Adapters necessary for the FZ20???

[jcon]

I have finally bought my FZ20(thanks to all the opinions on here :) ) and now need to know if i need to buy these adapters/filters everyone is talking and asking about. I have read about the Phayhee and the Raynox (the Raynox looks pretty cool!!). Are these needed to protect the lens? Will they help "lenghten" the zoom range? If they are needed... which do you seggest and where would be the best place on the web to purchase one? Thanks for all the help, forgive me if these are stupid questions but I have no clue about this :confused:

[Jim Last]

Read through the "sticky's" at the top of the forum. Within Jaydes (http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1314) There are links to external sites that really show how the adaptors look and work and the benefits and uses for them.

[FZ20knowitall]

Most people would agree that you need to protect the lens. Yes, you could live without it, but for one thing if you scratch the lens, the camera becomes a big paperweight. Also a good UV haze filter will filter out unnecessary things that your eye might not be able to see but once captured onto a picture it will degradate the image (UV rays for one). It will also enhance image quality, overall - assuming you buy a good filter.

Your camera comes with a lens shade, and the lens shade adapter. You can just buy a 72mm uv haze filter which will fit at the end of the lens shade adapter (which you already own). After you screw on your filter you can still attach the lens shade (which has the screw on one side of it to screw it to the adapter). This is the easiest thing to do.

But the reason why you hear so many other possibilities is as follows: Once you screw in your supplied adapter you will notice a significant space between the lens and the end of your adapter. Screwing on a 72mm filter will mean that you have all of that distance between your actual lens and the filter. This isn't good primarily because you are giving the light a chance to bounce around in that space potentially causing lens flare. All of us are trying to figure out why panasonic would come out with such a bad design. What to do? Well don't use the supplied Panasonic adapter and get one from Phayee or Peramaal. I wouldn't recommend the Raynox because the thread is only 52mm, it will become a pain to match everything else you plan to use, including the raynox filters/accessory lenses (all of those are at a 62mm thread). Raynox actually does give you the 52-62mm step up filter (if you buy their telephoto lens), but you really shouldn't bother with the Raynox adapter.

I am pretty sure the Phayee adapter is the smallest one (meaning the smallest distance from lens to end of adapter). It has a 62mm thread at the end of it and it also comes with a 62mm-72mm step up tube so it looks and acts just like the Panasonic with the exception of your filters now become closer to the lens.

So far we just talked about protecting the lens. If you want to increase focal length (i.e. "lengthen the zoom range") then you need to get an accessory lens. Panasonic makes one specifically for the FZ10/20 called the LTZ10. It has a 1.5x zoom giving you a total focal length equivalent to a 648mm lens. Quality of this lens is very good, but it is very expensive. I think about $400+ dollars. A lot of people who own this camera had an Olympus ultra zoom camera in the past and most people bought the TCON-17 for their Olympus (made by olympus) it costs $100 and you can get it at B&H photo (try to get everything from them, they are the cheapest) here is the site:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=278672&is=REG

If you do get that lens you will need to get a step down ring from 62mm to 55mm (this assumes you bought the Peramaal or Phayee) already, you will need that, too. The TCON-17 is a 1.7x magnification which brings your focal length to 734mm lens equivalent. And the quality is very high, and it increases the focal length more than the Panasonic and is a quarter the price.

Your other choice is the Raynox, but I wouldn't consider it a choice being that the quality isn't nearly as high. It is called the Raynox DCR-2020Pro also available at B&H. But it does have a 2.2x magnification giving you a whopping 950mm equivalent lens. It is $189.95 at B&H.

If you want to purchase the Phayee adapter just e-mail RongJin at:rongjin@phayee.com. He also has lens caps (62mm & 72mm) that have a string attached to it so you can attach it to your camera strap so you don't lose the cap. It works great. It only costs a couple of bucks.

