# 5Dmk3 doesnt play with kenko teleconverters



## wickidwombat (Mar 28, 2012)

I discovered this last night, I'm very disappointed, I havent tried my kenko extension tubes yet, i'll try them later and see. I hope canon fix this with a firmware update


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Mar 28, 2012)

Which model Kenko? If its the latest one, hopefully they can offer a upgrade. I'd get in contact with them and verify that they are seeing your issue.

My tubes are merely pass thru conductors, no electroics. They should make no difference.


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## wickidwombat (Mar 28, 2012)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> Which model Kenko? If its the latest one, hopefully they can offer a upgrade. I'd get in contact with them and verify that they are seeing your issue.
> 
> My tubes are merely pass thru conductors, no electroics. They should make no difference.



yeah the latest ones
the kenko tubes have electronics and report aperture and exif i'll try them tonight


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Mar 28, 2012)

Ouch, Canon strikes again? I saw one person who was having AFMA issues with his Sigma lens, but others seem to be having no issues. I hope the lens incompatibility does not pop up again.


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## wickidwombat (Mar 28, 2012)

my Sigma 85 f1.4 seems to be working fine i succesfully did all the AFMA last night on it as well as a bunch of other lenses thankfully since its my favourite lens


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## drjlo (Apr 10, 2012)

To my dismay, my trusty Kenko 1.4x Teleplus Pro 300 teleconverter is not working with Canon 5D MkIII. It used to work perfectly with every Canon lens (not just the ones compatible with Canon teleconverter) on 550D. 

The only lens that seems to still work with Kenko is Canon 70-200 MkII, which is a relief since that's the one that needs to work. But even the Canon 135 f/2, which is listed under compatible lens for Canon teleconverter, does not work with Kenko. Any other lens simply locks up the 5D MkIII after one shot (image is not recorded), which requires a battery reinsert to unfreeze the camera. What a bummer! 

On the other hand, Pro Optic extension tubes from Adorama still work with 5D III.


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## FlowerPhotog (Apr 11, 2012)

I have been able to successfully use my Kenko 1.4X Teleplus Pro 300 converter with my 5D Mark III. I have had no problems at all using it with my 70-300 L, which by the way does autofocus when the Kenko is attached, even when it is at 300 mm, which theoretically it shouldn't as the max aperture is f5.6 at that point, so with the 1.4X, I'm at f8.0. Data is reported in EXIF file correctly as the 70-300 lens and it shows 420 mm as the focal length. I also have tried the Kenko with my Sigma 150 Macro and the 24-105 kit lens that came with the 5D Mark III, and both also seem to work fine. I just bought the Kenko from Adorama about 6 weeks or so ago, so maybe they changed something in it that is allowing a newer version to work? The Kenko also works fine on my T2i, also allowing autofocus on my 70-300 when its at 300. 

I've attached a shot taken tonight with the 70-300L @ 300mm with the Kenko 1.4X. This was handheld at f8.0, 1/500 sec. ISO set to 3200. One of the main reasons I wanted to get the Mark III vs my old T2i was the ability to use the higher ISO, both for faster shutter speeds to help in windy conditions and/or low light like this picture which was taken in total shade. These are jpgs out of LR4.1, absolutely no noise reduction added, so you can see how little noise there is at 3200 ISO. First one is the full frame, then cropped to just the tulip. 

(I haven't posted pictures before, so hopefully these will show up. When I did the preview before submitting,I am not seeing the pictures, but it shows them to be attached.)


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## Stephen Melvin (Apr 11, 2012)

Tested my Sigma 1.4x EX TC with my 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM II and it works fine. For once, a Sigma didn't stop working.


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## drjlo (Apr 11, 2012)

FlowerPhotog said:


> I have been able to successfully use my Kenko 1.4X Teleplus Pro 300 converter with my 5D Mark III. I have had no problems at all using it with my 70-300 L



Can you try some other Canon lenses and report back which ones do/don't work?


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## wickidwombat (Apr 12, 2012)

here is the last email from Kenko support (very quick to respond I might add)
I also note that using the sigma and kenko works perfectly on the 1Dmk3 and 5Dmk2 (although i dont use it as a regular combo i have just tested it out the 3 lenses i mainly use a TC on are the 100 macro, the 70-200 and the 300. but i have verified that the kenko TC works on every lens i've ever owned on every body except the 5Dmk3 I had.


"Dear Sir,

Thank you very much for your reply.
We have checked all lenses you mentioned with Canon 5D Mark 3 and Teleplus PRO300 DGX 1.4x Canon.
And we haven't any problems in these combinations.
Canon lens:
300 f4L IS
70-200 f2.8L IS II
100 f2.8L IS Macro
50mm f1.4

For 85mm Sigma f1.4, we didn't check with because Kenko Teleplus series support only Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax and Tokina lens.
If you use Kenko Teleplus with other lenses, it might cause camera body, Kenko Teleplus or lenses to malfunction.

