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400 2.8 IS - A lens that eats TCs and tiny pixels for breakfast

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A few months back, I got a pixel-sharp capture of the moon using the 7D + 400 2.8 IS + 4x TC (see lunar crop and high res photo in this gallery).
This moonshot convinced me that the 7D's pixels are not yet tiny enough to stress the naked optics of my 400 2.8 IS. I've been wanting to prove this in a controlled test,
but such test is quite tedious and it took me a while to find the time to do it. This January 18, 2011, I finally found some spare moments to satisfy my curiosity. :)

TEST PROTOCOL:

1. Five RAW shots per setting, each one manually focused via Live View 10x zoom (I earlier tried contrast detect AF but it's not accurate and consistent enough), sharpest shot selected.

2. Shooting distance is just over 11 feet, manual exposure, ISO 200 for all shots, remote switch.

3. Selected RAWs are processed in ACR 6.3 using click WB, uniform capture sharpening, zero luminance NR and chrominance NR of 25.

4. Shorter focal length shots are upressed using PS bicubic then sharpened post-upres to optimize detail.

5. Crops are from the center of the frame (which was also the point of manual focus). These are assembled as 16-bit files then saved as PS quality 10 jpeg for uploading in my gallery.


MY FINDINGS:

The 400 2.8 IS is so sharp that the amount of detail captured ON A PER FRAME BASIS increases significantly with a 2x TC and continues to do so albeit less dramatically up to a 4x TC.

Though the crops presented are from the center of the frame, the detail captured away from the center are still very good.

I believe there's still much room for more megapixels in an APS-C sensor and I look forward to future sensors with pixels so tiny that optical TCs will no longer be necessary (thus preserving AF capability).
MANILA MOON - MARCH 7, 2010. Observed from Paranaque City, Philippines, on March 7, 2010 (04:57:54 local time), Canon 7D + 400 2.8 L IS + stacked Canon 2x and Sigma 2x TCs, 1600 mm, f/16, ISO 100, 1/25 sec, contrast detect auto focus in Live View, 475B/3421 support, remote switch, single RAW capture cropped and processed to 3840 x 2160.

MANILA MOON - MARCH 7, 2010. Observed from Paranaque City, Philippines, on March 7, 2010 (04:57:54 local time),
Canon 7D + 400 2.8 L IS + stacked Canon 2x and Sigma 2x TCs, 1600 mm, f/16, ISO 100, 1/25 sec, contrast detect auto
focus in Live View, 475B/3421 support, remote switch, single RAW capture cropped and processed to 3840 x 2160.

 MOON OVER BUED RIVER - February 22, 2017 Shooting info - Rosario, La Union, Philippines, February 22, 2017, EOS 7D MII + EF 400 2.8 IS + EF 2x TC II + EF 2x TC III, 1600 mm, f/16, ISO 160, 1/30 sec, manual exposure, 475B/516 support, slightly cropped then resized to 2400 x 1600.

MOON OVER BUED RIVER - February 22, 2017

Shooting info - Rosario, La Union, Philippines, February 22, 2017, EOS 7D MII + EF 400 2.8 IS + EF 2x TC II + EF 2x TC III,
1600 mm, f/16, ISO 160, 1/30 sec, manual exposure, 475B/516 support, slightly cropped then resized to 2400 x 1600.

 TEST CROPS USING THE 7D - 400 + 4x, 400 + 2x and naked 400.

TEST CROPS USING THE 7D - 400 + 4x, 400 + 2x and naked 400.

MANILA MOON - MARCH 7, 2010. Observed from Paranaque City, Philippines, on March 7, 2010 (04:57:54 local time), Canon 7D + 400 2.8 L IS + stacked Canon 2x and Sigma 2x TCs, 1600 mm, f/16, ISO 100, 1/25 sec, contrast detect focus in Live View, 475B/3421 support, remote switch, processed 100% crop AFTER final sharpening.

MANILA MOON - MARCH 7, 2010. Observed from Paranaque City, Philippines, on March 7, 2010 (04:57:54 local time), Canon 7D + 400 2.8 L IS + stacked Canon 2x and Sigma 2x TCs,
1600 mm, f/16, ISO 100, 1/25 sec, contrast detect focus in Live View, 475B/3421 support, remote switch, processed 100% crop AFTER final sharpening.

