TCON17 on Fuji S602z

[voxmagna]

Hi, this is really a lens newbie question. I recently bought a TCON17 as it was reviewed as a better alternative than the Fuji Tele converter. My previous experience has been with slr continuous zoom lenses.

I'm sure you might appreciate my surprise after adding the TCON17 and adaptor at the 'toilet roll' image in the viewfinder. My question is really this. Would this lens do the same thing on Oly cams, conversely does the Fuji Tele con do this on a 602? I find that about 1/3 of the camera upper zoom is usable with the TCON17. Is this normal? I know the first element is as close to the Fuji front element as possible, and I'm asuming a lot wider more expensive glass would be needed to get a larger range - is this a fair assumption?.

Apart from my curiosity about the limited zoom range, in the short time I've tried it (at maximum camera optical zoom) it seems a very bright clean lens. Replies appreciated - VOX

[gibsonpd3620]

The closer you are to wide angel view the "toliet paper roll" effect is increase. On my Oly 4040, 3000, 740 the lower 1/3 of the zoom is when vignetting appeared.

[voxmagna]

Gibs... Thanks, does this have something to do with the physical size of the camera lens system? I mean the 602 looks quite large, compared to some of the pocketable cams. VOX

[voxmagna]

I now think the answer to my post is obvious. Looking at photos of the Fuji tele adaptor, the first lens is massive, almost the diameter of the adaptor tube, whereas the Oly TCON is much smaller. So the personal trade-off is probably acclaimed better optic on the TCON but it becomes no more than a fixed focal length tele converter on a 602, whereas the Fuji tele probably has a wider zoom range before vignetting, slightly lower magnification, and possibly more geometric distortion when the cam zoom is not at max. VOX