Yours sincerely,

Kenko International Division"


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## FlowerPhotog (Apr 12, 2012)

I apologize, as I gave some mis-information yesterday with my post. I had attached the Kenko 1.4 to my Sigma 150 macro while indoors and did a half-press on the shutter, which did a fast and apparently accurate auto-focus, so I assumed it was working fine, but I didn't actually try to take a picture. Tonight I tried to actually use it outside and it appears to take a picture, but then it locks up the camera, with the only way to get it going again is to remove and then replace the battery. After that exercise I went thru my entire collection of non EF-S lenses and tried to take pictures - this is what I found;

Works: EF 70-300L
EF 70-300 (non-L), 
EF 24-105 (kit Lens)

Doesn't work: EF 100 2.8L IS Macro (despite Kenkos reply to wickidwombat that it does)
EF 100 2.0
Sigma 150 2.8 Macro (non-IS model)
Sigma 70 2.8 Macro

All four lens that don't work exhibit the same behavior - it just locks up the camera after one shutter actuation. It never actually takes the picture.

Those four lenses that don't work with the Kenko 1.4 on the 5D Mark III do work with it on my T2i.
I guess the only silver lining for the time being is I will be using it mostly on my 70-300L to get back some of the reach I lost going from the crop sensor to the full frame. Canon's teleconverters won't work on the 70-300L, so at least the Kenko provides some benefit, and so far I'm pretty happy with the IQ.


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## wickidwombat (Apr 12, 2012)

the 3 main lenses I care about it working with are

300 f4L
70-200 f2.8
and 
100 f2.8L Macro

I did buy a canon 2x TC so on the 100 f2.8L i can always use that with a 12mm extension tube however my extensiontubes are kenko too.

It would seem that this camera locking up issue is boddy specific though and not common accross all copies
which is a good sign


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## drjlo (Apr 12, 2012)

FlowerPhotog said:


> All four lens that don't work exhibit the same behavior - it just locks up the camera after one shutter actuation. It never actually takes the picture.



Yes, that's exactly what happens to my 5D III. I replied to Kenko with list of lenses that did not work, and I just got their reply, which is not encouraging since it does not seem like they even want to look into it any further despite multiple user reports. So far I have not seen 5D III owners who report that ALL their Canon lenses work with Kenko, yet Kenko reports their 5D III body copy works with all the lenses. Hmm, is it possible that Kenko's Japan version of 5D III is fine but U.S. version isn't?

"Dear Sir,

Thank you very much for your reply.
We have checked all lenses you mentioned with Canon 5D Mark 3 and Teleplus PRO300 DGX 1.4x Canon.
And we haven't any problems in these combinations.

Canon 135 f/2L
Canon 85 f/1.2L II
Canon 100 f/2.8 L
Canon 35 f/1.4 L

Yours sincerely,

Kenko International Division"


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## wickidwombat (Apr 12, 2012)

drjlo said:


> FlowerPhotog said:
> 
> 
> > All four lens that don't work exhibit the same behavior - it just locks up the camera after one shutter actuation. It never actually takes the picture.
> ...



Mines an australia version well was... I sent it back

sounds like you should consider doing the same mate
how are you finding the AF focus accuracy of your copy BTW?


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## Old Shooter (Apr 15, 2012)

wickid - Did you get a new 5DIII? Is it better than your first copy? Happy with it?


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## spinworkxroy (Apr 15, 2012)

I have the Kenko 1.4TC..it's the new version but it's about 1yr+ old.
So far i've tested it with
Tamron 70-300 USD VC and it focuses even at 300mm at F5.6 which makes it f8
Canon 50mm F1.4
Canon 85mm f1.8

I've got other lenses but i didn't try them.
I don't use the Kenko much..


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## Marsu42 (Apr 15, 2012)

spinworkxroy said:


> I have the Kenko 1.4TC..it's the new version but it's about 1yr+ old.



I am just about to buy a Kenko 1.4 DGX for my 70-300L and discovered that there are at least two different versions for sale: an older one with ASIN B003VN781M / EAN 4250440307085 and a new one that's listed on Kenko's site with ASIN B002C6QC3E / EAN 4961607601334

Maybe Kenko did a silent update and forgot to tell users about it? This would explain the different results on the 5d3.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Apr 15, 2012)

Marsu42 said:


> spinworkxroy said:
> 
> 
> > I have the Kenko 1.4TC..it's the new version but it's about 1yr+ old.
> ...


 
There is a lot of confusion about the Kenko models, many stores did not update when Kenko went from DG to DGX and then there are the pro and non pro versions, there are so many variations a person can easily be confused.


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## Marsu42 (Apr 15, 2012)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> There is a lot of confusion about the Kenko models, many stores did not update when Kenko went from DG to DGX and then there are the pro and non pro versions, there are so many variations a person can easily be confused.



Indeed, that's why I made triple-sure to get the one that works with f8 af on the 60d. But apart from the different models, as I wrote there might be even different versions of the same model, the "Kenko Digital Teleplus Pro300 1.4x DGX for Canon EOS" model number "K1.4PRO.300DGX-C". Maybe they just changed the packaging, but maybe they silently adjusted their firmware, too:

http://www.kenko-tokina.co.jp/imaging/eq/camera-lens/kenko_teleplus/pro300_1/4961607601334.html

http://www.amazon.com/Kenko-1-4X-Teleconverter-Canon-Digital/dp/B002C6QC3E/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1334522186&sr=1-1


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Apr 15, 2012)

Kenko USA may also have a unique number. BTW, Adorama confused a lot of people when the DGX came out because they did not update the SKU or description until Helen Oster read about it on a forum and had it corrected.

