Panasonic Teleconverter LTZ10

[AncientMariner]

For those who are considering getting a teleconverter to extend the zoom range of their FZ10 and FZ20, I am posting some shots taken soon after I bought the original Lumix teleconverter made by Panasonic specially for these cameras.
Hope the local setting would give some indication of what the FZ10/LTZ10 combination can do for a beginner like myself.

1. FZ10/LTZ10 at 18X (12Xoptical + 1.5Xtc)
Shot across Marina Bay taken from Esplanade side towards Marina South

2.FZ10/LTZ10 at 9x (6X optical + 1.5Xtc)
Flock of storks at Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve

3. FZ10/LTZ10 at 18X (12Xoptical + 1.5Xtc)
Chief Sitting Bull .. er .. I mean stork

4. FZ10/LTZ10 at 54X (12X optical + 3Xdigital + 1.5Xtc)
Nose in the Air - Little Heron

I have not been able to discern any difference between using the teleconverter and without, except for vignetting below 6X.

 

[Kavana]

woah that's some zooming power, how much did u pay for it? Quite expensive ya?

 

[AncientMariner]

woah that's some zooming power, how much did u pay for it? Quite expensive ya?

$670.00
Problem is not how much but how to.
I had to bully Alice at Panasonic and then persuade the dealer to back-order and had to expediate with the dealer to get it in time for the F1 UIM event.
They keep telling me I don't need a tele but a WA converter and tried to persuade me to get the WA instead.
I had to show the boss photos of the Samsung Skydive to prove that the reach of the FZ is not sufficient for what I wanted to do.

 

[Vulpix0r]

670 can't buy a decent new 135-400mm telephoto lens on a D-SLR before anyone wants to bitch about the cost.

 

[tao]

from your images, can't really see the advantage of that glass compared with say, the much cheaper Olympus TCON-17.

any full crop to post?

 

[donchua]

AncientMariner, got any pic taken 12X optical FZ10 max zoom & 12X optical
max zoom with 1.5Xtc?
Wish to know the different between 12X optical & 12X optical with
1.5Xtc (18X).
Thanks.

 

[sinlg]

all these pics taken with tripot huh?

 

[jbma]

from your images, can't really see the advantage of that glass compared with say, the much cheaper Olympus TCON-17.

any full crop to post?

Hmm I must say i have to agree with tao

 

[tao]

all these pics taken with tripot huh?

in daylight and with OIS, one can do without use of tripod using a FZ.

 

[TLC]

For those who are considering getting a teleconverter to extend the zoom range of their FZ10 and FZ20, I am posting some shots taken soon after I bought the original Lumix teleconverter made by Panasonic specially for these cameras.
Hope the local setting would give some indication of what the FZ10/LTZ10 combination can do for a beginner like myself.

I have not been able to discern any difference between using the teleconverter and without, except for vignetting below 6X.

I believe even at full zoom w your LTZ10, vignetting still persist around the corners. You can experiment by taking some sky shots and try cropping into the corner region. I hv tried that myself on the LTZ10 and TCON17.

 

[AncientMariner]

I only wanted to show the capabilities of the LTZ10 and wow, so many responding.

Tao/JBMA:

from your images, can't really see the advantage of that glass compared with say, the much cheaper Olympus TCON-17.

any full crop to post?

I didn't consider the TCon-17 because it has a plastic barrel so mating it to the FZ10 will mean mating plastic to metal, whether you use a plastic or metal adapter. I chose the original teleconverter because
1) It was specifically designed for the FZ10
2) It goes on directly to the camera and I do not have to worry about choosing and buying an adapter.
3) It comes with a tripod mount bracket which corrects the mounting point to the centre of gravity of the system which is important when mounted on a ball-head since it allows you to keep it loose for fast framing of moving subjects. The original tripod mount socket on the camera is off-centre and with the addition of other teleconverters without a bracket will make it dangerously off-balance on a tripod head. There are support brackets for long lenses made by Manfrotto that would work for our type of telecons but I think they will be costly.
4. It comes with a padded carrying pouch that fits like a glove.
5. Original front and rear end caps included.
Pictures taken with a TCON-17 can be found at this site:

http://www.cs.mtu.edu/~shene/DigiCam/User-Guide/FZ-10/index.html

Regarding yr request for a full crop, I viewed a recent pic in PS elements at "actual pixels" then cropped the pic at the size shown on the monitor and downsized it to meet the limits for uploading here as shown below. Hope that's what you want. Though it is not as detailed as originally viewed on the monitor, besides the water droplets on its nape and cheek, the image of the clouds are shown clearly in the reflection of the landscape in its eye as well as its bill. Coming from camera and lens setup that costs below $1700, one ought to be satisfied.

The original (downsized) is here

Donchua - I don't think I have any pics with and without a teleconverter. I will try to do one when I get out but no promises. In the meantime, perhaps you can compare my earlier pics #2 and #3. #3 is zoomed into the front row left 2nd stork in #2

sinlg - I cannot hold the cam steady enough to do without support. #1 used a monopod whilst for #2, 3 and 4, a neck-brace from my karting days was used as "bean bag" placed on the "sill" of the hide.

TLC - Here's a pic (as originally framed but downsized) taken at full optical zoom with a hood I adapted from an Underwater Kinetics UK1200 dive light. It protruded about 1/2" beyond the end of the TC.

Tks, guys, for the response.

 

[sinlg]

so an Olympus WCON-07 would fit the FZ5's 55mm adaptor just nice?

how much would such a converter lens cost?

 

[TLC]

I didn't consider the TCon-17 because it has a plastic barrel so mating it to the FZ10 will mean mating plastic to metal, whether you use a plastic or metal adapter. I chose the original teleconverter because
1) It was specifically designed for the FZ10
2) It goes on directly to the camera and I do not have to worry about choosing and buying an adapter.
3) It comes with a tripod mount bracket which corrects the mounting point to the centre of gravity of the system which is important when mounted on a ball-head since it allows you to keep it loose for fast framing of moving subjects. The original tripod mount socket on the camera is off-centre and with the addition of other teleconverters without a bracket will make it dangerously off-balance on a tripod head. There are support brackets for long lenses made by Manfrotto that would work for our type of telecons but I think they will be costly.
4. It comes with a padded carrying pouch that fits like a glove.
5. Original front and rear end caps included.
Pictures taken with a TCON-17 can be found at this site:


TLC - Here's a pic (as originally framed but downsized) taken at full optical zoom with a hood I adapted from an Underwater Kinetics UK1200 dive light. It protruded about 1/2" beyond the end of the TC.

Come to think of it, you do have a point. It is always good to have original accessories that is designed for its specfic capability and why not invest if you have the xtra.....$$. First of all you do not face the problem of mounting onto tripod and secondly it looks professional as a unit. Good shot taken against a clear sky, no vignetting effect as i've mentioned. But mine has a little bit. Perharps my LTZ-10 manage to slip pass its QC gate, jus my luck!!!