Customer Reviews

Opteka HD² Professional Digital Accessory Kit for Canon Powershot G10 Digital Camera

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

 

 

I am a long-time novice photographer, and I bought the G10 looking to expand upon my abilities. Although I have heard that Opteka gear is not top of the line, I must say, I'm pretty impressed with it so far. This kit came in exactly as advertised. I'm not expert, but I haven't noticed any flaws yet -- no noticeable distortion and the build quality seems pretty solid. It's got everything I need to push my photography to the next level. I know that as I work with the kit more, I probably become more cognizant of its limitations, and I'll look to upgrade piece by piece, but it's a fantastic starting point!

- Note that the front group of the wide-angle lens can be detached to leave a macro lens, so you really do have all the pieces you need for a full lens kit.
- I may replace the bag, but it is reasonably well constructed, and large enough to fit my G10 inside my National Geographic camera pouch, my G10 manual, all of the kit, my SD880IS inside a small hard case, all of the necessary cables, 2 spare batteries, and I still have room for some more stuff
- One caveate: the circular polarizer cannot be placed before the wide-angle lens -- vignetting occurs. You will need to purchase a larger polarizer to put on the front of the wide-angle lens if you want to do that

Got this in the mail yesterday. Real fun to play with since there's so much stuff packed in. However, this isn't top quality stuff, not going to be taking pro photos with it - but, still a blast to play with.

The lens construction is quite good. The tele and wide angle, as well as the converter tube is a nice aluminum build. The converter tube I especially like - there were complaints about the official Canon tube being plastic and not fitting securely - this tube surpasses in both fields while being half the price if bought separately.

The tele lens, as far as I can tell, does some pretty good quality pictures, though I haven't zoomed way into my finished shots to check the clarity. However, the bulk of it plus the fact that 2.2x really doesn't get you all that further means I probably won't carry it around that much.

The wide angle lens is awesome to play with - BUT, it suffers from some realllllly bad blue fringing. Still, the wide-angle is a cool effect, and I don't think people will notice if you're doing web shots. If you're going pro and doing prints though...well, it won't be pretty.

I think the blue fringing problem comes from, or is also attributed to the macro lens, that's part of the wide angle. The macro lens is also a blast to play with. You can take some serious close ups. But again, you're going to get some drastic blue edges.

Everything else is serviceable. I was disappointed by the polarizing filter because it doesn't turn quite smoothly, and I don't think does all that great job of polarizing either. Don't really notice much of a difference in shots with the UV filter.

The cleaning kit is serviceable, but comes with one of the best parts of the kit, the mini tabletop tripod. This has bendable legs and fits in a tiny pouch.

The full-size tripod is comes with is of a cheap build. The bag is similarly icky.

But! This thing was cheap. The lens are still fun to play with, and they feel real solid. They make your G11 look cooler too. Overall, for the price and a little fun, I'd recommend the package.

For about 25% more on your basic Canon G11 purchase, strongly consider buying this kit. Unlike the G11, these products are not top-drawer but when used properly you can more than double your lens' capabilities and your fun. Some items are useless (as noted below), but the price overall is good even considering quality issues.

Warning: To use the accessory lenses or filters, you MUST have a conversion lens adapter. Opteka makes an excellent machined aluminum adapter, likely to be more durable than the plastic model offered by Canon. The Canon, and some other adapters, have reportedly caused "lens errors" that turn off your camera when the built-in lens presses against a mounted accessory. This has not happened with the Opteka model. Buy it separately, but buy it.

The basic camera offers an outstanding 5x zoom lens. Some people want more, but no camera in the G11's feature or quality range zooms farther. With this kit, though, you extend your focal range to about 20x, from a very wide 14mm to a crisp 300mm or more (35-mm SLR equivalent). What's more, the 0.45x wide-angle lens has a back element that, when unthreaded, serves as a multiplier for macro photos. Those, plus the camera bag, are the main values here.

I agree with other reviewers that the Opteka wide-angle produces serious blue fringing (on the outer part of all photos, the dividing line between bright and dark image areas are outlined in blue-violet). Not attractive! But for prints of about 4x6 inches or smaller, it's tolerable. This accessory allows you to shoot a full room from a corner, barely missing both walls beside you. Yes, that wide.

The tripod, almost a failure, is very light, and the crank-up head is wobbly. It is OK for light winds only. Instead of using a simple screw to attach the tripod to the camera's tripod mounting thread, the screw is built into a removable wedge. Is this supposed to be a benefit? The wedge can only be fitted into the tripod in one direction, and you can't easily realign the camera with the aiming lever of the tripod if you attached the wedge a bit out of line. It also prevents your opening the battery/memory compartment of the G-series cameras this kit is allegedly designed for, or attaching the old-school Canon camera case. I'll stick with my ancient, heavier, more solid Tiffen tripod.

Three filters are included, and only work if you use the same extension tube as for the lenses. Although the writeup (Dated May; I bought mine in March) says the kit includes a circular polarizing lens, I received a linear polarizer. It doesn't matter with this camera, but it cannot be used on most dSLRs. Also included: an ultraviolet and a fluorescent-lighting filter. Digital cameras do not register UV, so this is only good as a lens cover. But if you have the mounting tube attached, which you must to use a filter, it will protect the lens except from driving rain. Toss the UV filter. Same with the FL. The G-series has a built-in fluorescent light setting, so toss this too. After that, what's the point of the leather case that holds three filters? Another toss. I wish they had used the cheap, reliable old-school "coin case" holders.