I'm sure that minor production changes happen all the time, but a firmware change should be indicated somehow. Having worked in a large manufacturing company, electronic parts and processes are constantly being updated due to new vendors, new equipment, newer materials, and so on. The rule of thumb is issue a new part number if anything functional changes, but its a fine line if a better plastic or a different process is used that should not affect the product. It cost a bundle to change a part number, so you try to avoid it.


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## Jamesy (Apr 16, 2012)

I just tried my Kenko DG tubes (stacked 12mm and 20mm) and they worked fine on my 5D3 with the following lenses: 24-105, 85/1.8, 135L, 70-200/F4/IS

The auto focused fine and they focus confirmed via live view.


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## swampler (Apr 16, 2012)

wickidwombat said:


> I discovered this last night, I'm very disappointed, I havent tried my kenko extension tubes yet, i'll try them later and see. I hope canon fix this with a firmware update


My Kenko 1.4x & 2x TC work fine with my 5D3. Use it with the 70-200 f/2.8L.


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## Renato (Apr 16, 2012)

swampler said:


> wickidwombat said:
> 
> 
> > I discovered this last night, I'm very disappointed, I havent tried my kenko extension tubes yet, i'll try them later and see. I hope canon fix this with a firmware update
> ...



Can you confirm which ASIN number is on the TC that you have working. Do other lens work? Which AF point do you use ie, center, right of center, left of center, up from center. I have read that some focusing points work better then others.
I want to use 2x with future 5d Mark III with EC 300mm f74/l to gain the extra crop (length) for bird photography. I have used kendo 2x DGX with 7D and 300mm f/4 and worked great.
Thanks for your feedback.


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## swampler (Apr 16, 2012)

Renato said:


> swampler said:
> 
> 
> > wickidwombat said:
> ...


I have the 2X Teleplus Pro 300 DG. Also says C-AF and Made in Japan on it. Where do I find the ASIN number. I looked but don't see any serial number anywhere.

I've only tried it on the 70-200. It seems to work with any focus points, but I was having issues with a few sequences being OOF, so I switched to center point, though truthfully, it was probably me missing the target or hitting the wrong rear button (still getting used to a dedicated AF-On button) as it happened again after switching.


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## Renato (Apr 17, 2012)

swampler said:


> Renato said:
> 
> 
> > swampler said:
> ...



Marsu42 mentioned ASIN up above but I have not seen it either. I was hoping there was a way to find out which one works best. 

B&H is also confusing because they call it in their web site Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DG 2x AF Teleconverter; here they are missing the "X" in the DGX descriptor. Here is link http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/674567-REG/Kenko_PRO3002XDGXC_Teleplus_PRO_300_DG.html I contacted B&H and first the Photo Specialist said they did not have the DGX. Later I contated them by email explaining the situation and they said that it is the DGX which they have in stock. I will probalby order it and see if it works.


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## swampler (Apr 17, 2012)

Renato said:


> I contacted B&H and first the Photo Specialist said they did not have the DGX. Later I contated them by email explaining the situation and they said that it is the DGX which they have in stock. I will probalby order it and see if it works.


Mine is different from the one you linked. Mine is actually DG (without the X).


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## Marsu42 (Apr 17, 2012)

Renato said:


> Can you confirm which ASIN number is on the TC that you have working. Do other lens work?


The ASIN is only for Amazon, but you can convert it into country-specific the bar code number (EAN) that should be found on the box: http://erwinmayer.com/labs/asin2ean/index.php



swampler said:


> Mine is different from the one you linked. Mine is actually DG (without the X).


The DGX is an updated DG version that reports changed exif data (aperture) to the lens. Afaik you can convert the DGX to the DG by taping three pins. But since it's "dumber" and has the same iq, the older DG might be a safer bet.


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## swampler (Apr 17, 2012)

Marsu42 said:


> The DGX is an updated DG version that reports changed exif data (aperture) to the lens. Afaik you can convert the DGX to the DG by taping three pins. But since it's "dumber" and has the same iq, the older DG might be a safer bet.


Mine has all 11 pins and reports the correct aperture (5.6) to the camera. And just to clarify, it does only say DG on it.


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## Marsu42 (Apr 17, 2012)

swampler said:


> Mine has all 11 pins and reports the correct aperture (5.6) to the camera. And just to clarify, it does only say DG on it.



Sorry if I've spread wrong information, but this is what I've read when shopping for Kenko as the difference between dg and dgx - so I'm not the only one mistaken. After some more quick research, it seems the dgx reports the modified _focal_lenght_ better than the dg. And what's more, some say that only the dgx allows af with f8 while the dg does not - can you acknowledge this?


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## Renato (Apr 17, 2012)

I used 2X DGX from a friend with 7D + EF 300mm f/4L My 7D was able to focus at f/8 without problems; my test was very short so I dont know anything about AF speed but it focused acurately. I noticed that all the 
photos I took the f-stop was reported f/4 on the photos and never changed regardles of light (I used Tv mode) but the ISO changed to adjust to different light. 

I am interested to use it with future 5D MKIII to get extra reach since it is not a croped body..


