Customer Reviews

Olympus TCON-1.7x Telephoto Converter Lens

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I purchased this adapter for my Olympus 765 superzoom camera. The adapter is bigger than I was expecting, but is reasonably light weight. I use it to extend my telephoto from its native 380 mm to 650 mm (35mm equivalent). I had two questions: is the adapter sharp and can it be handheld at this extreme magnification? Much to my pleasant surprise, the answer to both questions is yes. Hand-holding requires a shutter speed for me of at least 1/400 sec and I have steady hands, but the light weight makes it much easier to hand hold than a lot of big telephoto lenses I used in the past. However, when photographing wildlife, there is a really big difference with the larger image sizes this lens provides. It has really improved the quality of the images I am getting with no loss in quality as long as I am outdoors in bright light. I am very happy with the adapter and only wish I had gotten it sooner.

This works as advertised. It makes my Olympus SP 550 UZ into 27X optical zoom, and the images are clear, without any noticible color fringing. Distortion is not a problem, either, and the image stabilization in the camera allow nice, clear shots even when hand holding the camera at 27X. You will need a CLA-10 adapter tube to attach this to the 550 UZ, or other adapter if you have a different camera. It has 55mm threads on the back, so will screw directly to cameras that happen to have that size filter thread.

I bought this to use my Panasonic FZ-30, and it works great. Just does what it says and does it well.

Find the pictures to be clear on my Panasonic FZ-50.
No problems with autofocus.
As to be expected the depth of field is very narrow and find it better
to use the manual focus in situation where the subject is surrounded with clutter such as a bird in a tree or bush.
Only reservation is that the threads are plastic and could possibly wear
after a while.

I use this telephoto lens on my Olympus SP-550 camera, and I love it. The camera by itself has an 18x optical zoom. With this 1.7x addition, I am really getting up close and personal. I have had no problems with distortion using this lens. The lens does soak up some light, making it necessary to adjust the shutter speed/aperture/ISO settings accordingly in dim light. I attach it to the camera body using the Pemaraal 55mm adaptor tube from pemaraal dot com, which I also recommend as a solution for the Oly SP-550 for attaching 55mm filters and lenses. (There is no vignetting using this adaptor at wide angle, and it can stay on all the time, allowing one to keep their UV and polarizing filters permanently attached). All in all, I've found the Tcon-17 lens quite useable for those really distant shots. No disappointments. I'd buy it again.

The Olympus 550 UZ has a built in 18x zoom which is pretty neat. However, by adding the telephoto converter lens, that boosts it to about 30x zoom. You get what you pay for. The quality isn't great, but the price is reasonable for what you get. It definately does bring the subject closer, without doing it by adding digital artifacts. It isn't professional quality, but it's good for the hobbyist who wants something a bit better than what he/she has. I took pictures of some vultures nesting in a tree over 1000 yds away. The image wasn't truly sharp, but I could see the beady eyes.

I bought this lens to use with the SP-570UZ, primarily to take bird and other nature photos. It has proved to be quite sharp (even more than I expected!) and to still allow me to work with reasonably fast shutter speeds.

This is a very good teleconversion lens. Since the lens has five elements, optical correction is high and images are sharp and accurate. I previously owned another teleconversion lens with only three elements and corner sharpness was less and color aberrations were noticeable. I believe this lens is very similar to several other models sold under Panasonic and Canon branding, but they are significanly more expensive. I successfully use the Olympus teleconversion lens with both a Panasonic Lumix FZ7 and a Canon A540.

Well constructed, the TCON-1.7X has 55mm threads to mate with a camera's standard lens mounting. If you don't have the same size thread, an inexpensive adapter ring (step-up or step-down) is required. Also, don't forget that your camera will probably require an intermediate ring/collar that attaches between it and the lens; most digital cameras have specific models at reasonable prices that fit perfectly. As always, read the manufacturers specifications closely before purchasing. Good luck and happy shooting!

This easy to use converter greatly extends the considerable capabilities of the Panasonic Lumix DMCFZ50.

This lens is so useful, it's often the only extra lens I'll carry. If I need to photograph a bird in a tree, I'll just screw in the lens (you can get very fast at this with practice) and fire away. Image stabilization built into my camera still sort of works with it, but I always get better results with a monopod or tripod. Oh, and if you're shooting from a vehicle, turn off the engine! It needs some light, but not as much as some of the others.