Teleconverter Lenses

[SFishy]

Hey all...

As some of you know I'm still exploring teleconverter lenses that I want for my birthday. Price is important, but I don't want to get something cruddy either. I'd also like something as compact as possible.

On my list right now is the B300 and the tcon-14b.

I'm also looking at the Canon TC-DC58 (58mm) which would require no step-up/down rings.

http://www01.bhphotovideo.com/ ... ...TCDC58_ REG_ CatID=0_ SID=EB6A83B5EC0

Any info on this lens? I did find a comparison site (B-300 vs. TC-DC58) but the author admitted that he wasn't using the canon lense on a camera really intended for it (he was using it on a Fujipix 6900 I think). I like the idea of it being 58mm... Thoughts or opinions on this lense or any of my choices?

Thanks!

Amy
--beauty is really in the LCD/EVF of the beholder
http://www.something-fishy.com/photography

 

[JimB]

Amy I was able to test a friends B300 yesterday and was so impressed that I went ahead and ordered it for the 200 bucks plus 29 shipping from England at http://www.eagleeyeuk.com where he just received his.

I took shots at 5X and put the lens on and it was such a big difference with no degredation in quality. As you know I'm tempted to use digial zoom so much in my shots as I did with the snake shot. What I wanted to accomplish was to use the Tele lens and stop having to use full digial zoom so I can get the best quality. The 1.7x is super on the B300.

The lens is not being made anymore so my options were:

1. to take a chance on some of the New York stores to get a great price, e.g., hotbuyelectronics.com, real risky, might get a used one...
2. Ebay or Amazon, couldn't find any open auctions for it.

3. Pre-order one from the guy in Iowa for about 20.00 cheaper than England. No word of mouth yet from his customers.

4. Do what I ended up doing, go with the England site because I know what I will be getting is brand new and will arrive in 10 days.

This is a must have in my opinion so whatever you get will help you get some awsome shots.

I also picked up a mono-pod yesterday. I figured it would be easier to walk around with a light-weight tripod which will be really important when using the tele lenes.

Hey all...

As some of you know I'm still exploring teleconverter lenses that I
want for my birthday. Price is important, but I don't want to get
something cruddy either. I'd also like something as compact as
possible.

On my list right now is the B300 and the tcon-14b.

I'm also looking at the Canon TC-DC58 (58mm) which would require no
step-up/down rings.

http://www01.bhphotovideo.com/ ...
...TCDC58_ REG_ CatID=0_ SID=EB6A83B5EC0

Any info on this lens? I did find a comparison site (B-300 vs.
TC-DC58) but the author admitted that he wasn't using the canon
lense on a camera really intended for it (he was using it on a
Fujipix 6900 I think). I like the idea of it being 58mm... Thoughts
or opinions on this lense or any of my choices?

Thanks!

Amy

--
beauty is really in the LCD/EVF of the beholder
http://www.something-fishy.com/photography

 

[SFishy]

Jim,

Thanks for replying... I've been really torn about this! I saw a b-300 on ebay for $235 so I'll keep my eye on it and look around some more. Some of the shots I've seen with the TCON and B300 are just fabulous... I'm kinda hoping someone has some info on the Canon lens too... but I don't want to wait TOO long (the inpatient me).

Thanks for the info!

Amy

Amy I was able to test a friends B300 yesterday and was so
impressed that I went ahead and ordered it for the 200 bucks plus
29 shipping from England at http://www.eagleeyeuk.com where he just
received his.

I took shots at 5X and put the lens on and it was such a big
difference with no degredation in quality. As you know I'm tempted
to use digial zoom so much in my shots as I did with the snake
shot. What I wanted to accomplish was to use the Tele lens and
stop having to use full digial zoom so I can get the best quality.
The 1.7x is super on the B300.

The lens is not being made anymore so my options were:

1. to take a chance on some of the New York stores to get a great
price, e.g., hotbuyelectronics.com, real risky, might get a used
one...
2. Ebay or Amazon, couldn't find any open auctions for it.
3. Pre-order one from the guy in Iowa for about 20.00 cheaper than
England. No word of mouth yet from his customers.
4. Do what I ended up doing, go with the England site because I
know what I will be getting is brand new and will arrive in 10 days.