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## Marsu42 (Apr 17, 2012)

Renato said:


> I used 2X DGX from a friend with 7D + EF 300mm f/4L My 7D was able to focus at f/8 without problems; my test was very short so I dont know anything about AF speed but it focused acurately. I noticed that all the
> photos I took the f-stop was reported f/4 on the photos and never changed regardles of light (I used Tv mode) but the ISO changed to adjust to different light.



This is what I read, too and it's the reason I ordered it at all: The dgx betrays the camera into thinking it's not there, and thus the f8 af works because the camera doesn't recognize it as f8... I'll report back once I've got mine, could take a bit because it's mail order.


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## swampler (Apr 18, 2012)

Marsu42 said:


> Sorry if I've spread wrong information, but this is what I've read when shopping for Kenko as the difference between dg and dgx - so I'm not the only one mistaken. After some more quick research, it seems the dgx reports the modified _focal_lenght_ better than the dg. And what's more, some say that only the dgx allows af with f8 while the dg does not - can you acknowledge this?


Now I'm really confused. I had never tried using the 2x on an f/4 lens before, so at your request, I pulled out the 2X and my 24-105 f/4 L and put them on the Mark 3. Low and behold, it let me turn the aperture down to f/4 instead of maxing it out at f/8??? I did try a bit of AF and it seemed to work, just not really fast (I'm sitting in a semi-dark room, so probably work OK outside). Seemed to work better at the longer focal lengths as well. Now, after reading your post about thinking the DG does not report aperture, I put my 70-200 f/2.8L back on the camera with the TC and sure enough, it wouldn't go over f/5.6. So maybe it has "smart" electronics in it to allow it to AF at f/8 by not reporting the aperture, while also allowing it to report the correct aperture with a lens that's fast enough to support it?

Weird results, but hope it helps you.


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## Renato (Apr 18, 2012)

swampler said:


> Marsu42 said:
> 
> 
> > Sorry if I've spread wrong information, but this is what I've read when shopping for Kenko as the difference between dg and dgx - so I'm not the only one mistaken. After some more quick research, it seems the dgx reports the modified _focal_lenght_ better than the dg. And what's more, some say that only the dgx allows af with f8 while the dg does not - can you acknowledge this?
> ...



YESSS! That is good! I dont need to wait for 7D MII. Just use 5D MKII with Kenko 1.4 or 2x to get the crop, and since ISO noise is very low I expect to get good photos... But wait, still dont know how fast will it focus for something like bird in flight! I will report on these issues when I get my 5D ank Kenko.


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## bchernicoff (Apr 19, 2012)

Marsu42 said:


> Indeed, that's why I made triple-sure to get the one that works with f8 af on the 60d. But apart from the different models, as I wrote there might be even different versions of the same model, the "Kenko Digital Teleplus Pro300 1.4x DGX for Canon EOS" model number "K1.4PRO.300DGX-C". Maybe they just changed the packaging, but maybe they silently adjusted their firmware, too:
> 
> http://www.kenko-tokina.co.jp/imaging/eq/camera-lens/kenko_teleplus/pro300_1/4961607601334.html
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Kenko-1-4X-Teleconverter-Canon-Digital/dp/B002C6QC3E/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1334522186&sr=1-1



I ordered and received one using your link above and it works great with my 5D Mk III.


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## Renato (Apr 19, 2012)

bchernicoff said:


> I ordered and received one using your link above and it works great with my 5D Mk III.



With what lens?


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## bchernicoff (Apr 19, 2012)

Renato said:


> bchernicoff said:
> 
> 
> > I ordered and received one using your link above and it works great with my 5D Mk III.
> ...



Okay, I just tested it successfully with my 90mm TS-E, 24-105, 70-200 f/2.8 IS II, 400mm f/2.8 II, and Sigma 85mm f/1.4


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## jalbfb (Apr 19, 2012)

I just did a quick experiment using my Kenko 1.4X Teleplus Pro 300 and my 70-300 f/4-5.6L IS USM lens set on Av priority at 5.6 which was the most open I could go with the convertor on with the lens at 300mm. These shots were taken hand held and with Auto ISO. The first is an attempt at autofocus. The lens kept searching and occasionally signaled that AF was reached. The first picture gave an signal that focus was reached but the indicator in the view finder flicked off but there was not change in the image in the VF. Here is that shot:






Here's a shot that was manually focused. I think it looks a little sharper to my eye:





So with my little test, it looks as if the Kenko failed. It really struggled to lock on ??maybe a firmware update would corrected this??? I am not quite sure how. Also, the fact that it was hand held and not on a tripod and with either mirror lock or 2 second delay to avoid camera shake could admittedly have factored in. However, the search to lock on, to me, indicated that with the Kenko there was an issue. Without the Kenko, it locked on and held the confirmation light in the VF immediately.


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## bchernicoff (Apr 19, 2012)

The top image has sharp focus on the back rim of the glass. The bottom image has a lot of shake and looks worse. I don't think this was a representative test.

I believe the discussion of whether or not they worked was more absolute than focus accuracy. I think for some people, the combination flat doesn't work. Also, it's worth noting that the instructions say to mount the extender on the lens first and then put the combination on the body. While switching through the lenses I tested, I was just removing the lens from the extender while leaving it attached to the body. While the lens was off and the extender was still on the body, the camera's red light would blink even though the power was off. So, it's probably best to follow the instructions and mount the extender to the lens first.


