Steve'sDigicams

Stason · Sep 25, 2004, 3:35 PM

Hello, guys. I'm looking for telephoto lens for my f717. I did some research on this forum. Original Sony is too expensive. Seems like the most price/valuable is Olympus TCON17. But there were some discussion about Raynox.

I'm wondering... if the Rynox lens aren't better than TCON17 , why than they cost more ? Here're links to pricing at Etronics:
http://etronics.resultspage.com/... ...y.php?w=TCON+17&p=Q&ts=dynamic
http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk_code=raydcr1850probk

I learned from forums that when we talk about lens, the higher price the better quality. If so, what about Raynox 1850 /TCON17 price/quality ? Have you guys try the Raynox ???
Regards, Stan.

Trique Daddi · Sep 25, 2004, 5:05 PM

Good luck with your choice! I have the Sony VCL-HGD 1758. It is pricey but I found it on the web for $190. The quality is great. It produces very sharp images. It also works with the "movie mode". I have been very pleased with the results but it is heavy though.

Good luck with your choice! You obviously made a great choice of cameras! I have been thrilled with mine. I had a 16 x 20 poster pritned and it turned out great. The photo was the same as my "signature" on the left.

Trique Daddi

Stason · Sep 27, 2004, 7:43 PM

Absolutely agree with you, Trique Daddi, the camera is great for the money. I love my F717, pretty happy with it.
Well, but I find the Sony VCL-HGD 1758 to be too expensive , since I'm not going to use telephoto lens too often.

So what do you guys recommend, the Raynox glass or the Olympus's TCON17s ??
I will also need some good wide angle lens and a polirized filter. Any recommendations on that?

Thanks !
Stan.

naftade · Oct 3, 2004, 5:55 PM

Hi Stan,

I have spent quite some time reflecting on the same questions as you do now. In fact I can't tell you wether the Olympus or the Raynox would be preferable. Though I have seen many pictures made with the combination f717 and TCon 17 that looked very good and sharp. Since the Olympus lens is considerably cheaper than the Raynox, I see no reason not to give the Olympus a try. I don't think you would get better results with the Raynox (maybe not even with the sony).

I just have bought the Raynox dcr 720 wideangle (50 $) and I must say that I am pretty satisfied. The lens produces a strong barrel distortion but at least it doesn't cause any vignetting and the pictures are sharp throughout all areas. The barrel distortion can be corrected easyly by using a photoshop filter (image factory's debarrelizer). So in the end you will be able to shoot 28 mm photos with your 717 without spending a fortune for the sony wideangle. The spare money can be used for more usefull things, I think (like the Olympus tcon-17 for example :-)). After all, a teleconversion lens will allways be a compromise. I know some people who spend a lot of money for a product they hardly ever use. This - I believe- should be taken into account as well.

If you are searching for higher quality though, I still wouldn't recommend the original sony lens but rather the canon wc dc58n. It has a 58 mm thread like the sony, produces good images, costs more than 100 $ less and weighs only about half of the sony. Another alternative would be the Raynox pro 6600 which also offers a very good image quality if you do not use it at 100 % wideangle (you can check out some samples at "http://www.lensmateonline.com/g3_samples.html").

If you want to buy a polarized filter, make sure you get one with a good coating protection (these parts tend to be very delicate).

greetings

naftade

Stason · Oct 4, 2004, 9:03 PM

naftade,
Thanks a lot for detailed explanation !
Yes, I will go for TCON17.

As of Raynox dcr 720 , I have not found this model in any reviews yet, did you get this after reviews recommendations ?
Well, the price isn't too bad, I think I will go with this one too, especially if you say the quality is good.

Now, regarding polarizer. As I found, many people recommend multi-coated circular polarizers over single-coated ones. The most reasonable brands are Hoya and B+W. Hoya makes multi-coated ones (around $55), not sure if B+W makes multi-coated too. It is also said that circular polarizers are much better for F717 than linear polarizers.

Have you succeeded in finding good affordable polarizing filters ? Any ideas ?

Regards,
Stan.

