If I could only have one, Telephoto or Wide-Angle Lens?

[markubig]

Hi all -

If I could only purchase one lens adapter for my G3, is it more practical to get a wide-angle or a telephoto? Does one typically have more use than the other?

Thanks, in advance!

~mark

[joeyjoeyjoey]

Without knowing what you actually use your camera for it would be hard to say either or. But i'll take a stab in the dark and get a telephoto filter.

[markubig]

I was thinking in general terms for overall usage. The majority of my photos have been at parties/gatherings, but I want to start bringing my camera out with me everywhere I go, so if I see something intriguing, I could shoot it.

I asked the question because funds are low and I probably could only afford to buy one or the other.

[S45_fornow...]

If you take a lot of indoor party pics, then the wide angle might be best. Outdoors, you can usually take a few steps back to get "everything" in the pic, but indoors you often can't do that.

It pays to get quality glass with a wide-angle too, so shop around carefully. Canon or Raynox would be good choices.

[pradeep1]

Buy the non-Canon brand and get both for the price of a single Canon one. A good reliable site that sells this is:

For the G3: http://www.lensmateonline.com/g3.html

and their buy page with Raynox equipment: http://www.lensmateonline.com/buy.html

[markubig]

thanks for the input.

Here's another question: With the quality glass (Canon, Raynox, Tiffen, etc.), will there still be a degradation in the quality of the pic?

I've read previous posts about barrell distortion, vignetting, and corner blurriness. However, if I were to zoom in a little to make that stuff negligible, and then take a picture, would there be a noticeable difference in quality from a picture taken with the accessory lens off?

Thanks again!

~mark

[pradeep1]

thanks for the input.

Here's another question: With the quality glass (Canon, Raynox, Tiffen, etc.), will there still be a degradation in the quality of the pic?

I've read previous posts about barrell distortion, vignetting, and corner blurriness. However, if I were to zoom in a little to make that stuff negligible, and then take a picture, would there be a noticeable difference in quality from a picture taken with the accessory lens off?

Thanks again!

~mark


Do a search on this forum. This stuff has been covered a bunch of times. The quality will not be as good as Canon, but close with the others. Yes, zooming in a little to avoid the "edges" or limits of the lens will help, but will also compress DOF.

[Tim A]

Mark,

I have both a wide- and tele-converter from Raynox (see sig.). Of the two I use the wide one MUCH more than the tele. That said the tele is really nice to have for those times when I do want to get in closer. When I bought them I knew that I was saccrificing quality for price, but I didn't care because of the versatility. And it's true, the chromatic abberation was no big deal, at first. Of late I have become increasingly displeased with the amount of CA that these converters produce, especially the tele. My wide tele does have a noticable amount of distortion, but that's okay for me, I like it, and it produces less CA, but still noticable. Raynox offers other wide and tele-converters, if you can, give 'em a try at the store, they may be better on the CA. I know that other wide-converters from Raynox have less distortion so you can look into that too. If I were to do it again I would've saved the cash and bought higher quality glass right off. As it is I'm still happy and use the lenses even with their shortcomings. They still open up my photographic capabilities in a big way. Also, if you have PS CS I understand it has a CA filter that works wonders (others can correct or affirm me on this one), so if that's so, then you may be able to forget about the CA and clean it up in PS. Anyway, hope this helps you out and gave you something to consider.

Tim

[snguyen]

Mark,

I had the same dilemma a few months ago and ended up buying the Canon wide-converter. It has been a nice addition to my G3. It really shined during a recent trip to Washington D.C., where monuments and other attractions often require you to take a few steps back to get the photo. To make a long story short, I was able to get some nice photos using the wide-converter.

Having said all that, there are times I could have used a tele-converter. You may want to consider purchasing one of the two now and wait for an opportunity to get the other at a later time. I've been complaining to my wife about the lack of a long zoom on the G3 in hope that she will get me the tele for Christmas.

One last thought - I'm glad to see that you already have the 420EX. The Canon wide-converter renders the on-board flash almost useless for indoor shots requiring flash.

Regards,
Son

[Andy_T]

One thought ...

if you don't have a tele converter, you can just crop the picture tighter (the PS equivalent of 'digital zoom')

if you don't have a wide converter, you have to use the stitch assistant ... much more cumbersome.

I have both tele and wide converter ... I use the wide converter much more often. To be honest ... most of the time I just use my G2 'as-is', because it is just so much more compact than with any of the converters.

So my advice ... I'd rather get the wide converter ... but a good one (e.g. Canon, Olympus).

When you make your choice, compare 100% crops ... if pictures are resized for the web, it's possible that picture imperfections (especially blurry corners) are not immediately visible.

A very informative source on this issue is http://kazutoku.cside.com/G1andG2/report1_eng3.htm

(Best enjoyed if your Japanese is good :wink: )

If you're interested in the Olympus WCON-08 (0.8x converter), I've done some test shots some time ago. Click at 'larger image' to get the 100% images. You'll notice that there is only a very slight degradation in image quality.

http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=408441

Be wary of cheap internet offers ... they sometimes are less than optimal.

Best regards,
Andy

[markubig]

Thank you all for your input!!!

With those of you that have the Canon or Olympus Wide-Angle lenses, is there any vignetting at full-wide?

I'm considering these two.

Thanks again!

~mark

[markubig]

Actually, Andy, I guess there is no vignetting with the Olympus because you said your pictures are posted at 100%. (very impressive quality, by the way)

Is there anyone with a Canon that experiences vignetting at full-wide?

[Andy_T]

Actually, Andy, I guess there is no vignetting with the Olympus because you said your pictures are posted at 100%. (very impressive quality, by the way)



You are right, they are 100% pictures and fully zoomed out.

Is there anyone with a Canon that experiences vignetting at full-wide?

I don't have it, but kazutoku compared it to other lenses on his website and did not mention any vignetting. He specifically mentioned vignetting at some other converters.

If you have not done so, take a look at his page. Especially the image samples from different conversion lenses are helpful to judge what might be in store for you with some lenses.

Best regards,
Andy

[markubig]

Hi all -

Thanks for your input. I ended up ordering the Canon WC-DC58N. I ordered it from www.ebuyer.com for $129.10. They still have some in stock for those of you who are looking for one.

I ordered it on Friday and I got it today (Monday) w/ standard shipping. I also ordered the Canon 58mm adapter LA-DC58B for $16.73. That is actually shipping today and I should get it pretty soon.

**for some reason, they had the WC-DC58N at two different prices, and I picked the cheaper one and got the cheaper price (The cheaper has "WC-DC58N" in the title, and the other just says "58mm Wide Angle Conversion Lens" with WC-DC58N under the mfr #. So in case it is a glitch, take advantage of it and get them while you can!!!

The lens was brand new in the box (wow...it's a big lens!) and nothing wrong with it, so I am giving them a stamp of approval for quality and customer service.

I'll let you know how the pictures turn out.

Thanks again!

~mark

[Andy_T]

Mark,


have fun with it, I'm sure it's a great lens 8)

Don't forget to post some photos!

Best regards,
Andy