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## FlowerPhotog (Apr 19, 2012)

Here's a sequence I did with my new 5D Mark III recently at Red Rocks Park, west of Denver. I use a hilltop radio tower and facility as a good lens testing target as it has lots of thin wires etc good for resolution testing. These were all on a tripod, but center spot auto-focus was used, no manual focus, and the auto-focusing seemed to be on the money and pretty quick, but admittedly it was a nice bright sunny day. 

The first for reference is using the kit lens at 105mm, then the second is with my 70-300L @ 300mm, then the third with that lens with the Kenko 1.4X, making it 420 mm. I downsized these quite a bit for posting, but at full size, raw (especially with the new fixed DPP), these are pretty darn sharp.
I reached the total attachment file size limit with these three, but I will post a follow-up with a 100% crop of the 420 mm shot. Comparing it back to the 105 mm image (which itself is already a ~ 2X magnification vs reality) I think the reach and image quality the Kenko is providing is quite good. Now if we could just figure out how to get it to work with some of the other lenses it doesn't want to play with, I'd be totally happy with it.


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## FlowerPhotog (Apr 19, 2012)

Here's the 100% crop version of the shot with the 70-300L @ 300mm with the Kenko 1.4 (ie @ 420 mm)


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## FlowerPhotog (Apr 19, 2012)

bchernicoff - I just read your post about the Kenko TC needing to be on the lens before mounting on the camera. I don't recall the mounting sequence I was doing the other day when I found it wouldn't work on four of my lenses (2 Canon and 2 Sigma). I just tried it per your suggestion with my Canon 100 2.8L macro and unfortunately, it still doesn't work - just locks up the camera requiring a battery removal to reset. That was one of the lenses that Kenko claims does work with the Mark III. I have a C-AF 1.4X Teleplus Pro 300 DGX model, recently purchased from Adorama.


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## Renato (Apr 19, 2012)

FlowerPhotog said:


> Here's the 100% crop version of the shot with the 70-300L @ 300mm with the Kenko 1.4 (ie @ 420 mm)



That is excellent news. 5D M3 at f/8!!!

Does anyone have the 100-400 with a kenko 1.4X on a 5DM3? That would be interesting to know!


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Apr 19, 2012)

I tried several of my telephotos with my 5D MK III using Canon TC's with the pins taped. Only my 70-200mm f/2.8 non IS actually worked well. I used it with 2X and 1.4X stacked. My 100-400mmL struggled with 1.4X at 400mm, my 70-200mml f/4 IS + 2X was a total failure, it just hunted, my 135mm L only found focus on distant objects. 

Some camera / lens combinations may work, but different bodies may very well act differently.


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## bchernicoff (Apr 19, 2012)

Do any of you that are having problems live in the Washington DC area? You are welcome to try my teleconverter on your body and lenses and I would like to try yours. Maybe if we can find a pattern we can submit useful feedback to Kenko.


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## mspivak (Apr 19, 2012)

I just popped on my Kenko extension tubes on to my 5D Mark III and they work just fine. I bought them about 2 years ago.


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## bchernicoff (Apr 19, 2012)

mspivak said:


> I just popped on my Kenko extension tubes on to my 5D Mark III and they work just fine. I bought them about 2 years ago.



Extension tubes have no electronics, they simply pass through the signals between lens and body. There can't be a compatibility issue with extensions tubes. I suppose if you stack enough of them there may be an increase in electrical resistance which could interfere with the signaling. This is not what is being discussed with regards to teleconverters. They have a cpu in them and intercept/modify communications between the lens and body making the process potentially prone to incompatibility.


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## pst (Apr 22, 2012)

Even after reading the troubles with Kenko TC's I purchased a Kenko 1.4x PRO 300 last week.

I've tried it with both 100mm f/2.8L Macro and 70-300mm f/4-5.6L and it works smoothly, no problems no matter what the mounting order is. The autofocus on 5Dmk3 has no more problems than usually. I'm very happy with the extended reach on the 70-300mm.


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## bchernicoff (Apr 22, 2012)

An update. I received a CPS loaner 35mm f/1.4L and it works fine with my extender so does my first gen Sigma 12-24 (not that anyone would ever want to), so at this point it works perfectly with every lens I have tested. I ordered mine from the Amazon link that Marus42 shared which is filled by Adorama: http://www.amazon.com/Kenko-1-4X-Teleconverter-Canon-Digital/dp/B002C6QC3E/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1334522186&sr=1-1


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## lmcgahey (May 4, 2012)

I have the Kenko 1.4x Teleplus PRO 300 DGX and I have had a problem with the 5Dmk3 & Kenko TC. 
When I use it with the EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM. It doesn't take a picture of any kind even when I shoot a landscape. The screen goes blank, the camera makes a grinding sound, the grinding can be felt as well. Even when I turn the camera off the grinding continues. The only way to stop the grinding is remove the battery from the camera. No picture is saved to the card.
This lens & Kenko 1.4x TC still work fine on my 5Dmk2 in all applications the lens is intended for.