MANILA MOON - MARCH 7, 2010. Observed from Paranaque City, Philippines, on March 7, 2010 (04:57:54 local time), Canon 7D + 400 2.8 L IS + stacked Canon 2x and Sigma 2x TCs, 1600 mm, f/16, ISO 100, 1/25 sec, contrast detect focus in Live View, 475B/3421 support, remote switch, processed, cropped and resized to 75% of actual pixels.

MANILA MOON - MARCH 7, 2010. Observed from Paranaque City, Philippines, on March 7, 2010 (04:57:54 local time), Canon 7D + 400 2.8 L IS + stacked Canon 2x and Sigma 2x TCs,
1600 mm, f/16, ISO 100, 1/25 sec, contrast detect focus in Live View, 475B/3421 support, remote switch, processed, cropped and resized to 75% of actual pixels.

MT. STO TOMAS FROM 14.6 KM AWAY. Photographed from Bued River, Rosario, La Union (ca. 14.6 km from the summit of the 2260 m. high Mt. Sto. Tomas), August 9, 2015, Canon 5D MIII + 400 2.8 L IS + EF 2x TC II, 800 mm, f/8, ISO 100, 1/250 sec, 475B/516 support, manual exposure, two frames merged into a panorama.

MT. STO TOMAS FROM 14.6 KM AWAY. Photographed from Bued River, Rosario, La Union (ca. 14.6 km from the summit of the 2260 m. high Mt. Sto. Tomas), August 9, 2015,
Canon 5D MIII + 400 2.8 L IS + EF 2x TC II, 800 mm, f/8, ISO 100, 1/250 sec, 475B/516 support, manual exposure, two frames merged into a panorama.

 SUPERMOON KIT FOR NOVEMBER 14, 2016 - 400 2.8 IS + 2x TC II + 2x TC III, 1600 mm, f/11

SUPERMOON KIT FOR NOVEMBER 14, 2016 - 400 2.8 IS + 2x TC II + 2x TC III, 1600 mm, f/11

 NOVEMBER 14, 2016 SUPERMOON. Shooting info - Rosario, La Union, Philippines, November 14, 2016, EOS 7D MII + EF 400 2.8 IS + EF 2x TC II + EF 1.4x TC III, 1120 mm, f/11, ISO 100, 1/60 sec, manual exposure, 475B/516 support, resized to 60%.

NOVEMBER 14, 2016 SUPERMOON.

Shooting info - Rosario, La Union, Philippines, November 14, 2016, EOS 7D MII + EF 400 2.8 IS + EF 2x TC II + EF 1.4x TC III,
1120 mm, f/11, ISO 100, 1/60 sec, manual exposure, 475B/516 support, resized to 60%.

 NOVEMBER 14, 2016 SUPERMOON. Shooting info - Rosario, La Union, Philippines, November 15, 2016, EOS 7D MII + EF 400 2.8 IS + EF 2x TC II + EF 2x TC III, 1600 mm, f/16, ISO 100, 1/50 sec, manual exposure, 475B/516 support, two frames combined, resized to 60%.

NOVEMBER 14, 2016 SUPERMOON.

Shooting info - Rosario, La Union, Philippines, November 15, 2016, EOS 7D MII + EF 400 2.8 IS + EF 2x TC II + EF 2x TC III,
1600 mm, f/16, ISO 100, 1/50 sec, manual exposure, 475B/516 support, two frames combined, resized to 60%.

 Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus, migrant, male) Habitat - Common in all habitats at all elevations. Shooting Info - Bued River, Rosario, La Union, Philippines, December 22, 2016, EOS 7D MII + EF 400 2.8 L IS + EF 2x TC III + EF 2x TC II, 1600 mm, f/14, ISO 200, 1/200 sec, 475B/516 support, manual exposure in available light, uncropped full frame resized to 800 x 1200.

Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus, migrant, male)

Habitat - Common in all habitats at all elevations.

Shooting Info - Bued River, Rosario, La Union, Philippines, December 22, 2016, EOS 7D MII + EF 400 2.8 L IS + EF 2x TC III + EF 2x TC II,
1600 mm, f/14, ISO 200, 1/200 sec, 475B/516 support, manual exposure in available light, uncropped full frame resized to 800 x 1200.

Crop - resized to 50% of original size.

Crop - resized to 50% of original size.

 100% crop - actual pixel view at original capture resolution.

100% crop - actual pixel view at original capture resolution.

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