New FZ28 (1 Viewer)

Hi Just got an fz28 for a birthday present i am wondering if having a teleconvertor makes a big difference .

Have heard about the olympus tcon 1-7 have seen them on Jessops web site for about £80 also an ebay shop is selling them for £40 the panasonic seems a bit expensive .But i have never used teleconvertors before so dont know much about them . Do you think it is worth buying one i will use the camera for watching wildlife and birds.
Harold

Lots of interesting info on choosing and using teleconverters with the FX18 & FZ28 in this forum. Simple answer is yes, a teleconverter can make a big difference to your picture taking. I have a Nikon X1.5 teleconverter on my FZ18 nearly all the time. Make sure you buy the right one and get the adapter tube you need to attach it.

I have got the Z28 and I am managing without a teleconverter but then I do also have a dslr but being a keen cyclist I often just carry the Z28. My past experience of teleconverters has not been good and that was on a shorter 6x setup (fuji S700), but of course others have more experience anyway. I amtempted to say see how you manage without for a while before taking the plunge with a teleconverter.

One comment though is that £80 for a Tcon 1.7 does not sound bad, (my fuji 2x cost about £100 four years ago) and is a lot less expensive than the error I made when I paid £750 for a Bigma for my four-thirds Olympus and found that I just could not handle it! Interestingly I am now using a minolta 500 AF mirror lens on my current sony dslr setup without problems yet others have found the mirror lens unuseable.

The best option I think is to try to meet up with someone already using any setup and see what their methods are.

Len

I don't have a TCON 1.7, but I read only good things about this gear. I used two Raynox teleconverters (1.54X and 2.2X) with my superzoom cameras, Canon Powwr Shot S3 IS and Olympus SP 560UZ and I'm pretty pleased with the results.

Thanks everyine for that info i will try to find someone using the same set up i dont mind waiting awhile.
Harold

I have the FZ18, but don't have the TCON because like speckled wood, I bike whenever I go birding, and having the extra lens in front of the camera makes me feel uncomfortable (feel it might fall off if I go too fast). And since I take landscape photos too, taking the TCON on-and-off feels so troublesome.

Nevertheless, I see mostly good photos from birders having that extra reach. One example is from this Flickr member (FZ18 + TCON-17).

If I do need the extra reach from my FZ18, I'd just lower the megapixel to get the extension zoom, and it works fine. But of course, you'd have less room to work with when you want to edit it at home.

I don't think you can go wrong getting the TCON. Good luck :t:

Hi,

I have the FZ18 and the Olympus TCON 17. I use it with the TCON more often than not for birding. Its quite lightweight (compared to the Nikon TC-E17-ED and also a lot cheaper). I got mine from ebay for about £50 I think. My friend bought the FZ28 for our tirp to India and she didn't have a TCON but has now decided to buy one. You can see some shots taken with the FZ18 and TCON here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8773601@N03/sets/72157614414371596/

and here (particularly the bird shots):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8773601@N03/sets/72157609198993732/

compared to the trip I took in 2007 when I didn't have a TCON:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8773601@N03/sets/72157603341038890/

Note, a few shots were digiscoped with a fuji- please check the properties of each shot to be on the safe side.

Also a few closer to home FZ18 and TCON (mostly)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8773601@N03/sets/72157616701922970/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8773601@N03/sets/72157615660038555/


I have noticed some purple fringing in some high contrast shots (edge of birds wings, tree branches against sky)- these seem to be somewhat more prevalent in TCON shots but I try and remove these in PP. Other than that the image quality is fine.

Thanks for that info nice pictures.
H