Nikon D4 vs. Nikon D5600 vs. TC-14E III 1.4x Teleconverter vs. The Moon

Countless people square themselves up against photographing the moon, and ponder what is the best way to get the best results.  There are as many gear combinations as there are stars in the sky.  I am not an astrophotographer.  I do have some pretty great gear to work with... let's see how I did.

This Battle Royale has a common denominator: the Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII

O.k., yeah, this is a pro lens that not many people have access to, I slapped the teleconverter on it and shot many shots and a few different camera settings at our near full moon.  I also shot a few photographs without the teleconverter on the D5600.  In case your not nerd enough to know the basic specs: D4 = full frame, 16 megapixels, D5600 = DX (crop sensor), 24 megapixels.  In my limited experience in photographing the moon with my Nikon D4 and other cameras with crop sensors at higher pixel counts, it ends up being about a tie, however with the addition of the 1.4x teleconverter I was curious.  My results are NOT what I expected.

Nikon D4, 1.4 Teleconverter, @200mm (280mm), 400, 1/1000 second, f/5.6

Nikon D5600, 1.4 Teleconverter, @200mm (280mm)(DX420mm), 400, 1/1000 second, f/5.6

Nikon D5600, @200mm (DX300mm), 400, 1/1000 second, f/5.6

Which one do you think is best?  Well, I think they are all about the same actually.  On close inspection I think the bottom one is best followed by the top, then third place I would give to the middle one.  That makes the Nikon D5600 without the teleconverter the best! WTAF.  Haha, how did this happen?  I am not doing a very scientific test, no tripod, no expert settings or experience.  The conditions were slightly different over the 5 minutes that I was shooting these.  I mean there was a bit of cloud cover on the ones shot with the D5600.  I lightened those a bit and changed the white balance in post production.  I also made slightly different sharpening settings.  The D4 was shot with RAW and the D5600 was FINE .jpg.  All digital cameras have A LOT of in camera processing that happens.  Think RAW is not processed? Think again.  So, again, there are a lot of uncontrollable variables here, and the big picture take away, is that these images are basically all the same.  Interesting.  I noticed that it was really hard to get a tack sharp image with the teleconverter on the D5600, but with the D4 it was no problem at all.  Another take away here is that megapixels matter.  The 24 megapixels of the D5600 really help, my next test will be with a D610, which is full frame and 24 megapixels.  I expect that the teleconverter will work well on that, but we will see.  So, at first impression, I like the teleconverter on the D4, but not sure yet on the D5600.  More later... :);):)  

I hope you like my informal approach to reviews... glean what you can and also look at the more technical reviews that are everywhere on the web.  I am just a simple man, trying to make my way in the universe, giving you practical advice from someone that has dedicated a lot of years to my passion of photography.  Search yourself for cameras and lenses, I'll just include the link to the teleconverter, which I am in process of testing further, the next post will be my attempt at photographing eagles!  TC-14E III 1.4x Teleconverter