If you want to get the peramaal adapter (which in essence is the same thing as the phayee-but you don't have the extension tube/reflector which comes w/the phayee) you can go here and order it:
http://www.b-300.com/fz10ac.html

So far we talked about protecting the lens but we didn't discuss which filter you should get. Remember you have a leica lens. You put a crappy filter on the end of it, it is like having a crappy camera/lens. So you want to buy a good filter. The three good companies for filters are: Hoya (only their top of the line series-the other ones are mediocre), Tiffen and B&W (from Schneider-these are the best, and of course, most expensive, filters). A great filter for the Phayee adapter is 62mm Hoya Pro1 Super HMC Multi-coated UV-Haze filter. It is very thin which is good esp. if you want to add on any other filters (such as a polarizer). It is very high quality. It is multi-coated which also makes a big difference. You can get it here for about $40:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=67353&item=3849440199&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

A polarizer is an almost must if you are shooting scenic photography. You can get a good one for about $50. I have a more expensive one which works well in extreme conditions (cold and hot). It is from B&W and it costs $100 (mind you, you can get a Tiffen which will work as well, but I don't have a direct link for it, but B&H has every filter made so you can check with them). Here is the link to the polarizer that I bought from B&H:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=10921&is=REG

You should also get a lens shade/hood. If you go with the Phayee adapter then get this hood:
http://www.adorama.com/LNHZ72.html?searchinfo=72mm%20lens%20hood&item_no=1

Why? Because you can adjust the length of the hood based on what kind of photography you do..(macro versus tele). You can also put a 72mm lens cap on it if you leave it attached to your camera-get the one from Rong Jin, I listed it below.

If you do want to do macro (close up) photography you are limited with the macro function of this camera. To get more close up you could go a couple of ways. The Nikon 6T is an excellent close up lens (it looks like a filter that screws onto your 62mm filter (assuming you go with the Phayee or Peramaal). It isn't the most powerful magnification (I think a 2.9 diopter) but you can also buy the Nikon 5T screw that on to the 6T for even greater magnification. I think the total will be about 4.5. Each lens is about $47 at B&H photo. But if you want an even greater magnification, that is cheaper than both Nikons, you can get one from Raynox calledDCR-250 (super macro conversion lens) it is about $50 at bugeyedigital.com. It comes with a universal adapter which adapts onto any lens between 52-67mm. So it would just snap on to your UVhaze filter. I think the magnification is 9.5. Which is almost double the size of both Nikons (and at half the price). The Nikon lens quality is higher, but the quality on this specific Raynox is very good. Remember, if you are not planning on doing Macro photograpy, then you won't need this. Play around with the macro function of your camerafirst to see if you are getting in close enough before you decide to buy a close up lens.

Ok, in sum: You should protect the lens. You should get an adapter for the lens to screw into (the Panasonic adapter that comes with the camera is too far from the lens). I recommend the Phayee adapter which also comes with a 72mm extension tube. The filter I recommend to protect your lens and enhance your photos is the 62mm Hoya Pro1 Super HMC Multi-coated UV-Haze filter, the link is above. You should also get a lens hood which blocks the sun and stray light from coming into your camera. I will repeat the link, it is from a company called adorama:http://www.adorama.com/LNHZ72.html?searchinfo=72mm%20lens%20hood&item_no=1
A polarizer is a good idea but not necessary, my recommendations are above. Same goes with a macro lens, as well as my recommendations. It seems that you want to get a telephoto lens, and I would recommend the one from Olympus (TCON-17). If you choose this lens you will need to get a step down ring. I definitely recommend the one from Peramaal. Go to this site: http://www.b-300.com/fz10ac.html, scroll down to the bottom of page and to the left and get the 62mm-55mm Thread converter ring, it is super thin and will prevent vignetting ( a dark shadow around the 4 corners of your photo - when you use the TCON-17). The step down ring screws directly into your adapter (Phayee or Peramaal) and the TCON-17 screws into the other end of the step down ring. Note, I didn't include this step down ring info above, only in this paragraph. The Panasonic telephoto lens is very good but very expensive $429.95 at videodirect.com. Unless you have the cash, go with the Olympus (plus the magnification is greater). The Raynox lens (listed above - DCR-2020pro) is the greatest magnification, but image quality is mediocre to poor, so it would depend on the work you do. The Raynox telephoto lens just screws directly into the adapter. I hope this helped and if you have any more questions, let me know.

