How good and viable are the accessories for compacts?

[zoossh]

sometimes i see those convertors that allow wide angle and long tele for compacts, as well as various large accessories added onto a small compact camera.

i'm just curious. how good are they? how easy is it? does it make a point when it defeat the purpose of using a compact? shouldn't one just use a DSLR instead for those extended capabilities, and with a compact as a backup for purposes meant for compact without accessories?

what is your experience with these accessories? how much do you have to spend for them? do you find it worthwhile?

 

[blueskye168]

sometimes i see those convertors that allow wide angle and long tele for compacts, as well as various large accessories added onto a small compact camera.

i'm just curious. how good are they? how easy is it? does it make a point when it defeat the purpose of using a compact? shouldn't one just use a DSLR instead for those extended capabilities, and with a compact as a backup for purposes meant for compact without accessories?

what is your experience with these accessories? how much do you have to spend for them? do you find it worthwhile?

Well, zoossh, frankly speaking(as in "Magenta"=thru my personal<=only=> experiences & encounters)=if want to bring Wide-Angle+Telephoto+Macro=3-Convertors="Lei-chey"-liao, not :nono:compact anymore liao:bsmilie: but worst is "liao-liao"<==>"troublesome" coz each convertors, :bigeyes:be it wide or tele or macro you'll need to go into menu/custom to change/set it b4 it's the "right/optimal-results" to be used and just for 1 or afew shots then also mustn't 4get to change/set it :bigeyes:"back to normal" general-operation-shooting-mode=:faintgot the Time & Must remember to change back setting or not=sweat lahh)+(I did witness when I'm out shooting coz observed/seen that some ppl fix/change their convertors without going thru the setting of the "right/optimal-results"=is it ppl 4gotten or not known about it).

Btw, those convertors themselves are good in a way when use them (with correct setting) correctly may yield to very good results for sure. eg. like the DCR-250=Solid man=my favourite.

 

[megaweb]

My favourtite accessories for compact digital camera
- light tripod ( allows me to take slow or long exposure )
- L-bracket ( take panoramic shots )
- Slave flash ( take indoor bounce flash )
- Custom made (DIY) shutter release cable
- Camera pouch ( easy access to the camera )

 

[estel]

almost immediately after the S1 IS was out, I bought one, with a tele converter, and the adapter (which also works as a filter attachment and came with a hood), and a polarizing filter. I was very happy with the filter, and did not use the tele converter much. The reason was not the poor performance of the converter per se, but the cumbersome design (somewhat heavy converter held to the camera via the adapter's fragile plastic notches) which make you feel that if you just shake the camera, the whole setup will fall away. That adapter was the worst piece of cheap plastic I bought for 50 bucks, and it felt very fragile. (And Canon made the camera only in silver, and the adapter only in black. IIRC, some third party promptly saw the opportunity and made a machined aluminum adapter which claimed more strength too).

I was happier with the polarizing filter + hood though, and that's how i ended up using the adapter exclusively, and I sold the tele converter later.

I must say that, the whole thing is about how i *felt* about the converter. Optically, it was working reasonably well, and if i were in to tele photos, i would have used that a lot. I should probably have bought the wide converter. Bottom line, they *do* work, but some can end up "feeling wrong" because they are not as solid as "standard" parts.