50-200 SWD and EC20

[Tordan58]

Hi,

Below are some pictures of birds taken nearby the house we rented in Greece. Most birds were wary and difficult to come close hence I decided to use the 50-200 with EC20 for those situations. Right or wrong? Should I have sticked to the EC14? Pictures cropped to reach acceptable magnification.

I'd like to hear your opinion on the IQ, if this is as good results as I should expect.

Body used: E620

Pictures sorted in decreasing light conditions (best light comes first)

#1 Sardinian Warbler using EC14 and F5.0 (for reference)

#2 Red-backed Shrike
F7.0, 400mm, 1/640s

#3 Warbler, Sylvia genus.
F8, 364 mm (for some unknown reason I did not use max reach) , 1/400s

#4 Subalpine Warbler
F8, 400mm, 1/125s

#5 Spotted Flycatcher
F7, 400mm, 1/30 s

Thanks for looking
Tord

[David Morison]

Re: 50-200 SWD and EC20

Slightly confused Tord, as you state the images are taken with 50-200mm and EC20 yet your first image is labelled +EC14. Difficult to comment on IQ without knowing the amount the images are cropped. I haven't used the 50-200mm but with my Leica 14-150mm and 300mm SHG I find the EC20 gives a significantly inferior image to the EC14.

David

[jdal]

Re: 50-200 SWD and EC20

They do look soft Tord, it may be worth doing a controlled test at various apertures to see if 1.4 + crop is better than 2.0. Also, to my eyes, the bokeh is a little intrusive.

[Greytop]

Re: 50-200 SWD and EC20

Hello Tord, I agree they do a little on the soft side, even the reference shot with the EC-14 attached does slightly to my eye.
I wonder whether as John says some controlled tests with perhaps a focus adjustment might be worth undertaking?
My experience with the 50-200 and EC-20 has been very positive and as far I can tell the focus with my copy appears to be spot on.
The combination does need reasonable light and in those conditions I actually see little difference between the EC-14 and EC-20.

Here are a couple of examples at 400mm...





Hope that helps

[Tordan58]

Re: 50-200 SWD and EC20

Hi,

I agree, a bit soft.

Also sorry for confusing you. #1 is provided for reference, showing what can be achieved using the EC14, known for being a reliable companion to the 50-200. I believe this one is OK, although not perfect.

Approximate cropping factors:
#1: 25%
#2: 50%
#3: 50%
#4: 40%
#5: 25%

Used monopod support for #2-5, so I doubt it is shake blur. Even #5 is reasonably sharp given the shutter speed 1/30s (I took advantage of a tree as support)

When using the EC20 in bright light conditions/contrast subjects I have noticed a phenomenon that I would describe as an "optical horizontal echo", causing vertically dark/light separators not to be sharp. This is visible when looking at the bright chest against the dark background on photo #2. I have other samples where I have used the 70-300 and EC20 and where this phenomenon is even more pronounced.

[Tordan58]

Re: 50-200 SWD and EC20

Hello Tord, I agree they do a little on the soft side, even the reference shot with the EC-14 attached does slightly to my eye.
I wonder whether as John says some controlled tests with perhaps a focus adjustment might be worth undertaking?
My experience with the 50-200 and EC-20 has been very positive and as far I can tell the focus with my copy appears to be spot on.
The combination does need reasonable light and in those conditions I actually see little difference between the EC-14 and EC-20.

Here are a couple of examples at 400mm...





Hope that helps

Wow, this outperforms even the best result I have been able to achieve with the 50-200/EC20 combo.

Something must be wrong with my setup.

Do you know if AF calibration is recommended to be done for each of the lens/TC combinations you are using?

/Tord

[Greytop]

Re: 50-200 SWD and EC20

Wow, this outperforms even the best result I have been able to achieve with the 50-200/EC20 combo.

Something must be wrong with my setup.

Do you know if AF calibration is recommended to be done for each of the lens/TC combinations you are using?

/Tord

I would try some static tests with a detailed target (news print or similar), tripod mounted, mirror lock up etc. Then if it is necessary you could undertake some adjustments. I think I am right in saying this is possible with the 620 as it is with the E-30 and E-5.

I don't think calibration is necessarily recommended but it is good that the possibility is there if you need it
Luckily I have not needed to introduce any focus adjustment with my EC-20 or my EC-14.

[Tordan58]

Re: 50-200 SWD and EC20

Yes, AF calibration is supported on the E620, have not yet taken advantage of this functionality yet, though.

[Ian]

Re: 50-200 SWD and EC20

Some of the shutter speeds you report are very unrealistic for 400mm (800mm equivalent!) even on a tripod. 1/30th, for example. You really need 1/1000th or thereabouts.

Ian

[Who's_E]

Re: 50-200 SWD and EC20

Some of the shutter speeds you report are very unrealistic for 400mm (800mm equivalent!) even on a tripod. 1/30th, for example. You really need 1/1000th or thereabouts.

Ian

Ditto from me. The rule of thumb for 35mm was shutter speed need to be 1/focal length for sharp photos. So, as Ian points out, you need about 1/1000th to remove camera shake. Then there are other things, like the wind moving the branch the bird is on; hot air distorting the atmosphere at that distance.

The light you had wasn't great later on, either. I would look at the conditions more than the kit in this case - sometimes the weather just isn't right for certain types of photograph. To comiserate with you, here are some photos from an E510, EC14 and 50-200 at fwide open and 560mm. One was supported in poor light and one unsupported in good light on the same day and the difference shines through.





Nick

[Greytop]

Re: 50-200 SWD and EC20

For shutter speed with the 50-200 and EC-20 @ 400mm I tend to set an absolute minimum of around 1/200th.
Generally I shoot at 1/320 or 1/400 in favourable light with this combination.
The E-5 IS1 does a good enough job at these speeds in my experience.

[Tordan58]

Re: 50-200 SWD and EC20

Ian,

I agree on your comment. In the particular case of the 1/30 s I had the camera supported by a tree branch, and I do believe there is very little shake blur. Taking a picture 30 min after sunrise, in wooden country, I had no option than 1600 ISO and 1/30s.

/Tord

[Tordan58]

Re: 50-200 SWD and EC20

More on this subject... I have started to believe the 50-200 SWD and/or EC20 are broken. Look at this thread with other samples (taken with tripod).

/Tord