Here are afew in-camera B&Ws taken with the fz5 and the raynox dcr6600 .66x wa lens at the Wildwood, NJ boardwalk. These are resized only with no pp. The full set of 22 photos is at http://www.ishots.net/fz5/wildwoodb&w/

Many including this one were taken shooting "blind" from the hip.





This last one demonstrates how nicely the dcr6600 does at increased zooms with the fz5 and the raynox modified adapter. This at 3.5x with no corner distortion which isfairly uniquewith a wa lens on an ultra zoom camera.

Fred are you saying there is no vignetting with the FZ5?

I would like to get that lens for the FZ30 but not if it vignettes like it did on the FZ20.

Gene

These are wonderful.What time of day and day of the week did you take them? Very few people and some of the shotshave a sort of ghostly vacant feel. Very nice.

Gene - No vignetting. But it's close. If I leave the uv filter on, thus putting the dcr6600 another 3-4mm from the fz5 lens, vignetting starts. I imagine some vignetting will occur with the fz30 due to the necessity of the 55-52mm step ring. There is also the larger diameter of the fz30 lens vs the fz5 to consider. You might get vignetting even without the step ring. I think I would look into the oly wcon07 which has 55mm threads. The Pany .7x wa, which goes for around ~$250, looks suspiciously similar to the wcon07which goes for half that.

The primary reason the dcr6600 works so well with the fz5 is the raynox modified adapter which gives you 52mm threads almost flush with the fz5 extendend lens. As stated, there is no vignetting and no corner degradation at higher zooms. If I use the stock fz5 adapter with astep ring there is considerable vignetting and corner degradation at higher zooms. It all has to do with getting that wa converter absolutely as close as possible to the camera lens.

corcoj - Glad you liked them. These were taken around 10am Wednesday morning before Labor Day weekend. It was overcast which gives it some of the vacant feel. The wide angle adds to that. I see you're from PA. What part?

Fred

Thanks Fred

You may be right but all the Tele lens I have used with the FZ30 vignette about 1/2 as much as with the 10 or 20.

For instance the Tcon 17 quits vignetting at 4X with the FZ30 compared to more than 6X on the FZ20 And the Raynox 2020 quits at 7X compared to more than12X on the 20. Leads me to believe the 6600 may not vignette.

I just hate to buy it and find out it does vignette.

genece wrote: That's very interesting. Sounds like Pany might have finally put a little more effort into the add-on lens capability of the fz. The stockfz5 lens adapter is a joke, IMO -as was the fz10/15/20.

B&H has both the wcon07 ($120) and the dcr6600 ($100). I have returned items to them with no questions asked for full refunds (u pay shipping). I would order both these lens and try them out and then return one or both. Please let us know the results.

Update: Did you see this from CK at dpreview? "I also checked the Raynox 0.66X[on thefz30] and found that the vignetting is still there and as bad as on a FZ-10."

Nice shots! I just boughtthe FZ5 and have not received it yet. I did not think I could add lenses because it has no manual focus. Does the AF work this well on Tele Conversion and Macro lenses also, and which ones are best?

I think fred will come and answer your questions but here is a thread he started on how to make the lens work on the FZ5

d-sr wrote: [/b]

d-sr wrote: The entire fz series auto focus works wonderfully with all variety ofadd-on lens (or with manual focus where it is available). Theonlyshortcomingwith the fz5 and add-ons is the poorly designed plastic lens adapter and its connection to thefz5 body, which has nothing to do with the camera lens system.

In general, connections using plastic threads are suspect. They wear out easily and cannot handle alot of weight -particularly with the center of gravityconcentratedaway from the cameraas with the bigger teleconverters. Theother fz series cameras were designed such that third party aluminum adapters could be economically produced and sold for those cameras. Not so with the fz5. Smaller filters and lens do ok. Teles and wide angle convertersmay need some help. Better quality teles tend to be too heavy for the stock adapter. Wide angle converters tend to vignett because the stock adapter places them too far away from the extended fz5 lens.

There is an easyfix. TheRaynox rt5264p aluminum tube adapter miraculously slide-fits perfectly over the fz5 lens adapterfor avery secure fit. The tolerances areamazingly close. (~$20at bugeyedigital.) That will give you 52mm metal threads (independent of the fz5 plastic 55mm threads) toaccept add-ons. It works.

With wide angle lens such as the dcr6600vignetting will still occur. The dcr6600 works wonderfully with the fz5 if you can get itvery close to the fz5 extended lens. To do this, some plastic needs to be removed from the stock adapter. See http://www.ishots.net/fz5/modified_fz5_adapter.htm I've had the fz5 for 5 months and have used the modified version since day 2.



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[align=left]UV filter: 52mm Hoya multicoated recommended for lens and extension housing protection. ~$15[/align]

[align=left]Macro lens: 52mm Nikon 4t +3 diopter dual element. ~$40[/align]

[align=left]Tele converter: Olympus tcon17 1.7x. ~$100. 55mm;will need 52-55mm step up ring.[/align]

[align=left]Wide angle: Raynox dcr6600 .66x but only if you do the full modification.[/align]

Thanks for the info. It makes me feel even better about my purchase. Fred, I always enjoy your postings.