In the "digital starter kit," the lens cleaning fluid is a tiny squeeze bottle that, instead acting as a dropper leaks out the side of the nozzle. Toss that and buy some cleaner from an optical store like LensCrafters. There's a pair of clear self-adhering viewscreen protective covers. They defeat the expensive and effective LiveView antiglare features. Toss those too, or put them on your cell phone. I have no complaint with the rest of the little box's contents.

The camera bag was labeled Opteka although the May listing says it's a Samsonite. My bag has good shoulder strap and zippers. The bag has ample room for the camera and all the items in the kit, with room for a bit more. You could spend a lot of money and not get much more function or protection for your gear. That still leaves the good-quality lenses, including the macro that unscrews from the back of the wide-angle unit.

Even with the useless items and wobbly tripod, this package is a deal worth buying. Just don't expect it to make you into an Ansel Adams.

An excellent value!! The lenses are crisp and clear and add extra enjoyment to an already fine camera. The tripods and case are just fine. I recommend buying extention tubes for each lens, it is easier to click them onto the camera than to screw the lenses into one tube. The extensions are cheap enough. Amazing to get such fine lenses for such a low price!! Congratulations Opteka.

The whole package is poor quality, especially the cleaning kit and photo bag. The only thing useful for me is the portable tripod, but is not worth to spend $90 on it. The wide angle lens doesn't widen much and telephoto lens doesn't reach too far, compare to Canon's( I went to a store and tried both after receiving this kit). The adapter wasn't designed well. It comes with 2 parts, one is shorter and the other is longer. If you use the longer one, it is not long enough. Like one of the customer review said, it caused Lens error, and you camera will automatically turns off. If you use the both together, it seem unnecessarily too long. Canon's adapter fits well.
I called their customer service quite a few times, felt a little bit hard to reach them. But finally I talked to the service and he was quite polite and very helpful. So he scheduled a return and I received a full refund in a week (I'd rather pay $18 for postage than keeping the whole thing). The last part makes me fell a little better of this purchase experience.

Lens are lens, they are good. Tripods and other items are so cheapy looking. Camera bag is NOT SAMSONITE, when asked was told bluntly, 'We don't carry Samsonite anymore.' So, I just get a cheapy looking and quality Opteka camera bag. Seller is rude and unprofessional. No notification when items were not available.

This is a great starter kit for anyone looking to move beyond what you can do with your G-10 or G-11 camera. I found the lenses to be very well made and the optical quality is very good expecially considering the price. (not they are not perfect but what do you want for a $30.00 lens) Unfortuanately due to the location of the auto focus assist beam there is a problem useing these lenses at night but other than they they are great. A great thing to point out is that you can use these on many more camera models than just the G10 / G11 series. Many point and shoot cameras just need an adaptor that you can purchase to use these lenses with them. Also the 58mm thread size fits the front of typical slr lenses. So if down the road when you pruchase your next camera you can most likely use them with it. Obvioulsy they are not the best for an slr but if all you have is the starter lens these are a great help until you can get better lenses. As for the rest of the kit it is decent. The filters are of decent quality, but the polarizer tends to come apart if you are not careful due to the weight of the lens hanging off the front ot it. The case is roomy enough for the accesories and my camera and there is a little room to grow so that is good. Quality of the case and tripod are not the best but they are far from the worst and are better than many other options in the same price range. Normally I would recomend a sturdier tripod but if all you are useing it for is a point and shoot it works in a pinch. All in all I have been very happy with this kit. The big thing I wanted was the lens converters but the case, filters and tirpod are a welcome addition and in my case greatly appreaciated since I had nothing except a camera. Also the service was great. The order was dilivered promtly and with out a hitch. And that is always a plus.

The only items I was shopping for were a telephoto adapter and multiplier for my G-10 ...for less than I would have paid for that, I got the telephoto, a wide-angle, the adapter and filters...all of which were surprisingly good quality...plus the rest of the kit, which are of OK quality, but a bonus since those items were simply extras to what I actually needed.

you get what you paid for, the tri-pod broke and got stuck on my G-11 camera. I thought I was unable to get it out and had to take it to camera shop to get it removed; luckily I was able to remove it pliers. I am afraid to put it back on it. One of the lens had a defect; the customer service was very helpful replacing the lens and tri-pod. I will have to give hands up for the Rep who worked with me. I would buy again from 47th Street Photo but I will buy any generic supplies that are not Cannon brand. They get 4 stars for good customer service, thank for reading.

I ordered this lens and bag combo with high hopes, the bag and the tripod are nice enough, but even though it says these lens work with the canon G10, they don't really, I mean they fit, but you have to use the zoom with them or else they have a round circle like a tunnel, the telephoto lens causes a lens error on the camera when you zoom in to get rid of the annoying circle. The wide lens can be used. It's a lot of fun stuff in the box, but the lens are just really of no use. I saw a youtube video about the opteka lens and it showed how these lens's differ from a canon lens. Not sure if you really need extra lens.
If you need a tripod, mini tripod and camera bag and you don't mind paying 89.99 (that's what I paid) then this might be for you, but if you are wanting the lens, I say forget about it.