X100T fl extension 3rd party experience, anyone?

Hanno van Tartu wrote:

I defined myself a simple goal: get something like 70mm full-frame equivalent photos out of the X100T.

I googled this topic and found very little. I bought a third party 2x teleconverter for about USD 15 and attached it to the X100T lens -- the results were painful to look at! The Fuji's own TCL-X100 gives only 50mm full-frame equivalence -- and costs an arm and a leg. I have no doubt that it produces excellent quality photos. However, I would like 70mm or more and would very much like to get advice about how to get there.

In the meantime, I noticed a Ricoh TC-200M on eBay and bought it for USD 33 (shipping included). In old Nikon language, TC-200 meant 2x conversion! After receiving the TC-200M, I was surprised to find that it was only a 1.5x focal length extender. Since I have it, I tested it and would like to share my non-rigorous test results with others -- with the hope that others will reply by sharing their experiences along the same lines.

First things first. The TC-200M has a 52mm thread at the back. This suits me fine, because my X100T has a KiwiFoto 52mm adapter permanently on the lens. The test set-up is shown next.

X100T with KiwiFoto 52mm adapter and Ricoh TC-200M

General photography of faraway objects results in very strong vignetting -- gradual at large apertures and sharp at small apertures. The following example is at f/5.6.

Vignetting at f/5.6

Square crop hides the vignetting (to my eyes) completely, at any aperture. It makes no difference if the cropping is done after or before exposure. Focusing closer reduces vignetting, but it becomes noticeable only at around 0.5m and disappears by about 0.3m. The following example is at about 0.3m.

No vignetting at f/5.6

Clearly, the TC-200M adds strong pincushion distortion -- the the garden bench plank at the top is in fact straight. It does so at all focus distances. I set in the camera menu "conversion lens" to "tele" and got this ...

Much reduced distortion with "tele" setting

Intermediate conclusion: Yes I can use this Ricoh converter in some conditions and for some purposes. Should I bother? Perhaps not. I conclude with two more close-up images. The first is with the Ricoh TC-200M and the second is without any converter, but cropped to match the first.

With TC-200M at f/5.6

Without converter, but cropped

I hope it was not too long ...

Thanks for posting! I'm always inspired by people coming up with creative/new ways of using existing gear!