[tintop]

FZ20knowitall. Thanks for this. It's a great list and exactly what I was looking for. It details how everything fits together.

Cheers

[FZ20knowitall]

Glad I was of some use. I really hope you get that Phayee adapter, it is made of metal and perfectly matches the lens on the camera, it is what Panasonic should have included with the camera not that plastic thing with 72mm thread. I guarantee once you set up that camera you will feel like a professional! Good luck. Let me know if you need any further assistance.

[jcon]

I am glad to see this thread also helped Tintop :) Thanks for all the info Knowitall! it was deffinatly a big big help! I appreciate you taking the time to explain everything the way you did! This is what I have decided to get.....


-Phayee adapter and step up tube

-Hoya Pro1 Super HMC Multi Coated UV Haze

Is this the best choice? Is there anything else I should get right away that I have missed?

Thanks again for all your help, it is much appreciated!

[FZ20knowitall]

You are very welcome, I am glad people are taking my advice and not doing what I did - spending money on things you don't need (like 72mm filters!). And Jcon what you need is a lens hood, but you can actually screw on the Panasonic hood to your Phayee, that works, but I do prefer the Hama lens hood, which is rubber and it folds to different sizes so you can adjust it when you are at different focal lengths. Plus it does protect the lens from stray light entering into the camera better than the supplied Panasonic hood. But you are basically set. Your only other options are add on lenses and I described the ones I have below, but it is not necessary. They also have wide angle lenses and I didn't describe them only because I don't use them and don't know that much about them. You are pretty much set. Good luck with everything, and keep in mind it takes about 2 weeks to get your Phayee adapter (it took me and my friends 2 weeks to get from China to the US - might be different if Rong Jin is shipping to other countries, but ask him he will tell you, he is a really nice guy). Don't hesitate to send me a message if you have a question. I also have set up my FZ20 to take studio pics, I don't know if that is something you might be interested in. It is a great little camera, and tremendously versatile for the money.

[jcon]

I already Emailed rongjin! Where would you suggest I get the Hama hood at? I might look into the other accesories down the road but for now the 2 things I mentioned before and now the lens hood are all I will be getting at this time. All I will be using my camera for right now is indoor sprting events (commercial wrestling (WWE) and other sports). I would love to see some of the pics you have taken with your FZ20! Like I said before I am a beginner in every sence of the word with digital cameras, so all your help is greatly appreciated!

[FZ20knowitall]

jcon, try to read thru the threads b4 asking the same question: I already posted the info above but here it is:
You should also get a lens shade/hood. If you go with the Phayee adapter then get this hood:
http://www.adorama.com/LNHZ72.html?...0hood&item_no=1

[J.E.G.]

Thank you so much. Your guidance is clear and perfect for newbees like me.

[Raz555]

Great thread! I just got my FZ20 on the weekend, so this is much needed info - thanks! :)

Just waiting for my 1GB SD card to arrive....... fingers crossed it arrives for the weekend! :D

[Shenook]

Seem adorama is out of the lens hoods. Is there another recommended site for it?

[FZ20knowitall]

B&H photo is the only other website that I found that has it, but they are selling it for $28.50 (which is almost $10 more). I hope Adorama gets them back in cause I searched the site and the hood isn't coming up, at all, even though the link that I have for it still works.

[Shenook]

Thx FZ20Knowitall. I'll Try adorama again and maybe give them a call. Have had good dealings with them so far.

[ehwoo]

Hey FZ20knowitall, thanks for the very thorough explanation of the FZ20 accessories. Now I understand what all the fuss was about with the adapter/hood that come with the camera. I've ordered the Pana for my daughter for Xams and in the process of figuring out what accessories I should get. Sounds like at the mimimum I should get the Pahayee adapter and a 62mm UV filter. I am planning to get a spare battery and perhaps a 512 mb 60X memory card as well.

[Anex]

I actually just got my Phayee adapter now and I must say, I think it's developed better then the camera itself :rolleyes:

Perfect color/shade match - I have the silver version...wife thought it was prettier...wife gets what wife wants :P