Olympus Tcon 1.7 on the Panasonic FZ50 - help!

[neep_neep]

Hi,

I have recently purchased the Olympus Tcon 17 for my FZ50, on the recommendation of several sources.

However, i'm really struggling to get anything near a clear picture out of it

All the shots are coming out quite blurry. I seem to be getting better photos without the lens, and then using digital zoom!

What's going on? The lens is clean, and I have been using a tripod - and even setting the timer to 10 seconds, so there is absolutely no chance of camera shake from where I pressed the shutter.

I have tried a variety of settings:

Firstly by setting the conversion to 'telephoto' - that seemed like the first obvious thing to do! And I have tried taking photos with it set on Autofocus, AF Macro, and even Manual focus. None of these have produced anywhere near a sharp image.

I then tried all three focus settings with the conversion settings 'off'. Again, no difference.

The thing is that in the LCD display, the image is nice and sharp - then when it actually captures the photo, it loses the detail.

At all times it has been set to 420mm and i've been using 'auto' mode - i'm a bit lost when it comes to the 'priority' modes!

I know that some of you have used this combination, so was hoping you might have some suggestions.

Thanks!

[mh68]

I used a tcon-17 quite a lot with my fz20 and wasnt too impressed with it initially either.I found 2 things helped a great deal when it came to getting sharp results. Firstly, the Leica lenses on the fz cameras are at their sharpest at F5.6, so i began using the tcon at this aperture whenever I could (in A mode).Secondly, you need good light to bring out detail in the subject, a lot of my previous shots were taken in less than ideal light so looking back it wasnt too surprising that results were disappointing.I`ve since sold my tcon-17, not for any quality issues but for the simple fact it wasnt capable of taking a lens hood without doctoring it.....i had some nice images spoilt by lens flare due to not being able to use a hood.
In all cases with the tcon-17 I used spot focus,and image stabilising was set permanently to mode 2, whether handholding or using a tripod.I`ll try and dig out a pic taken with the tcon-17/fz20 and post it later on.
If using it at F5.6 in good light doesnt improve results there is a rare possibility that its been damaged in transit and the glass elements have moved out of alignment. Did you purchase it new or secondhand?

Mark H

[billybob99]

I use a tcon -17 with my kodak dx6490 all the time and have had no problems at all

[neep_neep]

Thanks for sharing your experience mh68!

I was using it today in full sun, but I have just checked the data for the pictures I took, and it automatically set the aperture at f3.7 - which may be why it's not working so well! I shall have another go tomorrow when the sun's out and set the aperture priority at f5.6. Hopefully that will improve things!

That definitely makes sense, because looking back at my best, sharpest macro photos (which is what I take most of the time) they were all automatically set to f5.6 - which gave the best results for those too.

I shall update tomorrow and let you know if I have any more luck! Thank you!

[mh68]

No probs, hope the info helps. Found a shot taken with the tcon-17/fz20, this was a pretty heavy crop too.Handheld, bird was probably 20ft or so away, from memory.



Mark H

[matt_xyz]

I used to use the TCON17 quite a lot on my FZ30 and never had any problems. I never noticed much difference between f3.7 and 5.6 either, to be honest. I was wondering whether your shutter speed was dropping too much, but if you're using a tripod that shouldn't be an issue. By the way, don't bother selecting 'conversion' from the menu, that has no impact on image quality.

I suppose it's possible you might have a dud teleconverter.

Matt

[mpav]

I have been using a T-Con 1.7 for some time and have had mixed results.
When I first screwed on the 1.7 I noticed that the rear lens actually touched the Camera lens I tested this with a temporary crayon. I then made up a thin nylon spacer. I subsequently learned that the distance of the tele from the camera lens is critical so tried different spacers. I have ended up with two 55 mm filters with the glass taken out ( Second hand ones from box of spares at Castle Cameras for �1 each). This has given the best sharpness.
Can anyone suggest how to get good bird pictures in the winter with
low light, 200 ISO seems too noisy. If the noise problem was to be cured
with this camera I would use no other, cannot justify paying �800 odd for
single DSLR Also I like portability.

[mh68]

Hello mpav, and welcome to WaB. I regularly use my fz50 at ISOs up to 800 and have been pretty happy with the results.When you talk about noise....are you meaning when the images are viewed at full size? If so, noise will be very obvious but when images are downsized for the web or to a comfortable viewing size for your monitor the noise should be a lot less visible.I generally resize down to 1000x750 for viewing on the laptop, and down to 800x600 if a shot has more noise than usual,and most noise disappears at these image sizes.
The only problem with the fz50 at high iso`s is that the cameras processor is a little over zealous with the way it deals with noise, so I set noise reduction in-camera to low or shoot Raw.Even shooting jpegs at low noise reduction i rarely feel the need to run the image through noise reduction software when editing.
With higher ISOs its more critical to get exposure perfect first time - if you have to brighten a shot afterwards then you`ll exaggerate any noise present.Cropping shots will also exaggerate noise.
One thing with these cameras is that to capture fine detail like feathers you do need to be fairly close to the subject,superzoom sensors dont capture the same amount of detail as a larger DSLR sensor,....and you cant crop like you would with a DSLR without losing a lot of detail.Understand the cameras limitations,work round them,and you`ll get some nice shots.

Mark H

[mh68]

Heres 2 examples...1st shot at 200iso in pretty dull conditions, 2nd shot at 400iso...in both shots exposure didnt need altering so noise was kept under control.





Mark H

[denisg]

Originally Posted by mpav

I have been using a T-Con 1.7 for some time and have had mixed results.
When I first screwed on the 1.7 I noticed that the rear lens actually touched the Camera lens I tested this with a temporary crayon. I then made up a thin nylon spacer. I subsequently learned that the distance of the tele from the camera lens is critical so tried different spacers. I have ended up with two 55 mm filters with the glass taken out ( Second hand ones from box of spares at Castle Cameras for �1 each). This has given the best sharpness.

An excellent point and good tip. I used the forerunner of the Tcon17 on my Minolta A1 and Uzi cameras for a long time with very satisfactory success. A very nice (and heavy) piece of glass. A couple of memories spring to mind that may (or may not!) help current users.
1) if you are shooting small subjects close to or less than around 20' then try switching to macro mode. It changes the minimum focus distance and this can make a lot of difference, especially if your pics in this sort of range look a little soft or oof.
2) Bit obvious and maybe sounds a little patronizing, not intended like that at all, but I have read many, many threads on forums of how folks have adapted big filters to the front of the beast. All round glass filters are used between the Tcon and the lens including cirpol's. With the cirpol's you just turn the Tcon itself. Great with cul's too.

Hope this helps.

Denis.