Hama HR2 Teleconverter Lens

[Honest Gaza]

Hi, I have a Panasonic FZ-20 and would like to increase the Zoom capabilities even further. The cost of the genuine Panasonic Teleconverter Lens leaves it totally out of the equation, and so I am looking at getting the Olympus TCon-17. From previous use of a Video Camera I already have a "cheap" Hama HR2 (x2) converter lens and accordingly, I have since purchased a suitable Pemaraal Adapter that can be used on both the Hama and possible future Olympus Lens.

I have attached the Hama Lens to the Pemaraal adapter and while the new zoom capability is impressive, the sharpness of the picture is not as good as I had hoped. My question is....would this be due to the "cheap" Hama lens, in which case I should still get the Olympus Lens....or am I expecting too much.

Thanks in advance.

[genece]

While it gets more difficult to handhold for a sharp picture as the power increases, I would imagine your problem lies with the lens.
You get what you pay for...at least most of the time.
There is plenty of info on which lens work the best with the FZ cameras on this forum.

[Honest Gaza]

Thanks Gene....yes, I've read the various posts about recommended lenses and that is why I am looking at the Olympus TCon 17. My question is more about the quality of the final picture that the TCon 17 will provide. Is it as clear as a picture taken without the converter lens....which definitely is not the case with my Hama converter.

[jcon]

As Gene stated, you can find many threads and comparative pictures on this site. I have seen multiple members post pictures of test shots they have taken with the TCON 17 and the TCON 14B. They also show it compared to the camera "naked", without a TC lens on it. If you are going for the most sharpest, I would suggest looking into the 14b as aposed to the 17. If its a money factor, than you cant go wrong with the 17. The 14B is better, thats why its priced accordingly.

[StanStan]

I have both the TCON-17 and the TCON-14B. I like the 14B over the -17 as I believe it is sharper and does not vignette as the -17 does. As to cost I Ebay'ed and got a WCON-08B and a TCON-14B for $105 total. I leave the -14B on the FZ20 most of the time. Take it off for close up and 'near up'. The best picture is taken with the Pana lens by itself. Any add-on degrades the image. The Question is: By how much?

Reference sites for comparison of these lenses:

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

http://www.pbase.com/10kzoomfz/tele_pd62_comparisons

IMBO
Stan

[Honest Gaza]

Thanks guys....I guess I can take the camera to the shop and ask to take some test shots and compare at home.