Sranang Boi
Veteran Member
These convertes have been used on a Panasonic GX8 fitted with the 45-175MM zoom. It is the only lens suitable for use with converters as far as I am concerned. Other zooms tried became stiff in the zoom action due to the added weight on the extending assembly. That might cause damage to those kind of zooms in the long run.
Images taken with these converters are normally converted from RAW into JPEG by DxO. That way DxO automatically sorts out the 45-175mm corrections that are required in the conversion from RAW to JPEG, leaving just the distortion from the teleconverter to worry about.
Going from left to right, my personal opinion on each of the converters are:
Minolta Konica ACT-100
A bit big and heavy to carry about.
No sign of vignetting at any focal length.
No chromatic aberration, which is likely the result of the use of ED glass (which would also explain the weight).
Extremely sharp, even at the edges of the frame.
Canon TC-DC58A
Do not confuse this with any of the other TC-DC58 numbered converters. They are not the same in shape, size, weight, and performance.
Slightly shorter than the ACT-100, but just as heavy to carry about.
No sign of vignetting at any focal length.
No chromatic aberration, which is likely the result of the use of ED glass (which would also explain the weight).
Extremely sharp, even at the edges of the frame.
Panasonic DMW-LT55
Half the weight of the two previous converters, but about the same length of the ACT-100
Clear signs of vignetting up to about 60mm
A very small amount of CA
Good sharpness overall
Olympus A-200
The lightest of the recommended converters
No obvious sign of vignetting in all but a shot of a clear blue sky even at 45mm
Only a tiny bit of CA
Good sharpness in the centre, with acceptable sharpness at the edges
Sony VCL-2046C
Avoid. Too much CA
Olympus TCON-14
Avoid. It is the quickest converter to fit or remove. But you get a far better picture from cropping
than from using this. CA and sharpness are terrible.
FujiFilm 1.5X
Avoid. The same poor performance as the TCON-14
Raynox DCR-1850 Pro
Avoid!
CA in abundance.
At anything above 160mm the image is completely washed out with a lack of sharpness and detail.
Unbranded 2.2X teleconverter (sold under various brand names)
Avoid. Ruined by a liberal amount of CA, which in turn reduced picture sharpness, detail, and dynamic range.
My overall recommendations:
ACT-100 if you got the strength and big enough bag to carry it about, and hold it steady during picture taking. Excellent low light performance.
TC-DC58A if you need that extra bit of bag space. But the same issues arise as with the ACT-100. Good steady grip and willingness to carry the weight on trips. Brilliant low light performance at edges out the ACT-100
A-200 if you need something light that still gives a high enough quality image for all but the most critical circumstances. Useful for enhanced bokeh effects such as in portraits with hand held shots.
DMW-LT55 is an overall great performer. But the vignetting at the shorter focal length and the same amount of CA as the lighter A-200 makes it a last resort kind of choice.
Other converters tried have long since been sold on for profit (Nikon TC-E17ED), due to similarity in performance(Canon TL-55/OLympus TCON-17), or because they were absolutely awful.
Images taken with these converters are normally converted from RAW into JPEG by DxO. That way DxO automatically sorts out the 45-175mm corrections that are required in the conversion from RAW to JPEG, leaving just the distortion from the teleconverter to worry about.
Going from left to right, my personal opinion on each of the converters are:
Minolta Konica ACT-100
A bit big and heavy to carry about.
No sign of vignetting at any focal length.
No chromatic aberration, which is likely the result of the use of ED glass (which would also explain the weight).
Extremely sharp, even at the edges of the frame.
Canon TC-DC58A
Do not confuse this with any of the other TC-DC58 numbered converters. They are not the same in shape, size, weight, and performance.
Slightly shorter than the ACT-100, but just as heavy to carry about.
No sign of vignetting at any focal length.
No chromatic aberration, which is likely the result of the use of ED glass (which would also explain the weight).
Extremely sharp, even at the edges of the frame.
Panasonic DMW-LT55
Half the weight of the two previous converters, but about the same length of the ACT-100
Clear signs of vignetting up to about 60mm
A very small amount of CA
Good sharpness overall
Olympus A-200
The lightest of the recommended converters
No obvious sign of vignetting in all but a shot of a clear blue sky even at 45mm
Only a tiny bit of CA
Good sharpness in the centre, with acceptable sharpness at the edges
Sony VCL-2046C
Avoid. Too much CA
Olympus TCON-14
Avoid. It is the quickest converter to fit or remove. But you get a far better picture from cropping
than from using this. CA and sharpness are terrible.
FujiFilm 1.5X
Avoid. The same poor performance as the TCON-14
Raynox DCR-1850 Pro
Avoid!
CA in abundance.
At anything above 160mm the image is completely washed out with a lack of sharpness and detail.
Unbranded 2.2X teleconverter (sold under various brand names)
Avoid. Ruined by a liberal amount of CA, which in turn reduced picture sharpness, detail, and dynamic range.
My overall recommendations:
ACT-100 if you got the strength and big enough bag to carry it about, and hold it steady during picture taking. Excellent low light performance.
TC-DC58A if you need that extra bit of bag space. But the same issues arise as with the ACT-100. Good steady grip and willingness to carry the weight on trips. Brilliant low light performance at edges out the ACT-100
A-200 if you need something light that still gives a high enough quality image for all but the most critical circumstances. Useful for enhanced bokeh effects such as in portraits with hand held shots.
DMW-LT55 is an overall great performer. But the vignetting at the shorter focal length and the same amount of CA as the lighter A-200 makes it a last resort kind of choice.
Other converters tried have long since been sold on for profit (Nikon TC-E17ED), due to similarity in performance(Canon TL-55/OLympus TCON-17), or because they were absolutely awful.