This is a must have in my opinion so whatever you get will help you
get some awsome shots.

I also picked up a mono-pod yesterday. I figured it would be
easier to walk around with a light-weight tripod which will be
really important when using the tele lenes.

--beauty is really in the LCD/EVF of the beholder http://www.something-fishy.com/photography

 

[David (r00t)]

I just ordered two from Martin:

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1010&message=1372343

It took about two weeks before I got them.

The amount for 1 Olympus B300 will be appr. $128 US
S&H by German postal service at appr. $21 US (3-4 weeks on road)
Step up or down ring is available at appr. $10 US

http://www.achatzi.de--Davidhttp://www.pbase.com/r00t/ 'If you ain't g0t r00t, you ain't g0t nuthin'

 

[SFishy]

Thanks so much r00t... I just wrote to him by email and will wait for a response!

Amy

I just ordered two from Martin:

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1010&message=1372343

It took about two weeks before I got them.

The amount for 1 Olympus B300 will be appr. $128 US
S&H by German postal service at appr. $21 US (3-4 weeks on road)
Step up or down ring is available at appr. $10 US

http://www.achatzi.de
--
David
http://www.pbase.com/r00t/

'If you ain't g0t r00t, you ain't g0t nuthin'

--beauty is really in the LCD/EVF of the beholder http://www.something-fishy.com/photography

 

[David (r00t)]

No problem. At that price I could not resist, so I bought two! I thought, even if it is junk or I get a different lens, I could always sell mine for what I paid for it...

Once I received it, I was amazed at how BIG the lens was. For some reason it looked smaller to me in the pictures. I also had to get another camera bag now for my accessories - sheesh I should have waited on a bag until I got my accessories.

I will say that the optics are AMAZING. It crystal (repeat) - crystal clear! Very light too (IMO).

Good luck, you will not regret it.

Thanks so much r00t... I just wrote to him by email and will wait
for a response!

Amy

--David http://www.pbase.com/r00t/ 'If you ain't g0t r00t, you ain't g0t nuthin'

 

[Kevin77764]

oz77 wrote:

just got my 707 love it have taken lots of pics. I am also finding that a telephoto would be very usefull. I am not as knoledgeable as I would like to be on cameras, am reading as much as possible. I have gotten some diffrent explanations on the use of the converters, Sony supports nothing I have seen 58mm telephoto lenses, I have seen 58mm converters trying to findout what will work on the 707? any 58mm? try and see? any information would be great.

Thanks!

Kevin

Hey all...

As some of you know I'm still exploring teleconverter lenses that I
want for my birthday. Price is important, but I don't want to get
something cruddy either. I'd also like something as compact as
possible.

On my list right now is the B300 and the tcon-14b.

I'm also looking at the Canon TC-DC58 (58mm) which would require no
step-up/down rings.

http://www01.bhphotovideo.com/ ...
...TCDC58_ REG_ CatID=0_ SID=EB6A83B5EC0

Any info on this lens? I did find a comparison site (B-300 vs.
TC-DC58) but the author admitted that he wasn't using the canon
lense on a camera really intended for it (he was using it on a
Fujipix 6900 I think). I like the idea of it being 58mm... Thoughts
or opinions on this lense or any of my choices?

Thanks!

Amy

--
beauty is really in the LCD/EVF of the beholder
http://www.something-fishy.com/photography

 

[SFishy]

Thanks, I just hope he has some left. The message you referenced was from back in August, and I haven't heard anything from him yet. Keep your fingers crossed.

Amy

No problem. At that price I could not resist, so I bought two! I
thought, even if it is junk or I get a different lens, I could
always sell mine for what I paid for it...

Once I received it, I was amazed at how BIG the lens was. For some
reason it looked smaller to me in the pictures. I also had to get
another camera bag now for my accessories - sheesh I should have
waited on a bag until I got my accessories.

I will say that the optics are AMAZING. It crystal (repeat) -
crystal clear! Very light too (IMO).