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## Marsu42 (May 4, 2012)

lmcgahey said:


> When I use it with the EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM it causes the camera to go into a grinding loop when I shoot.



Um, what's as "grinding loop"? Does this happen at all subject distances? The 1.4xtc + 100mm USM works fine with my 60d, too, it just fails when going to macro range because the effective aperture gets even smaller and thus af couldn't work.


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## wickidwombat (May 5, 2012)

I just got back from 3 weeks in china and got my replacement 5d3 this morning and tested it briefly and all the problems i had with my previous model are no longer there, it works with my kenko TC no problems now
I've only tested it on my 70-200 so far but focusing seems accurate and fast. So far looking good, I'm looking forward to testing it out properly and seeing how it goes 

There was definately something not right with that other body though that this one is pretty much spot on right out the box. glad i exchanged it


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## nickstefani (May 15, 2012)

bcherincoff, I have a question about your 5D III and the Sigma 12-24. Is it the 1st gen 12-24? And if so does the camera communicate with it ok for aperture and autofocus? And the 1st gen has a gel holder on the rear of the lens?

Thanks
Nick


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## bchernicoff (May 16, 2012)

nickstefani said:


> bcherincoff, I have a question about your 5D III and the Sigma 12-24. Is it the 1st gen 12-24? And if so does the camera communicate with it ok for aperture and autofocus? And the 1st gen has a gel holder on the rear of the lens?



It's the first gen version. Aperture and autofocus worked. It does have a gel holder on the rear. Again, I only tested it with the extender just for the sake of seeing if it worked. Why someone would want to use an extender on a lens that is purposely made for extreme wide angle is beyond me.


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## mikiort (Aug 18, 2012)

It seams to be that I have the same problem with my 5D MkIII and Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x AF Teleconverter.
I successfully used it previously with Canon EF300 f/4 L IS and EF135 f/2 L on my 7D body.
Now the brand new 5D MkIII refuses to work with the same converter and the same lenses.
Is there any solution to the problem?
The same lenses and 5D MkIII body of cause working with the original Canon EF 1.4x III converter.


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## bchernicoff (Aug 18, 2012)

The situation isn't straightforward. After reporting perfect success with this extender I suddenly had trouble Memorial Day Weekend. Mounted on my 70-200 II it was working and then it wasn't. It would lock up the body when using any of my lenses. Then Canon updated firmware for the 5D III to address an issue with Canon extenders. This resolved my issue with this extender for every lens I have except my 400mm 2.8 L II (non-IS).

I really have no idea why it suddenly stopped working, but the firmware mostly resolved it.


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## mikiort (Aug 19, 2012)

I searched the net and it looks like that the problem is only with this particular Kenko Teleconverter: 
Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x AF
Other Kenko products are probably not effected.
It is also possible that the problem is only in some particular version of the firmware, because I've seen reports of some people using the Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x with 5D mkIII.
Since the problem doesn't effect a large number of customers it is highly unlikely that Kenko would invest any efforts in solving it.
I don't believe also that it is in any way connected to the 5D mkIII firmware version, at least for me, having the last version (1.1.3) doesn't help much.


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## Marsu42 (Aug 19, 2012)

mikiort said:


> It is also possible that the problem is only in some particular version of the firmware, because I've seen reports of some people using the Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 1.4x with 5D mkIII. Since the problem doesn't effect a large number of customers it is highly unlikely that Kenko would invest any efforts in solving it.



You're wrong there - Kenko obviously already *has* solved the problem but in a very customer-unfriendly way by silently updating the tc - there are two 1.4dgx with different ean numbers. This seems to be the reason for the confusion, apart from the various tc versions (dg, dgx, whatever).


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## 51m0n (Sep 1, 2012)

Weird thing! When I bought the 1.4 extension I tried it on Canon 100mmL and Tamron 70-300mm, worked fine. But after reading this thread I tried again, it failed on 100m. It just hung and have to take out battery to restart. The only difference is the firmware has been updated to 1.1.3.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Dec 1, 2012)

TWI by Dustin Abbott said:


> I have the newest version of the Kenko Teleplus Pro 300 (blue dot) and can happily report that it autofocuses well on my 5DII and 60D with such lenses as the 100L, 135L 70-200 f/4L IS,


The topic is about issues with the extender with a *5D MK III*. It has problems with some lenses like the 100L, apparently due to the new AF system. 

We know it works with older bodies, but Kenko needs a update to work with all 5D MK III lenses.


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## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Dec 1, 2012)

My bad. I'll pull my comments


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## Marsu42 (Dec 1, 2012)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> The topic is about issues with the extender with a *5D MK III*.



Well, I don't have a 5d3 either (yet :->) but if the Kenko tc won't work with my 100L and the 6d does that would be +1 for the latter. So here's some information I just discovered for you posh 5d3 owners, there are 3 versions of the Kenko dgx that are only different by the color dot next to the barcode on the box and a color dot in the tc

v1: no dot (= only the main red dot)
v2: green dot (next to the main red dot)
v3: blue dot (ditto)

So if anyone reports anything, please state which dgx version you have... maybe we'll get v4 and a yellow dot next :-o


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Dec 1, 2012)

Marsu42 said:


> Mt Spokane Photography said:
> 
> 
> > The topic is about issues with the extender with a *5D MK III*.
> ...


