What will it take for g12 to go 200-300mm range???

[Fenka856]

is it even possible?:lol:

[FlyingPhotog]

Walk Closer...

[crn3371]

Go over to the lensmate website. You'll need one of their lens adapters and some form of screw on tcon.

[cacawcacaw]

Before you buy an adapter and tele-converter, see if you can find some comparison shots that show the difference between the telephoto image and the camera's 560mm equivalent digital zoom.

When I was trying to find an inexpensive zoom lens, my tests showed that cropping the image from a shorter, high-quality lens produced better images than using inexpensive lenses to increase the focal length.

With 10MP, you can do a lot of cropping before you get down to too small of a file for normal displaying!

[denncald]

is it even possible?:lol:

Yep, with the Canon TC-DC58C (2.0x) tele converter lens, and the Lensmate parts A + C adaptor tubes, you can get 10x optical (280 mm equivalent) zoom.

Here are some links;

http://www.lensmateonline.com/newsite/G10.html (Lensmate diagrams)

http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/2875252348/photos/1077054/img_1459w (link to my Gallery on DPR, showing the lens and tube combos.)

http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/2875252348/photos/467046/5xoptical (another link to my Gallery on DPR showing some images taken a while back using the tele lens, as well as digital tele converter option with the lens also in use, taking it out to 644 mm equiv. The first shot is just the 5x optical of the G11, then with the 2x tele, then with 2x tele plus 1.4x digital tele, then 2x tele plus 2.3 digital tele)

Dennis

[Fenka856]

Thank you! This just gave me an idea for a little more reach. I plan on doing some offshore shots for my friend who surfs

[cacawcacaw]

My whole DSLR adventure started when trying to achieve more reach for surfing shots. At the time, point and shoots had so much shutter lag and such slow auto-focus that zooming in became the least of my problems. I'll be interested in hearing how you do with the G12.

[tkbslc]

For the price of a TCON, you could buy a second compact camera with a big zoom. Yes you'll have to step down to a smaller sensor, but a TCON kill image quality, too.

[denncald]

For the price of a TCON, you could buy a second compact camera with a big zoom. Yes you'll have to step down to a smaller sensor, but a TCON kill image quality, too.

Not really...

Dennis

[Fenka856]

I have a 350d and 100-300mm by my side just in case.

[denncald]

Using my 2.0x tele converter lens lets me not only reach optically to 280 mm, but also shoot in RAW. I can then crop to get equivalent longer reaches, and not lose image quality. Using digital zoom or digital tele conversion feature crops in the camera, and will degrade somewhat in comparison. However, it can be useful, and should be tried to see if results are acceptable to you.

I can also use the tele lens on my G9 (it was designed for that camera), plus it's 2.0 digital tele feature and extend my reach to 840 mm equivalent, the same optical reach of the Canon SX40.

Here's a sample I took in March using the 840 mm equivalent with the G9.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7074/7018473121_770f7a13b0_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/picsdennis/7018473121/)
G9 014PSE10 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/picsdennis/7018473121/) by dhc42 (http://www.flickr.com/people/picsdennis/), on Flickr

Here's another G9 shot with just the 2x lens (420 mme), and cropped some;
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7274/7009831341_f1a7bdcf6f_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/picsdennis/7009831341/)
G9 010_cr2 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/picsdennis/7009831341/) by dhc42 (http://www.flickr.com/people/picsdennis/), on Flickr

Dennis

[Fenka856]

Thanks for that! im now getting an idea of what i need to get this done. Trying to have the G12 with me all the time.

[Larry Weinman]

I bought the lensmate tubes and TC-DC58C on the advice of denncald and was surprised at how good the combination really is. I use it on a G12. One thing to know, when you have the converter on the camera you can use the lens at full telephoto only, the zoom is no longer effective as heavy vignetting occurs . Also, this TC is rather large so you are going to lose the pocketability of the camera but if you are looking for more reach without noticeable image degradation the teleconverter is the way to go.

[cacawcacaw]

Does digital zooming in some newer cameras produce better results than post-production cropping? I thought I read somewhere that the better cameras somehow free up the processor to "concentrate" on the zoomed portion of the image. (Sorry for the terminology.)

[denncald]

Does digital zooming in some newer cameras produce better results than post-production cropping? I thought I read somewhere that the better cameras somehow free up the processor to "concentrate" on the zoomed portion of the image. (Sorry for the terminology.)

