRs.
Given all the advantages of lenses with built-in teleconverters, it’s surprising that there aren’t more manufacturers making them—especially Sony! I would’ve loved to buy a Sony lens instead of having to trade in Sony gear for a new Nikon camera and lens, but I didn’t have a choice. I lost a lot of money on the deal, and I now have to carry around Nikon spares as well as Sony spares!
I don’t much mind mixing and matching my camera brands (see article), but it won’t suit everyone. Most photographers stick to one brand and one mount—and for good reason. Compatibility is a key issue in photography, and nobody wants to have to buy a new camera just to be able to use a new lens!
Lack of Flexibility
If you decide to buy a prime lens, you’ll never get the same range of focal lengths as you’d get with a zoom. The range of modern zooms tends to be 3-5x (ie the longest focal length is three to five times the shortest), which is much better than you’d get with a built-in 1.4x teleconverter.
That gives zoom lenses several advantages:
You can easily switch between close-ups and wider shots.
You can easily change from large subjects to small.
You can zoom in or out slightly to get the perfect framing.
The first prime lens I bought was a Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 800mm f/5.6E FL ED lens, and although I quickly got used to not being able to zoom in and out, I often found myself caught with ‘too much lens’. I didn’t even have enough time to change cameras, let alone lenses, so I ended up missing the shot.
That’s part of the reason why so many mirrorless shooters opt for the Sony FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS Super Telephoto Zoom Lens, the Nikon NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens or the Canon RF100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM lens. They all give you a great range of focal lengths, plus the convenience, flexibility and portability of a zoom.
Forgetfulness
This is obviously not a problem with the lenses, but it’s very easy to forget which setting you’re on. My Nikon Z8 has a TC icon that pops up in the viewfinder (or on the LCD) when the built-in teleconverter is in use, but in the heat of the moment, I have enough to think about without looking for that!
Cost
This is obviously the main problem. I’ve left it until last, but there’s no way around it. These lenses cost a LOT of money. Why spend thousands on a high-end prime when you can buy a zoom for less than a quarter of the price?!
I’m a professional wildlife photographer, so I want to have the best possible equipment at my disposal—and at least I’m likely to get a return on my investment! However, it’s just not worth it for most shooters. If you’re a hobbyist, you almost certainly can’t afford a NIKKOR Z 400mm or 600mm TC VR S lens—and I’ve even heard professional wildlife photographers say the same!
Verdict
Going for Gold (shot with a Nikon Z8 and a 600mm lens with a built-in 1.4x teleconverter at 600mm)
There are definitely pros and cons to buying a prime lens with a built-in teleconverter. If you can afford it, it’s a great chance to avoid the usual trade-offs between zooms and primes. You can carry one telephoto instead of two and avoid changing lenses in the field while still benefiting from the wider maximum aperture and greater image quality of a prime.
However, there are significant drawbacks. There are only a few lenses available at the moment, you don’t get the same range of focal lengths, it’s easy to forget whether you’re using the teleconverter or not and, of course, very few people can justify the expense.
I made the leap myself a couple of years ago, and I’ve never looked back. My only regret is that it cost me so much money. I hope that Sony one day jumps on the bandwagon and releases a super telephoto with a built-in teleconverter, but I’m not holding my breath…!
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