Good luck, you will not regret it.

--beauty is really in the LCD/EVF of the beholder http://www.something-fishy.com/photography

 

[Rick Webb]

Hello,

I've posted these before, but I've never really gotten any feedback. They were both shot with a 707 from the same spot through a window. The birds are about 30 feet away. One shot is full digital zoom; the other is full digital zoom with a Digital Optics 2x telephoto lens. The lens cost $189 and seems to actually be something like 1.4X. It seem clear enough, though I'm no expert.

I'm interested in photographing birds and I'd like to know if there are practical lens with more power available. And if its possible to tell from these photos, how does this lens compare in clarity with the other telephotos available?

Rick





--webb

 

[Granamere]

Ok I have a B-300 and a VCL-HG1758. I need to take more shots with the B-300 so far I have only took about 5 and none on a tripod. Also I need to setup the shot and take the same thing with both lens. So far though I prefer the VCL-HG1758. The shots are clearer and less CA. Again I need to take move side by side shots. Also I have had the VCL-HG1758 for about two monthes now.

I got my B-300 from Martin. His service is great. The only caution I have there and this should not reflect badly on him at all. Was that UPS sent me a bill for the delivery. It was only $4.00. I think it was a tax. Hum need to dig that bill back up. He did pay for shipping. I did 2-3 day shipping so that might also explain it. This was the first thing I have ordered from Germany so this might be normal. I just though it was funny.

 

[David Pichevin]

I got my B-300 from Martin. His service is great. The only caution
I have there and this should not reflect badly on him at all. Was
that UPS sent me a bill for the delivery. It was only $4.00. I
think it was a tax. Hum need to dig that bill back up. He did pay
for shipping. I did 2-3 day shipping so that might also explain it.
This was the first thing I have ordered from Germany so this might
be normal. I just though it was funny.

It's normal, it's called the "customs" )

You will be taxed on anything above $100 value (normally).

Don't complain, because if you were in Europe ordering things from the US you would pay a big VAT tax on it. In France it was 19.6%.

David.--My photo galleries: http://www.pbase.com/davidp

 

[David Pichevin]

I got my B-300 from Martin. His service is great. The only caution
I have there and this should not reflect badly on him at all. Was
that UPS sent me a bill for the delivery. It was only $4.00. I
think it was a tax. Hum need to dig that bill back up. He did pay
for shipping. I did 2-3 day shipping so that might also explain it.
This was the first thing I have ordered from Germany so this might
be normal. I just though it was funny.

It's normal, it's called the "customs" )

You will be taxed on anything above $100 value (normally).
Don't complain, because if you were in Europe ordering things from
the US you would pay a big VAT tax on it. In France it was 19.6%.

And the 19.6% is in addition to the customs tax, which is about 5% is I remember correctly. Isn't that wonderful?
--My photo galleries: http://www.pbase.com/davidp

 

[GoldenHammer]

I tested both, the T14B gives the best overall quality, but big and heavy, B300 is fine and lighter, but works at the full tele side. I personally prefer the T14B. You may find the links below interesting:

http://www.pbase.com/liman/vclhg1758

GH

Hey all...

As some of you know I'm still exploring teleconverter lenses that I
want for my birthday. Price is important, but I don't want to get
something cruddy either. I'd also like something as compact as
possible.

On my list right now is the B300 and the tcon-14b.

I'm also looking at the Canon TC-DC58 (58mm) which would require no
step-up/down rings.

http://www01.bhphotovideo.com/ ...
...TCDC58_ REG_ CatID=0_ SID=EB6A83B5EC0

Any info on this lens? I did find a comparison site (B-300 vs.
TC-DC58) but the author admitted that he wasn't using the canon
lense on a camera really intended for it (he was using it on a
Fujipix 6900 I think). I like the idea of it being 58mm... Thoughts
or opinions on this lense or any of my choices?

Thanks!

Amy

--
beauty is really in the LCD/EVF of the beholder
http://www.something-fishy.com/photography

-- http://www.pbase.com/liman/root Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-F707 + Olympus TCON-14B/ WCON-08B