It's not true for my G9 or G11, so I don't know about say a G1 X. The G12 should be the same as the G11. I know there are subtle differences between my processed RAW images cropped to equal a JPEG image using digital tele converter. The RAW is better.

Canon also suggests reducing your resolution when using digital zoom, to keep a higher quality result;
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5153/5853767448_2c5053143f.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/picsdennis/5853767448/)
digital zoom (http://www.flickr.com/photos/picsdennis/5853767448/) by dhc42 (http://www.flickr.com/people/picsdennis/), on Flickr

I don't reduce my resolution when using the digital tele converter feature, because I'm usually in a hurry to capture the shot.

Dennis

[cacawcacaw]

That chart's kind of confusing. I guess they're saying that Digital Zoom reduces Large image quality down to Small quality but Small doesn't get smaller. So bottom line would be that Digital Zooming always reduces your image quality and that full 20X Digital Zooming always brings you down to the lowest image quality no matter what you're starting with.

So it looks like digital zooming is nothing more than in-camera cropping. I think you're right, that you're better off cropping a raw image than using digital zoom and I'm sure if there were better technology available that Canon would offer it in the G11 and G12.

[steve40]

The G12 itself, has a 2.3x digital tele-converter built in. This gives you 322mm, although it uses a reduced resolution of 2mp 1200x1600. It is still even possible!, to print a very decent 8x10 from it.

So before I would spend a few hundred more dollars, on a questionable add on lens. I would make use, of what canon has already provided. You do not want to use the digital zoom, in a conventional way. There is always a lot of image quality loss, but the 2.3x digital converter setting in the menu, produces little noticeable reduction. It moves the whole focal range of the lens, just as adding an external lens would do. Not like just adding conventional digital zoom does.

[denncald]

The G12 itself, has a 2.3x digital tele-converter built in. This gives you 322mm, although it uses a reduced resolution of 2mp 1200x1600. It is still even possible!, to print a very decent 8x10 from it.

So before I would spend a few hundred more dollars, on a questionable add on lens. I would make use, of what canon has already provided. You do not want to use the digital zoom, in a conventional way. There is always a lot of image quality loss, but the 2.3x digital converter setting in the menu, produces little noticeable reduction. It moves the whole focal range of the lens, just as adding an external lend would do. Not like just adding conventional digital zoom does.

Why do you say the lens is "questionable", what questions do you have after my demonstrated performance of the lens? I would rather have a full resolution RAW image to work with after the shot, than a 2 MP JPEG.

Dennis

[steve40]

Questionable? as to whether I would want to pay the price for an add on lens. I really do not expect much quality from an extreme zoom anyway, so the digital Tele converter works from me.

[denncald]

Okay, so it's not the lens performance question, but rather the cost, and probably the question of whether you would be willing to carry it around to take photos. From my perspective, the lens quality is not a question I'm concerned about, but whether I will be willing to carry it and the adapters with me on a high percentage of photo shoots. I usually plan ahead to decide whether I will want to bring it, so I have it with me on those occasions. Not everyone wants to have extra gear with them, so they will make some compromises, like deciding to use the digital tele converter option instead of an add-on lens.

Edit: I forgot to mention, the digital tele converter option will produce a full resolution image, if that is how you set your resolution. For example, using the 2.3 digital tele for my G11 will produce a 10 MP image, and using the 2.0 digital tele on my G9 produces a 12 MP image. It all depends on how you have set up your camera.

Dennis

[A_Riot]

I would like to ask the OP where the surfing will take place.

If it's stormy day east coast breaks, you need fast glass and won't get it with G12 accessories in my opinion.

If it's sunny west coast or Hawaii, you can get away with lower ISOs and maintain fast shutter speeds, but you want the subject on a close break.

A break that's way out will hurt ya. I can remember checking out the bank of 600 f4s at various competitions when I lived in Hawaii.

Here's another idea, just for kicks. Pick up a 14 MP Olympus Stylus waterproof or similar for 190 USD, get in the water with him, have him buzz you good on a sunny day. Could be epic. (Or get the waterproof case for the G :-) )

Just my $.02 - surf photography done well is difficult but a thing to behold.

[URLphotographer]

Walk Closer...

lol...:lol:

[lsquare]

Walk Closer...

:lol: