Tele lens for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30

[Spireite-Karl]

Hi,

New member would like to know what is the best lens (in terms of zoom), that is compatible with the Panny DMC-FZ30?

The only lens I can find is the 3X PRO DG PRECISION, can this be bettered?

I'm after long distance wildlife shots and would like to bring them as close as I can.

Thanks Karl.

[HarjTT]

Hi Karl

You need to post this on the Panasonic Digicam forum -the Pana TC used to the best convertor for the FZ10/20's and is a very high quality optic but with the FZ30 that's no longer the case. You need to check Dr. Shene's website as he has an indepth comparison for the FZ's :

http://www.cs.mtu.edu/~shene/DigiCam/index.html

Cheers

HarjTT

: o )>

:? :O

[msantos]

The 3X PRO DG PRECISION is not a good lens. Avoid it.

There are some good ones:

• Canon TL55, [/*]
• Olympus TCON-14B, [/*]
• Minolta ACT-100,[/*]
• Nikon TC-E15ED, [/*]
• Nikon TC-E17ED, [/*]
• Olympus TCON-17, [/*]
• Sony VCL DH1758,[/*]
• Sony VCL HGD1758

[/*]
See the post send byHarjTT. You'll find a very good comparison.

[robass]

I have just bought the olympus TCON 17 for my FZ50 and it seems to an awesome lens . I will post some pics here once I get the oppurtunity to go and take some .

[lewi22]

olympus TCON 17 is this a better lens than the panasonic dmw lt55.

i want close up pics of birds and i seem not to be able to get good pics using digital zoom they always seem blured.this is my very first camera so i just want to take pics in auto mode with close up effects not for printing just looking at them on laptop.

please could you point me in the right direction

many thanks lewi

[rafinmelb]

Olympus TCON 17 is this a better lens than the panasonic dmw lt55.

i want close up pics of birds and i seem not to be able to get good pics using digital zoom they always seem blured.this is my very first camera so i just want to take pics in auto mode with close up effects not for printing just looking at them on laptop.

lewi, have a look at the link harjTT posted, it is an excellent site which has some comparisons of various TCs with test photos. The oly is rated marginally better than the pana but not much in it. In my neck of the world though the issue is price. The oly is cheaper $180 versus $345.

Birding is tough and getting good close ups even tougher. Hard to tell what your blurring is about without example photos. I will assume you have focus and the blurring is caused by camera shake and/or subject movement. The 'rule of thumb' says that to get a motion free shot you are looking at 1/focal length. With the FZ50 at full 420 zoom you need about 1/500 to freeze normal motion. The pany OIS gives you a little leeway (probably down to 1/125) and your hands may be fairly steady. At 420 though your maximum aperture drops down to a best of 3.7. If the light is at all poor, ie in a forested area, overcast day, winter etc, you may find the speed dropping to 1/60th or below which at 420 is probably not enough to freeze motion. This is especially problematic for little jumpy birds because you not only have camera shake to contend with but subject movement. When you add a TC say the Oly you extend the focal range to asbout 714. Using the same 'rule of thumb' you need a faster speed again to freeze motion.

SO, the upshot is that you have two options:

• you may want to look for ways to keep steadier, a tripod or monopod. That way you elimintae camera shake from the equation. Hopefully your bird will not be twitching and if it is that you have enough light to freeze the action.
  [/*]
• you may want to put the ISO up higher to get you a higher shutter speed which will help elimintae camera shake AND subject movement. Doubling ISO will double shutter speed at the same aperture[/*]

If you manage to get motion 'frozen' then a TC WILL get you in closer and you can use the EZ Zoom to get in even closer.

Good luck

[tcook]

Good advice given above, for birds the faster the shutter speed the better. Another suggestion I would make is always shoot in burst mode as often one shot will be a little sharper then the other and you sometimes get the add bonus of a shot you did not expect such as the bird taking flight.

[RealMash]

I did read (Dr./ Professor, he does not seem to care anyway, that good he is...)Shenes pages, and did take my pick. I have the Tcon 17 and Nikon 17 converter, but a step down ring for the nikon is not easy to get by. Still, if money is a medium issue, I´d recomend the Tcon 17 from Olympus. It is abit lighter and easier to use as you do not need a step up ring. If you are a bit more serious to taking pictures at long range, then take the Nikon one. In my experience they both work well on the FZ30, with slight advantages for the Nikon. But for a hefty premium, I might add.
If you do not want to spend that much money, a tcon 14 from Olympus might be your best bet, but I would not recomend it, unless money and size/weight are very pressing factors.

Cheers,
RealMash