Best Fz18 teleconverter lense?

I'm looking for a the best teleconverter lense for the fz18 for preferably at or under $100. The t-con 17 caught my eye, but what else does the lense require to attach to the camera? Are there any others you recommend?

Hello,

have a look on this thread an on the links in it. That should answer most of your questions.
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1033&message=28541250

Regards Michael

pauw said:

I'm looking for a the best teleconverter lense for the fz18 for
preferably at or under $100. The t-con 17 caught my eye, but what
else does the lense require to attach to the camera? Are there any
others you recommend?

Click to expand...

So the TC-E15ED seems to be the winner. It's used for $100. The TC-E17ED which is noticeably better is available on amazon for a mere $800. Are there any alternatives at all?

I use the Sony VCL-DH1758 on my FZ8 with fantastic results. The Olympus Tcon 17 is also very popular but the Sony is a tad sharper (I have owned both). They are both a little over $100 new.

For the Sony you will need a 58-55 mm step down ring.

Mike

This lens looks great and has the edge of 1.7x over 1.5x. However, I must ask if you or anyone has compared this lens against the nikon 1.5x TC-E15ED. These seem to be the two best teleconverters in this price range.

pauw said:

This lens looks great and has the edge of 1.7x over 1.5x. However, I
must ask if you or anyone has compared this lens against the nikon
1.5x TC-E15ED. These seem to be the two best teleconverters in this
price range.

Click to expand...

Here are some of my tele converter comparisons with the FZ18 ...

http://www.ok-photos.com/panafz18/index.htm

... and some galleries (lower rows) of shots taken with different TCs:

http://www.ok-photos.com/g1/index.htm

From my experience the quality of the Sony VCL-DH1758 is comparable with the TCON-17, possibly a very small amount better.

Olaf

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1033&thread=27784782

i thought this was awesome

Olfa k, I know these teleconverters don't provide the same distance, but if you had to choose between the Sony VCL-DH1758 1.7x teleconverter or the nikon TC-E15ED 1.5x teleconverter which would you choose? On the would hand it seems that the nikon has great glass, yet less light is able to enter. The sony seems very comparable, but perhaps slightly less detailed with a lower quality glass than than the nikon? Your thoughts would be much appreciated.

Hello,
I am not OlafK, but he has already answered your question - in the thread,
I asked you to read yesterday. OlafK sold his Sony TC and kept the Nikon!!!

Regards Michael

pauw said:

Olfa k, I know these teleconverters don't provide the same distance,
but if you had to choose between the Sony VCL-DH1758 1.7x
teleconverter or the nikon TC-E15ED 1.5x teleconverter which would
you choose? On the would hand it seems that the nikon has great
glass, yet less light is able to enter. The sony seems very
comparable, but perhaps slightly less detailed with a lower quality
glass than than the nikon? Your thoughts would be much appreciated.

Click to expand...

Srry must have missed it, thanks though

I thought you already bought a Tcon17 for your Panny !!
It seems like you would rather hit the forums than take Photos..

No, I did order one, but again, was questioning whether or not to take back the order. When you order a camera online, usually you can't take pictures until it arrives...

pauw said:

Olfa k, I know these teleconverters don't provide the same distance,
but if you had to choose between the Sony VCL-DH1758 1.7x
teleconverter or the nikon TC-E15ED 1.5x teleconverter which would
you choose? On the would hand it seems that the nikon has great
glass, yet less light is able to enter. The sony seems very
comparable, but perhaps slightly less detailed with a lower quality
glass than than the nikon? Your thoughts would be much appreciated.

Click to expand...

My decision was easier because of course I'm mostly using the TC-E17ED and I only had to choose a number two with less weight.

If you can get a TC-E15ED on EBAY for a reasonable price it will be no mistake to buy it. And with the TCON-17 or the Sony VCL-1758 you also cannot do something wrong.

Olaf

Sorry. i'm a complete beginner to this and needed your guidance. I decided on the sony VCL-DH1758 1.7x teleconverter lense. Aomcm noted that I'd need a 58-55mm step down ring. I checked on http://www.pemaraal.com/index.php?page=fz18ac , and didn't see this size available. Can I buy any brand of this step ring from amazon? Or am I missing it on the pemaraal website? I also wondered how one installed this on the PA62E adapter? Are there instructions? Is the squeeze on cap worth it? Which type and mm size filter would be applicable to the fz18? Thanks for your help, I have no idea how to go about any of this

I had forgotten the FZ18 and FZ8 use different adapters. Glad you reminded me.

The front end of your adapter has a 62 mm thread. The back end of the Sony has a 58 mm thread. Therefore you will need a 62-58 mm step down ring to screw them together. These are available on the Pemaraal website and probably at any big camera store.

To attach all this you screw the adapter on to your camera, screw the step ring on th adapter and then screw the teleconverter on to the step ring. Very simple and it will not fit any other way.

Good Luck,

Mike

Thankyou, I'll order it soon . The only other thing I need is a filter. Do you know which size is compatible? The 62mm or the 67mm? Should I get the multi coated or circular polarizer? I'm very grateful for this as otherwise i'd have no idea

I do not use filters, so I cannot be much help. The teleconverter does not have threads on the front end so it cannot take filters. If you want to use a filter when the teleconverter is not on the camera, filters for the adapter need to be 62 mm filters.

Mike

You and Peter from pemaraal saved me on this, thankyou!

Last words of advice:

With the teleconverter at full zoom, you will be using the equivalent of an 856 mm lens. That much magnification can be very difficult to hand hold and get sharp pictures. The IS helps a lot, but cannot do miracles. Hand holding is possible in bright sunshine but you need a fast shutter speed.

Just to make things challenging, the other problem with such a long lens is that it has a very shallow depth of field. This is best overcome by using a smaller aperture (like f/5.6). However, you cannot have it both ways - the wider the aperture the faster the shutter the speed but the less depth of field. The smaller the aperture the greater the depth of field but the slower the shutter speed.

This problem has plagued users of long telephotos forever. It can only be overcome with high ISO speeds, which are definitely NOT recommended for small sensor superzooms like the FZ18.

Getting good sharp pictures is a combination of technique and judgment about each picture situation.

If you are disappointed with your pictures at first, examine them closely. If the entire picture is blurry, the problem is probably too much shake and you need a faster shutter speed and practice holding your camera steady. A tripod is the best solution. If part of the picture is sharp, but the rest is blurry, you probably have too little depth of field.

The teleconverter is a great tool but on these types of cameras is best used in good light or on a tripod.

Good luck!

Mike

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skrapcis How good is close up lens LC55 with FZ18? I have been using Panasonic LT-55 for about 4 month with my FZ-18 with excelent results. Lense adapter LA--3.