Does EC-20 shift focus range?

[denizenx]

Does it shift the minimum focal distance? Or is it basically a x2 magnifying glass?

[OlyFlyer]

No and no.

It's not just a simple magnifying glass and it does not shift the range. What it does is it keeps the minimum focus distance, magnifies the image while it also keeps the maximum focus distance. A magnifying glass would just enlarge the image through chnaging the focus distance and would prevent infinity focus. This is very important since the maximum focus distance is what makes it usable for general photography. Without the ability to focus at infinity you could only use it for macro and close up. A tele converter (TC) converts your lens with focal length L into a TCxL lens. That means that the EC-20 will make any lens into a 2 x lens FL, for example the 50-200mm zoom becomes a 100-400mm. The disadvantages of TCs are loss of light and some loss of IQ. With the EC-20 you lose 2 steps of light, with the EC-14 you lose 1 step. The EC-20 makes the images quite a bit worse, while the EC-14 practically has no IQ distortion.

I hope these lines answer even some un-asked questions.