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Filed under: Products •Cameras •Lenses •

Comparing Canon’s MKII and MKIII Extenders

In the Fall of 2010 Canon announced the introduction of new MKIII extenders to replace the previous MKII versions.  Super Spectra coatings were introduced to help reduce ghosting and flare as well as fluorine coating to make water spots and finer prints easier to remove.  I’ve always fond the MKII extenders to be extremely useful when used in the right circumstances so I was eager to try out the MKIII versions to see if there was an improvement.

Physical differences

Since the introduction of the 800mm f5.6, Canon changed their off-white color of their telephoto lenses.  All the new MKII IS super-tele lenses from Canon feature this new coloring so the MKIII extenders have been updated to match both the color and also the very slightly smoother design aesthetic of these lenses.  The lens release button on the MKIIIs is also larger than on the previous version and it feels a lot nicer under the thumb in operation.  Apart from that though there is little difference on the outside.

The slight difference in color can be seen with the MKIII extender and this 500mm f4 L IS

New larger lens release button on the MKIII versions

MKIII on the left and MKII on the right. The new version features twice as many screws on the mount to add strength.

Weather sealing all around for water resistent attachment to compatible lenses.

Usage of MKIII extenders with new MKII IS super-tele lenses

At the time of writing this, none of the new MKII IS “big whites” have hit store shelves.  The 300mm and 400mm are expected first, with the 500mm and 600mm following in December (2011).  It’s noted on the Canon website :

To ensure lens optical performance and autofocus performance remains high, both extenders feature an integrated processor to transfer all focus and lens information back to the camera. To ensure this is working optimally, you should always attach the lens to the extender before attaching the extender to the camera body. This will ensure the combination lens information is transmitted correctly and completely. Compared to the Mark II Extenders, these new Mark III Extenders will offer increased AF performance with all EF lenses.

So there is some new technology hidden inside these things that we have yet to unlock and as such I can’t really comment on that new aspect.  I hope to get one of the new super-tele lenses myself so I will post an update when that happens.  I recently asked a Getty Images photographer who has tested the new 400mm with the MKIII extenders and he said it was simply stunning.  It’s also interesting to note that in this picture of the new hard case for the 400mm , there are dedicated slots for the extenders to fit in to.  Take from that what you will, but to me is says Canon are very proud of their performance.

Why do extenders have a bad reputation ?

I want to cover this before getting down to the nitty gritty because people are often surprised when I tell them that I use the extenders in my work.  I would defy any one of them to find the shots in which I have used them!  To use extenders effectively though you have to understand their strengths and weaknesses.  Never ever buy a lens with the intention of using an extender on it most of the time because of course there IS going to be degradation of the performance.  Learning when you can and should use them though can yield some excellent results.

• A 1.4x extender will decrease your maximum aperture by 1 stop.
• A 2x extender will decrease your maximum aperture by 2 stops.
• Canon claims AF speed reduction of 50% with a 1.4x and 75% with a 2x extender.
• All extenders decrease the contrast of your image.
• All extenders soften your image, particularly at wider apertures.

These are the facts, now you have to figure out how to get around these problems.  Lets take the decrease in contrast for example.  An image with low contrast has lesser perceived sharpness.  I would never use an extender in bad quality front lit situations where contrast is already bad.  I would however use an extender if the sun is off at 90 degrees to my subject or more.  Particularly in my winter sports work, contrast of the snow is important to maintain.  Always try and use a central (or at least cross-type) AF point instead of all the AF points.  This will help combat the AF speed reduction and finally ALWAYS stop the lens down further than you would do in that same situation of you were NOT using the extender.  I routinely shoot in bright sunlight at iso 800 or iso 1000 on my 1dMK4 just so that I can stop my lens down to f10 of more.  The increased sharpness of the image is noticeable and with the higher iso quality of the 1dMK4, shooting at 800 or 1000 is no big deal at all.  It’s almost totally clean !

Canon 1dmk4 , iso800, f11 , 1/2000 , 600mm (300mm f2.8 L IS + 2x MKII extender)

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