Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter

As many others have written, paired this with my 70-210 GM2 to avoid buying another and more expensive lens. Recently resurrected a long-lost love of photography, and this allowed me to get some good shots of the April 2024 eclipse. I have also used this combination (and the R5 mirrorless) to get some good shots of the full moon.

Current setup is the 2x teleconverter paired with the Sony GM 70-200. I use it on my A7RIII and A1. On both cameras the auto focus is quick and snappy and works as good as if I didn’t have the teleconverter.Overall sharpness is great! Especially when the subject is closer I have no problems with sharpness. As subjects get further, it can be a little less sharp but that’s due to there being more atmosphere in between yourself and the camera.As a travel photographer this essentially gives me 2 lenses without having the sacrifice space and weight.

I had a lot of reservations on getting this 2x teleconverter as I have seen a lot of reports of significant optical quality loss and blurry images on the 100-400gm. I ordered it anyways to test for myself, knowing that I could just return it if the quality was not up to par.The 2x TC turns the 100-400mm to a 200-800mm. In APS-C crop mode on a full-frame Sony you get a 300mm-1200mm lens! Most of these shots I've included are at the far end of that range and excellent quality. I think the reports specific to the moon being blurry with the 2x TC relates to the fact that punched in to that extreme length there are a lot more variables at play. For one you need a really stable tripod and should manually focus on the moon to ensure it is crispy sharp. The rest of the photos i've included were using autofocus on a Sony a7c or a Sony a7s iii.

Using this 2x converter with the Sony a7rII and 70-200mm 2.8 lens to give me 400mm for birding and other activities. It does pretty good if you reduce the aperture to f/11 or smaller (total aperture of the lens and tele-converter). Significant detail is lost shooting wide open. At f/11, pixel peeping shows a slight loss in sharpness with a bit more chromatic aberration compared to without the tele-converter, but the tele-converter does (subjectively) provide results that are slightly better than a 2x up-scaled image at the same aperture, so it does seem to work as intended. Unfortunately, loss of photons at f/11 makes low light shooting much more impractical, and it limits wildlife shooting to bright conditions. In low light conditions, it's better to shoot closer to wide open without it and upscale 2x post-processing if you need to. I would have loved it if Sony spent more time engineering this converter to shoot better wide open, and ignore some of the smaller apertures, since that's where most people will be using these lenses.I have not tested yet with the 100-400 lens yet, and have not had a chance to compare it to the 1.4x converter. Don't have pockets deep enough to get everything at once. I'll update the review when I do. Considering the price, I question its overall value, but this seems to always be the consensus for 2x converters for all camera manufacturers.UDATE 2/23/21 - I picked up the 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G lens earlier this year, and the 2x teleconverter, which hadn't seen a lot of use before, works great with the 200-600 lens for up to 1200mm of resolving power! This teleconverter seems to handle that lens much better than it did the 70-200 f/2.8 GM. With the 200-600 lens, low light performance leaves a lot to be desired, but under bright birding conditions, the teleconverter shines!Final recommendations:If you need more reach for the 70-200 GM lens, get the 1.4x teleconverter. The 2x will hinder more than it helps.If you need more reach for the 200-600 G lens, get the 2.0x teleconverter, but be aware of poor low-light performance.I have not tested with the 100-400 GM lens, I do not own that lens.Update 2: I used the A7rII + 200-600 G lens + 2x teleconverter + tripod + shutterless bulb mode to capture the Jupiter Saturn conjunction back in April. After some post-processing and image stacking, I was able to achieve the attached post-processed photo. Not too shabby for not using a telescope!

I tried AF with A1 and 600mm, 100-400mm lens and focus with any delay, very sharp even at F9. My Nikon 2TC would never focus even with a prime lens

I have to use these to get closer to the lovely moon. I will buy a second to get closer. I do not care what people say. I need bigger moon.

Paired this with A7IV and 70-200 GM MK2 the best gear out right now . It definitely felt like a slap in the mouth to throw this magnifier on the back of a $3k lens. The 70-200 is a razer sharp beast, which was sadly held back by this converter. I used this in sport’s photography which was not at all a good combo. I could see it working for some wildlife photography but definitely not fast or sharp enough for sports. The 5.6 aperature definitely also sets you back with heavy grain. This was a sad return for me considering I didn’t want to spend another 3-4k on a telephoto. But you get what you pay for. It does the job but sadly does lose a ton of quality. Gives off very soft edges and hazy effects.

Not compatible with some Sony cameras and lenses. There's a reason it's a frequently returned item. Check carefully before buying. My old Canon teleconverter worked seamlessly with my Canon gear but this Sony one works with practically none of my Sony gear.