Digicams & Teleconversion Lenses

[Hideandwatch]

I have a Kodak Z740 digicam and have added to my accessories list an Olympus T17 or Teleconversion lens that is 1.7 zoom. The Oly 1.7 was recomended to me by another forum.
Since I have purchased and have used the Tcon (Iwill call the T from now on) I have found that it makes closeup shots closer, yet does not seem to perform well in trying to bring far away shots in close with great quality. There are some bird shots that I have taken with the T that look pretty good, but in a close look at the shots, the outer edges of the subject is distorted or out of focus, leaving a birght white line (very thin line).
Kodak also makes a T lens for their digicams, and the Kodak version is a 1.4. I have heard that the bad effects that I have seen are possibly due to the size of the focus sensor in the kodak digicams relitive to the zoom of the T 1.7, therefore it is mowt probable that the kodak lens is only 1.4 for that reason (the sensor not being able to handle that amount of zoom).
For CK, the T must be used at full optical zoom, no more no less. And this is according to the instructions with the lens. The distance of the T is from about +- 18 feet to infinity. Now, in the infinity the moon shots for example, they come out with the outer portion of the moon being degraded in quality or distorted.
In my opinion, the T 17 is a great lens for getting closeups closer, but that is it. It does not do well in trying to bring in a far away shot to closeup (blurry or hazey shots). The absolute best distance I have found is from 15' to right around 60', the lesser eing the best.
I have not had the oppertunity to use the Kodak 1.4 Teleconversion lens yet. Anyone using it please post your findings.

 

[Lan-Lord]

I used an olympus b300 (predecesor to the tcon17) on my old sony f707. I didnt encounter the situation you described (blurry around edges).



I had a menu option on my 707 that I had to enable in order for it to focus correctly (something like enable converter). Thats too bad about your setup though. Olympus makes a pretty good tcon, but sounds like it just isnt compatible with your kodak (or maybe the kodak isnt compatible)

 

[Hideandwatch]

I think that what it is come down to after reading a bunch from google searches is chromatic abberation, although what is described in chromatic abberation is purple fringing on the edges and I think some yellows and greens. In a test up against leading manufacturers of lenses the Olympus Tcon 17 holds it's ground fairly well, coming in second in alot of the tests that were done with teleconversion lenses.
It definately is a great lens for bringing in close shots closer.