Excellent and most helpful especially as I am currently considering getting another 500 /F4 lens and have already got the 1.4 converter. - thank you so much Joe and well done. Mike

I ended up getting a EF 500 F4 is L mk1 eventually for about $1800. Very happy with it on my R7 and I have the 1.4x iii and the EF 100-400 is L ii . Great combo gor all sorts of conditions. Then I also have the Metabones 0.71x speedbooster. That gives me a F2.8 550mm equivalent….

I must say, I have used TC like Tamron 1.4x on Sigma 300 F2.8 and have sharp photos with those. They are orders of magnitude below L lenses. With the RF camera bodies, the TC has little impact on focusing I find. I think most "unsharpness" people report comes down to handling of long focal lengths. Yes, the TC does impact IQ, but not in a huge way. With long focal lengths, your depth of field becomes a factor. And lens vibrations etc. It really does need technique. I use my R7 with EF 100-400 L ii and 1.4x iii TC and that combo works very well for me. Looking to get a 500 F4 L is i now. Budget stuff, but I will take that any day. One day that RF lens may come!

I have been using the 500 f/4 II with the latest versions of the 1.4 and 2x teleconverters for years on Canon 5ds and now the r5. The 1.4 teleconverter seems to me to have very little loss in image quality and on the R5 is excellent for autofocus. The 2x teleconverter on the other hand does show significant reduction in image quality and I don't use that combo often (other than for video).

I have this combo. I paid 3400 Cad for the 500mm and 140 for the 1.4x converter. I love it, it is brilliant.

I have the Canon FD version since I have a lot of Canon manual focus film gear. I paired it with a Fuji X-T2 APS-C camera, which gave me 750mm effective focal length without any degradation from a converter and without losing any stops. I did have to stop it down to f/8 for maximum sharpness.

Enjoying the series of older EF lenses on top DSLRs and especially newer mirrorless cameras. I started my super telephoto lens journey with the Canon EF 300 2.8 IS Mk 1 and have used it successfully on R5, R6 Mk2 and R7 including EF 1.4 and 2x . I read about and experienced slowed AF with 1st generation lenses due to focusing motors being older and cannot be used as effectively with newer mirrorless cameras. However, one can still get great, sharp and colorful pictures, especially in electronic shutter including action shots like birds in flight (with some setups like focus distance limiting etc). EF lenses are a great alternative to expensive RF lenses when budget is a major challenge. Love to have a Canon EF 500 f/4 Mk2 (weight is very light and easier to handheld than a 600 f/4 or 800 f/5.6). The R7 can make the lenses go farther, for example EF 300 2.8 can turn into a 480 2.8 or with 1.4x into a 672 f/4. Note focus area is bigger with R6 Mk2, sometimes can go up to 80% or 100% coverage 🙂 Looking forward to the Canon R6 Mk2 review and experiences.

I (occasionally) used the 500mm f/4.0 + 1.4x on a 1Dx for a few years, and it was hit and miss all the way. The clarity just wasn't there most of the time.

Very good video once again Joe, thanks for the effort in making and uploading

Thanks again, Though I got a question where do you find so cheap prices on them?

I am currently using a Sigma 500mm F4 Sport ($3.2k) + Sigma TC-1401 1.4x TC ($220) with a R6II. I recently upgraded to R6II from the 7DM2. I noticed the focusing/sharpness to be much better with the R6II. I like to shoot birds, and when they are static this is a great combination. However, I feel like in flight is a bit more of a challenge. I don't know how much of it is operator error, it sometimes has to hunt around before locking on. I bought everything I mentioned 2nd hand, and for the price I paid, it is well worth the value. I wonder, have you tried your combination (with a mirrorless body) with birds in flight? Is that lens combo capable to focus quickly?

I bought the 500mm F4 the other week after watching your videos and have paired it with the 1.4x iii so far has been great for taking pictures of seals in Norfolk and Highland Cows at Alton Water. It's on a 5dmkiii but tempted by a 1dx as they are pretty cheap now or the 1dx mkii. flic.kr/p/2pLNTZf

I’m sure they are sharp … but they don’t look it on KZfaq