eXtender - A to Z Challenge

So here I am, breaking the rules again, this time with the title.  Sue me.  ;)

I borrowed a friend's 2x Canon Extender last night and put it to use today. There are definitely some pros and cons.  We'll start with the cons...

Cons:

1. For such a little thing, it sure seems to add weight to an already heavy set-up.  It also creates a different weight balance that takes getting used to.
2. Holy Hannah did I need to crank up the ISO to let in enough light.  When I first set out, I set the camera up with what I considered "reasonable" settings - ISO 800, Shutter 800 and Aperture - 5.6 (which is as low as it goes).  I took a picture to test the settings and it was pitch dark.  I thought maybe it wasn't connected correctly. I reconnected everything and took a few more.  Still black.  I was debating turning around and leaving it in the car as it obviously wasn't working, when I decided to make it really extreme and lower the shutter to about 60... And I finally had a picture registering!  Wow.  I mean it is grey and rainy out, but it wasn't that dark out!  I ended up using a ISO of 3200 and 4000 in order to get a shutter speed at 800 (which I usually use for moving objects, but probably needed anyway to combat camera shake!).
3. The focus speed is scarily slow... but once it has something focused in it's sights, it can keep up with a moving subject.

Pros:

1. You can get photos that you never would have been able to without such a long reach.  All those bird photos from today's earlier post would have been complete crap without the extender.  Those birds were nowhere near me.
2. Can you say Bokeh?  This lens has it.
3. Still clear as a bell as far as I can tell.
4. Not nearly as expensive as a whole other lens and easy to fit in your pocket for those times you need extra reach.

I'll be playing around more with this but I can see this quickly being added to my wish list.  I don't photograph a lot of wildlife, but when out and about it would be nice to be able to get some better pictures of birds.  It definitely isn't needed for the dogs though. Lorelei are you sure you don't want to sell yours to me?  :)