Teleconverters in general. (1 Viewer)

Ashley beolens

Breeding the next generation of birders.

• Mar 19, 2003

• #1

As I am still waiting on my LCE adaptor, I was thinking about buying a teleconverter, but I do not have the foggiest idea how they perform, and weather they are worth the money. Also What power (magnification) will they give a CP4500? (for example waht will a 3x converter make the camera lens if it were a 35mm). Also is a tripod needed with them or ae they easier to use hand held?

If anyone uses converters can they give me thier names so I can check thier gallery pages.:t:

Thanks for all the help.

 

Richard Ford

BF Member

• Mar 19, 2003

• #2

Ashley

http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showphoto.php?photo=2780&papass=&sort=1

http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1624&papass=&sort=1

http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1556&papass=&sort=1

These three photos above (which i belive you have seen before)were taken with the Nikon Coolpix 995 and the tc-e3ed (3x teleconvertor) it gives excellent results provided you can get close enough to the subject.

I have asked the 35mm equivalent question of Andy bright before who gave me a very informative answer, Unfortunately I have forgotten the exact details and calculations, I am also sure its been covered somewhere on the boards In the past, I'll let you know if I find the thread.

Rich :t:

 

Last edited: Mar 19, 2003

Ashley beolens

Breeding the next generation of birders.

• Mar 19, 2003

• #3

Cheers Richard, can you remember how close? I was thinking about the Eagle eye 5x converter, added onto a cp4500 at full optical zoom would give me equivalent of 775mm or 20x magnification which seems pretty good, I just wonder on the quality, but judging by your photos it will only be my poor photography to blame if things were not good.

 

Richard Ford

BF Member

• Mar 19, 2003

• #4

Yes you would get twenty-times mag Ashley, but not in the same way you would with a pair of bins or a scope. The wide-angle end of the CP zoom is under the naked eye view, it is X20 but you are not starting at zero, somewhere below it. It’s not a simple thing to work out, or explain when I don’t really know how it works out myself.

At this mag you may want to use a tripod, the Nikon I have is only a three times, I haven’t used the eagle eye 5X but I believe this would be manual focus, a big plus point for using the Nikon in my opinion. I could be wrong.

I am open to others explanations which may be better than mine.

The shelduck was perhaps the furthest away at about 10-15 meters, as you see it far from fills the frame, the water rail pic has been cropped to remove vegetation, but was around 4 meters away. They were all taken freehand without a tripod.

Rich


This is also taken with the 3x Convertor and cropped
http://www.birdforum.net/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=22514

 

Last edited: Mar 19, 2003

Richard Ford

BF Member

• Mar 19, 2003

• #5

I'll also add that I find it very useful, as there are often situation where birds are quite used to people and can be successfully photographed with this set up. Birds that are regularly fed are often too close to be digiscoped but too far away for a good picture with the camera alown.

One thing I plan to use it for is to hopefully photograph Goldcrest or perhaps Firecrest and Tits, the kind of birds that with patience you can get close to, but are to nippy for digiscoping (unless you are Andy Bright) :0)

I think it will come into its own class when I start to use it for insects (mainly Dragonflies) in the summer too, as these you can get close enough to for a full frame pic.

Rich

 

Last edited: Mar 20, 2003

F

fredyr

Well-known member

• Mar 19, 2003

• #6

If you go to eagleeye you will see compatibility results with the eagleeye. The Nikon 995 seemed to be the best fit. There is a new eagleeye coming out in June. Hope this helps.
regards Fredy Ross

 

Andy Bright

Administrator

Staff member

• Mar 20, 2003

• #7

Hi Ash,
The cp4500 at max zoom is about 155mm in 35mm terms (though it's not strictly comparable), adding a 3x teleconverter such as the excellent TC3-ED will give 465mm, Eagle Eye 5x 775mm, Eagle Eye 5x + Olympus B300 1317mm.
Andy

 

Richard Ford

BF Member

• Mar 20, 2003

• #8

You were right then ashley. 775mm .

Rich

 

Lawrie Hodges

Well-known member

• Mar 20, 2003

• #9

I use the TC-E3ED x3 teleconverter a fair bit with my Coolpix 995 and am very happy with it. Eight of the 12 pictures currently in my gallery were taken using it.

 

Chuck A Wulla

Member

• Mar 22, 2003

• #10

Interesting. Out of curiosity, what is the minimum zoom for the TC-E3ED x3? Or in other words, how bad is vignetting at the wider angle settings?

 

Joe A.

Well-known member

• May 22, 2003

• #11

Just a comment on teleconverters and 35 SLR cameras. Using a teleconverter in conjunction with a polorzing filter can substantially cut down the amount of light available to you. A 2x teleconverter with polorizing filter can cost you up to 4 f stops. Not a major problem as long as you have a tripod. It's just something to consider.

 

Last edited: May 22, 2003

N

normjackson

Well-known member

• May 22, 2003

• #12

Useful link re. EagleEye 5X and focussing? :

http://www.digiscoping.ca/portfolio1e.html

At left look under "About Digiscoping -> 5x EagleEye Lens"

 

P

peteh

Well-known member

• May 22, 2003

• #13

Hello Ashley,
Ive just got my nikon teleconverter recently,
this is one of my early attempts
http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showphoto.php?photo=5269&password=&sort=7&thecat=500
I bought it to take with me on long dog walks in the country when it is impractical to take the scope, have had a few occasions where a Stonechat has been within 10ft from me, but bad light hasn't helped. I am pretty sure as soon as the sun is out I will be able to get some good results.

 

Dave Smith

Well-known member

• May 22, 2003

• #14

Hi Ashley
I have recently purchased a 3x teleconverter which I am using with a CP880. The camera has to be on full zoom (x2.5) to avoid vignetting. In my gallery the robin, goldfinches and bearded tit are with the converter. Sorry I haven't yet learned how to make a link directly to the pictures.
Dave

 

Dave Smith

Well-known member

• May 22, 2003

• #15

On a slightly different note but could be of interest to teleconverter users, I have just bought the Lowe Pro D-RES 30AW bag and it will take both the camera and the teleconverter. In the shop I also tried the CP4500 with the teleconverter and they also fitted with room for memory cards and spare batteries.