P.S. Fight with F717's barrel distortion I prefer in Paint Shop Pro 8. Over all, I prefer this program to Photoshop, but this is my personal opinion. Photoshop is a more powerful program, but I find Paint Shop to be much more, to say, convenient and easy to use. Thanks.

naftade · Oct 5, 2004, 2:39 AM

Hi again,

I'm glad that you could do with my information.

Regarding the raynox dcr 720 I could add, that I haven't read any detailed reviews, but I did see some pictures made with it. What more should I expect from a (very cheap) lens than producing good images? I bought the product after I read a recommendation by Mr Kazutoku (http://kazutoku.cside.com/G3CON_eng.htm - he also has sample pictures on his site) and a (sort of) recommendation by lensmate (I got the information about software debarrelizers from there).

As for the polarized filters, Yes the B+W usually are multi-coated. You can read the protection grade engraved on the side of the filters. MRC means multi-resistant-coating (better protection against water, dust and scratches - also lessens reflections) and KSM means Kaesemann (higher optical clarity and sharpness, improved efficency and longer life). I recently bought a slim version of a b+W circular polarized filter with mrc and ksm which cost me 65 € (around 70 $?). I'm pleased with the product so far, however I have to admit that I didn't really find the time to test it in the fields yet. Maybe you will also achieve good results with a cheaper one. I just bought the b+w (that was also recommended to me byfriends) because it was only ten bucks more than those.

Regards,

Naftade

PS: I am thinking of buying a teleconversion lens too. Maybe I'll purchase the canon tc dc 58n. It's image quality may be a little inferior to the tcon 17, however it is much smaller, lighter, doesn't need a step ring and doesn't look soooo menacingly and professional (....tcon-17 -->

)

And....since I'm no professional at all....

).

Has anybody made experiences with the set f717 and tc dc58n?

c u

Stason · Oct 6, 2004, 8:03 PM

Hi,
I checked the first link, thans. I think I will go with either WC-DC58N or DCR-720.

Ok, as of polarizers, it is clear now. I should go with either Hoya or B+W . Thanks for MRC-KSM abbreviation explanation.

Regards,
Stan.

Oct 5, 2004, 2:39 AM	#6
naftade Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 2	Hi again, I'm glad that you could do with my information. Regarding the raynox dcr 720 I could add, that I haven't read any detailed reviews, but I did see some pictures made with it. What more should I expect from a (very cheap) lens than producing good images? I bought the product after I read a recommendation by Mr Kazutoku (http://kazutoku.cside.com/G3CON_eng.htm - he also has sample pictures on his site) and a (sort of) recommendation by lensmate (I got the information about software debarrelizers from there). As for the polarized filters, Yes the B+W usually are multi-coated. You can read the protection grade engraved on the side of the filters. MRC means multi-resistant-coating (better protection against water, dust and scratches - also lessens reflections) and KSM means Kaesemann (higher optical clarity and sharpness, improved efficency and longer life). I recently bought a slim version of a b+W circular polarized filter with mrc and ksm which cost me 65 € (around 70 $?). I'm pleased with the product so far, however I have to admit that I didn't really find the time to test it in the fields yet. Maybe you will also achieve good results with a cheaper one. I just bought the b+w (that was also recommended to me byfriends) because it was only ten bucks more than those. Regards, Naftade PS: I am thinking of buying a teleconversion lens too. Maybe I'll purchase the canon tc dc 58n. It's image quality may be a little inferior to the tcon 17, however it is much smaller, lighter, doesn't need a step ring and doesn't look soooo menacingly and professional (....tcon-17 -->) And....since I'm no professional at all....). Has anybody made experiences with the set f717 and tc dc58n? c u

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Sep 25, 2004, 3:35 PM	#1
Stason Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 33	Hello, guys. I'm looking for telephoto lens for my f717. I did some research on this forum. Original Sony is too expensive. Seems like the most price/valuable is Olympus TCON17. But there were some discussion about Raynox. I'm wondering... if the Rynox lens aren't better than TCON17 , why than they cost more ? Here're links to pricing at Etronics: http://etronics.resultspage.com/... ...y.php?w=TCON+17&p=Q&ts=dynamic http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk_code=raydcr1850probk I learned from forums that when we talk about lens, the higher price the better quality. If so, what about Raynox 1850 /TCON17 price/quality ? Have you guys try the Raynox ??? Regards, Stan.

