Beginners Question about Teleconverters (1 Viewer)

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Hi

My first post so please go easy on me!

I have an Olympus C740UZ with a 10x zoom. This means I can get some reasonable shots of birds in the garden from my kitchen window - but sometimes I wish I could get that bit closer.

My question is about teleconverters. Will a 2x teleconverted give me the equivalent of a 20x zoom and what is the downside - I have read about something like vinegar - but what exactly is that!

Also I notice teleconverters on eBAY for about £50 - are these any good or should I be looking at some reputable optics. Look forward to some thoughts and advice.

Cheers

Martin

Hi Martin, and welcome to the forum. I'm sure someone will be along soon to help with your query.

Hi mipettin,

First of all, on behalf of all the Moderators and Admin Staff, let me welcome you to BirdForum.

I hope you will enjoy your time with us, and will visit the site often.

You'll find plenty of folks here willing to help.

Now, to answer your question - from my own personal experience - your assumption regarding the teleconverter is, essentially, correct.

Now I am no expert, so wait for more experienced people than I before making a final decision - but here are the three main problems I personally have encountered with my teleconverter.

1) Vignetting (or vinegar!). Yes, this does happen, but in my experience, only on very long lens settings - so shouldn't be a problem in your garden. (see * below)

2) Increased magnification will mean increased susceptibility to camera-shake... do you use a tripod?

3) In some cases (well mine) the fitting of a teleconverter means loss of autofocus. For a rubbish photographer like myself - this is important!

*Finally, does the Olympus C740UZ have a dedicated converter you can buy? From a quick Google on the model, it look like it has a built-in zoom lens, rather than a lens that is detachable from the body of the camera, allowing the fitting of a teleconverter - as is the case with my Minolta.

Now it is time for all the professionals to go easy on me, but I cannot see how you can fit a teleconverter to this model.

Best advice of all... wait for some more replies!!!

Oh... by the way.. never bought off eBay, but with any second-hand purpose, let the buyer beware!

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Thanks for the welcome and the quick responses.

birdman is correct in that my lens is not detachable - though searching ebay for Olympus C740 and C750 suggests that teleconverters as well as wide angle lens can be attached using an adaptor ring.

Yes I do use tripods a mini one and a 3/4 size one. The mini one is great for use on the kitchen window sill though I do have visions of the camera falling off into the sink.

The tripods are essential for using the full zoom - which in real optics is 7x I think rather than 10x - (the lens is marked 6.3 - 63mm) as the lens is not balanced.

The point about focus is interesting I hadn't appreciated this. Anyway look forward to more responses. A teleconverter may be more useful for spotting - i.e. taking a picture for identification purposes rather than photos.

I am inspired now to add some pictures to the galleries. I took a nice picture of a robin on Saturday from the window sill with the camera on the mini pod. In fact I'll go and do this now.

Cheers

Martin

Hi Martin,

I believe it's the CLA-4 adapter that you need for your camera. It also acts as a lens armour to protect it against knocks.

Olympus make some superb teleconverters though not directly made for the C700 series.

The best of the bunch is the Olympus B300 or now relaunched as the Tcon-17, a 1.7x converter that has a 55 mm rear thread so you need a step ring to use it with the CLA-4 - though I am out of touch with the filter size.

Personally I have the Olympus C2100UZ, which I use in conjunction with teleconverters. I actaully use my camera with a Tcon-14+Tcon-17 giving an amazing extension to the zoom range. To do tht though you need to cement a filter ring to the front of the Tcon-14. You can often pick them up quite cheaply on eBay.

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Ian F

If I am reading your post correctly you are adding two teleconverters to your Olympus a 1.4 and a 1.7 as the max focal length on my camera is 380mm (I think the range is 38-380) then this will mean a max of 1.4 x 1.7 x 380 = 904mm. I also noticed from another thread that you can get a Kenko teleconverter which is 3x i.e. 1140mm.

Is it possible for you to post pics or a link to pics that have been taken with and without your set up. I.e. take a pic of a object with no teleconverters and one with both so I can see image quality and detail that is possible with your set up. Also how secure is the camera with two lenses cantilevering of the camera - it must be some big pointy thing with those lens attached.

Martin
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In January I bought a second hand 3x Converter for my Nikon Coolpix995 through Bird Forums and I am delighted with the results. So far I have taken shots of various Ducks on lakes, the Ring-billed Gull at Helston, the Glossy Ibis at Bowling Green and a Grey Partridge through the open car window. I would certainly recommend an investment in one for use when birds are too close for digiscoping but too far away for the camera zoom.

Hi Martin,

You are correct about adding the two teleconverters together which in addition to the 10x optical zoom gives a pretty long reach.

I did have some photos of the set up knocking around somewhere, but I can't locate them at the moment. I'll take some more tomorrow so that you can see what the combo looks like. It's actually quite well balanced if you use the lens body to support the camera. I leave the lenses all assembled and carry it either by the camera strap off the shoulder or in my camera bag which it fits quite nicely.

Plenty of shots in the Gallery, of different combos of the lenses, but not of the same subject. The prime 10x lens gives very sharp results and adding the Tcon-17 gives no noticeable degradation of image or loss of light. If anything the optical quality is enhanced using the Tcon-17. Adding the Tcon-14 does lead to some degradation, but not unacceptably so. The only restriction I find nowadays is that the camera is only 2.1 MP, so it can be difficult to compete with 4 - 6 MP cameras. Certainly for lighter weight and maneuverability it's a good combo.

As requested a series of photos of the same subject showing the various fields of view. Sorry about the poor subject matter, I only realised the venetian blinds had reflected when I downloaded the photos. All uncropped, simply resized and file sizes reduced. The narrowing of the depth of field is noticeable as the focal length is increased.

1 - Olympus C2100UZ
2 - Olympus C2100UZ+Tcon14
3 - Olympus C2100UZ+Tcon17
4 - Olympus C2100UZ+Tcon14+Tcon17
5 - The combo itself.

All taken hand held. The C2100UZ has a very effective Image Stabiliser so a tripod is never required.

Thanks Ian F. I think I will try the TCON-17 as I have seen lots of good things said about it. One problem with my camera is not image stabilisation. I have a tripod but may need to invest in a bean bag also. Cheers, Martin