C100: 2x Extender work with C100 and 100-400 II?

pmcdonald

Active member
Hi everyone. Apologies if this has been answered before but we're looking at purchasing the Canon 100-400 II with the Canon 2x Extender to fit our C100 and 5DMk2. Obviously we'll lose the 2 stops and AF but I'm having trouble working out how the stabiliser goes. Canon lists it as working on the 5DMk2 but functionality on the C100 is a bit of an unknown. Anyone using one with a C100/300/500 and the 100-400? 800mm is going to be mighty shaky at the best of times, so no IS on the C100 would be a bit of a deal breaker! It'll be filming reef surfing for the curious. Cheers
 
I have the C100 Mark II and I just got the Canon 100-400 II and 1.4x III extender. Just tested out auto-focus and image stabilization and both work. I don't see a reason why the 2x converter would not work with it as well.

Are you planning to mount the lens to the tripod or the camera to the tripod? If the latter, are you planning some kind of lens support? Particularly when zoomed in all the way (lens fully extended) it seems rather rickety and I don't want to stress the EF mount too much. Maybe better to mount it from the lens collar and let the lens hold the C100's weight. Which could be fine for that, but for my C300 Mark II which is 10 lbs it presents more of a problem as that's a lot of weight for the lens to support.

Maybe the
Manfrotto 357LONG Pro Video Quick Release Plate, Long is the solution: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/241158-REG/Manfrotto_357PLONG_357LONG_Pro_Video_Quick.html

After measuring things, it looks like the Manfrotto 357LONG is the solution for my needs. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. :)
 
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Thanks for the quick reply Eric, much appreciated! I know the 2x converter puts a little more stress on the electronic functions than the 1.4x but I'd expect it to still work. My best bet is to take the body into the store and check on buying. I'll post back on how it works. Thanks for the advice re: the mount too. We use Miller tripods so not sure if a similar accessory is available but I'll do some hunting!
 
I have the C100 Mark II and I just got the Canon 100-400 II and 1.4x III extender. Just tested out auto-focus and image stabilization and both work. I don't see a reason why the 2x converter would not work with it as well.

Are you planning to mount the lens to the tripod or the camera to the tripod? If the latter, are you planning some kind of lens support? Particularly when zoomed in all the way (lens fully extended) it seems rather rickety and I don't want to stress the EF mount too much. Maybe better to mount it from the lens collar and let the lens hold the C100's weight. Which could be fine for that, but for my C300 Mark II which is 10 lbs it presents more of a problem as that's a lot of weight for the lens to support.

Maybe the
Manfrotto 357LONG Pro Video Quick Release Plate, Long is the solution: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/241158-REG/Manfrotto_357PLONG_357LONG_Pro_Video_Quick.html

After measuring things, it looks like the Manfrotto 357LONG is the solution for my needs. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. :)

I had this same dilemma a while back. 70-200 and 2x extender mounted to C100. Lens collar didn't seem robust enough to handle all that, but neither did just mounting at the C100. Further complicating things, there's a height difference between the bottom of the C100 and the bottom of the lens collar.
What I did was put a standard manfrotto plate on the lens collar, then a long Sachtler plate on the C100. Turns out the thickness of the manfrotto plate is the exact difference between the bottom of the C100 and the lens collar. The long Sachtler plate now supports both the lens and the camera and the length allows you to slide it forward or back to get the balance right on the tripod.
 
I've been using a 500 with the 1.4 and/or the 2X on the C100II and found the AF works though it is slower. You will find that at these long focal lengths if a guy in the next town sneezes you'll see movement on your video. I have the 100-400 II as well but haven't tried it with the extenders. It should work. Mounting this rig on the foot of the 500 with a Manfrotto plate for the 504HD head has been OK. The 100-400 foot isn't nearly as stable though because of the way Canon redesigned the foot and collar so the collar stays on. I've seen that outfits like Kirk and Really Right Stuff (if I remember correctly) make a replacement foot that's much more solid. Here are my tests using this super long setup: https://vimeo.com/groups/293604/videos/146858274
 
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