Sep 25, 2004, 5:05 PM	#2
Trique Daddi Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 282	Good luck with your choice! I have the Sony VCL-HGD 1758. It is pricey but I found it on the web for $190. The quality is great. It produces very sharp images. It also works with the "movie mode". I have been very pleased with the results but it is heavy though. Good luck with your choice! You obviously made a great choice of cameras! I have been thrilled with mine. I had a 16 x 20 poster pritned and it turned out great. The photo was the same as my "signature" on the left. Trique Daddi

Sep 27, 2004, 7:43 PM	#3
Stason Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 33	Absolutely agree with you, Trique Daddi, the camera is great for the money. I love my F717, pretty happy with it. Well, but I find the Sony VCL-HGD 1758 to be too expensive , since I'm not going to use telephoto lens too often. So what do you guys recommend, the Raynox glass or the Olympus's TCON17s ?? I will also need some good wide angle lens and a polirized filter. Any recommendations on that? Thanks ! Stan.

Oct 3, 2004, 5:55 PM	#4
naftade Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 2	Hi Stan, I have spent quite some time reflecting on the same questions as you do now. In fact I can't tell you wether the Olympus or the Raynox would be preferable. Though I have seen many pictures made with the combination f717 and TCon 17 that looked very good and sharp. Since the Olympus lens is considerably cheaper than the Raynox, I see no reason not to give the Olympus a try. I don't think you would get better results with the Raynox (maybe not even with the sony). I just have bought the Raynox dcr 720 wideangle (50 $) and I must say that I am pretty satisfied. The lens produces a strong barrel distortion but at least it doesn't cause any vignetting and the pictures are sharp throughout all areas. The barrel distortion can be corrected easyly by using a photoshop filter (image factory's debarrelizer). So in the end you will be able to shoot 28 mm photos with your 717 without spending a fortune for the sony wideangle. The spare money can be used for more usefull things, I think (like the Olympus tcon-17 for example :-)). After all, a teleconversion lens will allways be a compromise. I know some people who spend a lot of money for a product they hardly ever use. This - I believe- should be taken into account as well. If you are searching for higher quality though, I still wouldn't recommend the original sony lens but rather the canon wc dc58n. It has a 58 mm thread like the sony, produces good images, costs more than 100 $ less and weighs only about half of the sony. Another alternative would be the Raynox pro 6600 which also offers a very good image quality if you do not use it at 100 % wideangle (you can check out some samples at "http://www.lensmateonline.com/g3_samples.html"). If you want to buy a polarized filter, make sure you get one with a good coating protection (these parts tend to be very delicate). greetings naftade

Oct 4, 2004, 9:03 PM	#5
Stason Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 33	naftade, Thanks a lot for detailed explanation ! Yes, I will go for TCON17. As of Raynox dcr 720 , I have not found this model in any reviews yet, did you get this after reviews recommendations ? Well, the price isn't too bad, I think I will go with this one too, especially if you say the quality is good. Now, regarding polarizer. As I found, many people recommend multi-coated circular polarizers over single-coated ones. The most reasonable brands are Hoya and B+W. Hoya makes multi-coated ones (around $55), not sure if B+W makes multi-coated too. It is also said that circular polarizers are much better for F717 than linear polarizers. Have you succeeded in finding good affordable polarizing filters ? Any ideas ? Regards, Stan. P.S. Fight with F717's barrel distortion I prefer in Paint Shop Pro 8. Over all, I prefer this program to Photoshop, but this is my personal opinion. Photoshop is a more powerful program, but I find Paint Shop to be much more, to say, convenient and easy to use. Thanks.

Oct 6, 2004, 8:03 PM	#7
Stason Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 33	Hi, I checked the first link, thans. I think I will go with either WC-DC58N or DCR-720. Ok, as of polarizers, it is clear now. I should go with either Hoya or B+W . Thanks for MRC-KSM abbreviation explanation. Regards, Stan.