savapa
25th of October 2003 (Sat), 15:14
This is just an informational posting to pass on my (very good) experience purchasing a Kenko KNT-20 teleconverter from a US store and having it delivered to the UK.
The pros & cons of the different teleconverters have been discussed at some length in previous posting. Without restarting that discussion I will merely state I decided on the Kenko lens because of its size and weight, accepting the fact it might not produce the absolute best optical results.
I initially tried purchasing in the UK or Europe, however, this drew a blank. Having accepted there was no alternative but to import from The States I then had to wait a bit longer as everywhere was out of stock. Finally The Filter Connection (www.2filter.com) received a shipment and I placed my order for one lens at $77-37. Not being in any great rush I opted for 4-8 week delivery at $3-91. This came through on my credit card as GBP 55-05.
Well you can imagine my surprise and delight when just 10 days later I got a card through my letterbox letting me know the lens was down at my local sorting office awaiting collection. There was a further payment required of GBP 12.91 comprising 8-91 import VAT (fair enough) and 4-00 'Royal Mail Clearance Fee' (hmm wasn't expecting that).
So in summary I received the lens just 10 days after placing the order for a total cost of GBP 67-96.
I've taken a few quick sample shots to demonstrate the power of the teleconverter and posted them to http://gallery25208.fotopic.net/show_collection.php?id=64148 The pictures were somewhat rushed (no tripod, auto settings etc.) and the subject less than ideal due to the traffic, however, it does give a basic idea of what it can do.
The pros & cons of the different teleconverters have been discussed at some length in previous posting. Without restarting that discussion I will merely state I decided on the Kenko lens because of its size and weight, accepting the fact it might not produce the absolute best optical results.
I initially tried purchasing in the UK or Europe, however, this drew a blank. Having accepted there was no alternative but to import from The States I then had to wait a bit longer as everywhere was out of stock. Finally The Filter Connection (www.2filter.com) received a shipment and I placed my order for one lens at $77-37. Not being in any great rush I opted for 4-8 week delivery at $3-91. This came through on my credit card as GBP 55-05.
Well you can imagine my surprise and delight when just 10 days later I got a card through my letterbox letting me know the lens was down at my local sorting office awaiting collection. There was a further payment required of GBP 12.91 comprising 8-91 import VAT (fair enough) and 4-00 'Royal Mail Clearance Fee' (hmm wasn't expecting that).
So in summary I received the lens just 10 days after placing the order for a total cost of GBP 67-96.
I've taken a few quick sample shots to demonstrate the power of the teleconverter and posted them to http://gallery25208.fotopic.net/show_collection.php?id=64148 The pictures were somewhat rushed (no tripod, auto settings etc.) and the subject less than ideal due to the traffic, however, it does give a basic idea of what it can do.