 
They all have the issue. I had the blue dot (Latest), it hangs the MKIII and you must pull the battery to get the TC to work again (on a different lens, of course).


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## vehnae (Dec 3, 2012)

I think this was already mentioned somewhere in this forum, but the culprit here is some incompatibility with AF microadjusting. To get the Kenko 1.4x to cooperate with your 5DmkIII, you must first disable AFMA and then *take one picture*. After that you can swap on your TC and everything should work normally – apart from having AFMA. You can also re-enable AFMA immediately as long as your TC+lens combo doesn't actually use it (i.e. has +0 setting).

I tested this with 100L and 200L/2.8 using the "blue dot" TC.


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## neuroanatomist (Dec 3, 2012)

vehnae said:


> ...the culprit here is some incompatibility with AF microadjusting. To get the Kenko 1.4x to cooperate with your 5DmkIII, you must first disable AFMA and then *take one picture*. After that you can swap on your TC and everything should work normally – apart from having AFMA. You can also re-enable AFMA immediately as long as your TC+lens combo doesn't actually use it (i.e. has +0 setting).



Before the 1D X was updated for f/8 AF, I was strongly considering a Kenko TC - in fact, I had one in my B&H cart when I got a little heads-up on the forthcoming FW update. Not sure if this issue occurs with the 1D X, but reading this makes me _really_ happy that I can get f/8 AF with Canon extenders.


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## Marsu42 (Dec 3, 2012)

vehnae said:


> I think this was already mentioned somewhere in this forum, but the culprit here is some incompatibility with AF microadjusting.



Thanks for the information - if there is some workaround that's one problem less with the 5d3, and if it's really afma it might occur on the 6d as well... I hope somebody will report success or failure with this combination soon.


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## KimH (Dec 3, 2012)

For record,

I did try my blue dot on 24-105 and 100 and both worked without issues - back and forth.

Did NOT do MFA.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Dec 3, 2012)

You can apparently make it work by turning off AFMA, but thats not a solution if your lens needs a big adjustment. Then, you have to reload all the AFMA settings after you use the TC?


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## drjlo (Dec 4, 2012)

vehnae said:


> To get the Kenko 1.4x to cooperate with your 5DmkIII, you must first disable AFMA and then *take one picture*. After that you can swap on your TC and everything should work normally – apart from having AFMA. You can also re-enable AFMA immediately as long as your TC+lens combo doesn't actually use it (i.e. has +0 setting).
> 
> I tested this with 100L and 200L/2.8 using the "blue dot" TC.



I just tested this with 5D III, 100L, and Kenko 1.4x "blue dot," and nope, it still doesn't work. After the "workaround," when I press shutter, the camera STILL freezes up, with taking the battery out the only way to revive it.


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## Marsu42 (Dec 4, 2012)

drjlo said:


> I just tested this with 5D III, 100L, and Kenko 1.4x "blue dot," and nope, it still doesn't work



... which again brings me to the conclusion that Kenko might do silent updates to their tc line w/o changing the "spot color" designation ... they probably don't want to dump loads of tc w/o being able to update the old ones when releasing this information.


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## HughWill (Dec 4, 2012)

drjlo said:


> I just tested this with 5D III, 100L, and Kenko 1.4x "blue dot," and nope, it still doesn't work. After the "workaround," when I press shutter, the camera STILL freezes up, with taking the battery out the only way to revive it.



Since this topic is still coming up, I thought I would repeat my experience, which I described in another thread.

First, I would emphasize that the AFMA I'd done had nothing to do with the lens on which I wanted to use the TC. Since there are only two lenses involved in my case, my experience is fairly simple to explain. I want to use the PRO 300 DGX 1.4x only on my 300mm f/4, which I was able to do when I first got the 5D III. Later, I bought the 40mm pancake. Eventually, I fooled around with microadjusting the 40mm. It is the only lens for which I have ever made any AFMA adjustments. Some time later, I put the 300mm+TC on the camera and experienced the lockup requiring removal of the battery. I realized after a while that the only major change to the camera settings since the earlier success was the AFMA for the 40mm, and after some experimenting I was able to get the lens+TC combo working again.

What I found I had to do: With the 40mm (the only microadjusted lens, in my case) on the camera, I turn AFMA to "Disable." (As far as I know, you do not lose registered AFMA values by doing so.) Then I take a shot with the 40mm and the new setting (disabled AFMA) before turning off the camera and switching to the 300mm+TC.

I included the step of shooting a frame with the new setting. To be honest, in the middle of writing this I put some wear and tear on the lens mount by doing a series of tests to doublecheck the procedure, and I was able to get it to work without that extra step. But there were times in the past when it seemed necessary, so it wouldn't hurt to include it. Now that I think about it, maybe there were times when I tried to go between a third lens and the 300mm+TC, and for some reason it was necessary to put the 40mm on and take a shot in order to make the disabling "count."

As I've said before, I have no idea what happens if there are AFMA values registered for multiple lenses. I don't know if it would work to disable AFMA with any one of the lenses on the camera, or maybe to take a shot with each of the microadjusted lenses.

In any case, for anyone looking to get this combination to work, I hope this helps.


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## vehnae (Dec 4, 2012)

HughWill said:


> What I found I had to do: With the 40mm (the only microadjusted lens, in my case) on the camera, I turn AFMA to "Disable." (As far as I know, you do not lose registered AFMA values by doing so.) Then I take a shot with the 40mm and the new setting (disabled AFMA) before turning off the camera and switching to the 300mm+TC.



Taking this extra shot with AFMA disabled seems to be the key. I also tested some more, taking a shot with a lens having +0 adjustment is not enough, you have to set AFMA to Disable. Doing this doesn't lose the registered values.

Now I feel lucky that my tele and macro lenses are fine with +0 .


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## Francis L (Dec 9, 2012)

I have the lock up issue with my 5D3 and Kenko 2x DGX. In order to make it work, I have to disable AFMA and then press the shutter half way to trigger the AF (you can also shoot a single frame, which triggers the AF). This step is required to properly disable AFMA.

Interestingly, my friend's 5D3 had no issues with the Kenko with AFMA on. Both our cameras have 1.1.3 firmware. I bought my 5D3 in Sept and he got his recently. Weird.


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## Francis L (Dec 9, 2012)

I also noticed that with the Kenko 2x DGX, my 5D3 overexposes by a stop so I need to dial in -1 compensation.


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## qwRad (Mar 3, 2013)

My 5D3 (FW 1.1.3) works fine with the Kenko 1.4x PRO 300 DGX (blue dot) even if I have AFMA enabled. Lenses tested so far are 70-300L and 24-105L and both had AFMA adjustments by lens on both tele and wide ends.


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## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Mar 3, 2013)

I canon report on the *new 6D* that neither the 100L or 135L (ouch) work with a blue dot Kenko. I have not tried the AFMA workaround. The loss of the 100L was no big deal as I never use it with the teleconverter, but I definitely use the 135L with the 1.4x. 

70-300L works fine.


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## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Mar 3, 2013)

P.S. I have now tested the AFMA workaround (disabling it before mounting the teleconverter), and can report that the 135L combo does work under those conditions. Here's hoping a future update eliminates this issue. I do intend to write Kenko and get a response from them.


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## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Mar 3, 2013)

I am very thankful to whomever posted about the AFMA workaround. Getting my 189mm f/2.8L back is big plus ;D Here was the first test shot with the combo on the 6D after turning AFMA off - natural light, in my office, of my daughter about four feet away reading:

P.S. I have uploaded a larger image (2000 px on the long side) for you to examine it. BTW, this is ISO 1000 - the 6D outputs such clean images. This is SOOC


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## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Mar 3, 2013)

Look at how nicely the detail holds up with this combo (although some additional CA is introduced). This was handheld at 1/160th.

This is a crop from the picture above:


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## wickidwombat (Mar 4, 2013)

wow pretty increadible considering thats WITH a teleconverter


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## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Mar 4, 2013)

I had a pretty quick response from Kenko about these issues:

_Dear Mr. Dustin Abbott,

Thank you for your inquiry to Kenko International Division.

We are so sorry for this late reply.
We are sorry to hear your negative experience with KENKO TELEPLUS PRO 300 DGX series.
We have recognized some Conon Lens with EOS Mk III or EOS6D does not work properly, and they are still under investigation.
The combination with some lenses might work, but we have determined to ask customers to refrain from using KENKO TELEPLUS PRO 300 DGX series with Mk III or 6D.
We are sorry for your inconvenience.

Yours sincerely,

Ted Numata
Kenko International Division_

I would assume that they aren't going to stop selling tele-converters, so I wouldn't be surprised to see them release updated versions of the teles not too far down the road. I wonder if this is a Digic 5 issue?


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## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Mar 4, 2013)

wickidwombat said:


> wow pretty increadible considering thats WITH a teleconverter



It is killer at shorter range, but if you are shooting outdoors you definitely fight more pronounced CA. I find it an effective combo (at least it was on MKII) for event work as it gives you a relatively small and light near 200mm f/2.8 prime, and the killer bokeh and color of the 135L are retained.


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## wickidwombat (Mar 5, 2013)

TWI by Dustin Abbott said:


> I had a pretty quick response from Kenko about these issues:
> 
> _Dear Mr. Dustin Abbott,
> 
> ...


when i emailed them back when i was on the bleeding edge withthe 5Dmk3 they said they had no problems when they tested on their copies


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## Marsu42 (Mar 5, 2013)

TWI by Dustin Abbott said:


> I would assume that they aren't going to stop selling tele-converters, so I wouldn't be surprised to see them release updated versions of the teles not too far down the road. I wonder if this is a Digic 5 issue?



The Kenko does't just hand the lens protocol through unchanged but seems to modify it a bit, for example to enable f8 af even on cameras that Canon doesn't want to have it. Canon obviously has changed the lens-camera communication a bit on the 6d/5d3, either to enable new features like dual afma or simply to torpedo 3rd party manufacturers. Once Kenko has reverse engineered it I'm sure they'll release an updated tc, however I'm wondering why it takes them so long - maybe they want to sell their current batches of "soon to be old" dgx first.

Imho all 3rd party products in this price range should have some mechanism to update the firmware for new cameras, tcs, flashes, lenses, ... I'd rather pay €50 for a trip to the service than €250 for a new tc.


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