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I am considering buying a Canon 1.4 extender to use with my 6D and 100-400 IS L II. I understand that AF will not function with this combination.

I understand that lack of AF will limit me to static or slowly moving subjects. Nevertheless this could still be a big bonus in some situations. Does anyone have any advice based on usage of this actual combination to confirm that manual focus is a viable proposition?

mattdm
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David Bailey
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    Hello David, welcome to photo.SE! You already mention the drawbacks, so your question sounds very opinion based. Some people might tell you how this is easily a handholdable manual focusable kit while others will tell you that there's no way you could possibly use manual focus. There's no way around trying it yourself. – null Aug 31 '15 at 21:04
  • Hello David, welcome to SE. What kind of advice would you like to get ? Is it about image quality, camera settings, situations where the AF-less 560mm is of use... ? It may help to know what kind of pictures you want to take (bird ?). – Olivier Aug 31 '15 at 21:11
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    Given the subjective nature of the question (how good is good enough?), I'd suggest renting a TC if you can and try it out for yourself. Having tried a 1.4 TC on the Mark 1 version of that lens, I was really unimpressed with its performance with moving subjects, and I've not yet found a great opportunity to try again with a static subject. – D. Lambert Aug 31 '15 at 21:46
  • possible duplicate of Can manual focus be faster than autofocus? – Dan Wolfgang Sep 01 '15 at 13:57
  • I suggest that this question is really about whether manual focus is a viable option over slow autofocus, which is why I marked this question as a duplicate. – Dan Wolfgang Sep 01 '15 at 13:58
  • Not really. As I understand it AF will not work at all above F5.6 (or at least well below F8) so manual focus is the ONLY option with my kit. I will rent a TC as suggested by Alan P and see if it works for me in static situations. Thanks the help. David – David Bailey Sep 01 '15 at 15:37

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I have a 6D with the old version of the 100-400. Focusing for me in manual mode is difficult and hit or miss. If I focus manually I try to let the camera focus points tell me if I am in focus. It doesn't always work if the background is high contrast. If I have a subject that is very high contrast that helps a lot and my keeper rate goes up.

If you can put the camera on a tripod then you can focus with live view. Use the camera display zoo to zoom in. This works quite well for stationary subjects. I bought a hoodman to focus in live view in bright sunlight. It helps a lot.

Alan P
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  • Thank you Alan for your help. The tips on manual focussing are much appreciated. I don't much use a tripod. As a member of my local Photo so, I enter all their competitions and some external salons with some success but in all subjects not just Nature. Thanks David – David Bailey Sep 01 '15 at 15:41