A95 - What lenses can be used?

[mayday175]

I will soon be purchasing a Canon A95 and I have been investigating what lenses can be added to it. I am aware of Canon's own bayonet adaptors lenses and a number of 3rd party lenses... but I would like to know what experiences you've had using any sort of add-on lens.

I am particulary interested in teleconverters for zooming. I would like to find one that is about 3x... but I understand that many of them cause vignetting (especially at wider angles). What have you tried and what were the results?

I have also read somewhere that add-on lenses (especially 52mm and up) tend to block the AF beam. Is this true? What have you experienced?

Thankyou for your thoughts... :)

[Saudidave]

I have tried Cokin magnefix converters. These are magnetic and you permanently fix a stainless steel washer to the front of your digicam lens and they grip on to that magnetically.

They do a 2x tele and a 0.5 wide angle and I've tried both. The tele is very good, with little quality loss, the wide angle so so.

Having said that, have you thought of the overall cost? By the time you've bought the A95 and some add ons, you could have bought a camera with a dedicated large zoom and are tantalisingly close to a 300D!. I recently had the same dilemna and for the same price as an A95 I bought an Olympus 765 with a 10x zoom. Not quite as small and the autofocus is a bit temperamental (but then that's par for big zooms), but the image quality is stunning.

In my humble opinion, there isn't much difference in the image quality of lots of the compact cameras about now, it's a lot of hype. Sure, you will see a difference in say an A95 and a G6, but enough to justify the price difference?

Things are moving very fast in the world of digital imaging and last years ground breaking sub £1000 300D is now available for a half of that. I have taken the decision to hang on for a £500 20D and bought the Olympus as a stop gap.

It's the leap to DSLR that makes the difference in quality and handling!

Regards

Dave

[Bodryn]

If you haven't bought yet, you might want to seriously consider buying a Canon S1 IS if you want a versatile and fairly compact camera. It has a 10x optical zoom and it has image stabilization which I find indispensible. It isn't much more expensive than the A95 and with it you will be able to have a lot more flexibility and you can see in the viewfinder the actual picture you will get. I also bought a 3x telephoto adapter for my A70 but it blocks half the view in the viewfinder so one is forced to use the LCD. The image isn't enlarged nearly as much and when you need it you have to stop and put the thing on. Too much bother. The S1 gives you many more options and yet it also is great for point and shoot.

[Geeeyejo]

I second the suggestion for the S1 IS - have had mine for about a month now and am really enjoying the versatility of this camera. Sure, its a bit bigger than the A series - but the huge optical zoom is built in and retracts. Yet it is still small enough to wear with the neck strap and not feel that you have an anchor on your neck! It also has great video capabilities!

[mayday175]

Thankyou for your replies... Saudidave, Bodryn and Geeyejo, I have taken your advice onboard... I have had a look at the Oly 675 and at the Canon S1 IS and at the Cokin lenses. My situation is this... I would love to buy an even better camera than the A95, but I really cannot justify the expense. I an after a 4mp camera and was origionally looking at getting an A85 but fell in love with the adjustable LCD of the A95... so I am already over budget to start with.

I understand where you are all coming from with regards to the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership). One camera plus accessories may cost more than another camera that doesn't need extra accessories. However, I feel more comfortable spending smaller amounts of money as I save it... rather spending a big stash of cash all at once.

Buying additional lenses is something I will do later on, but I like to do my research well ahead of time. My primary reason for initiating this thread was to encourage a conversation where the general community could discuss which brands are available and how well they work. I have already checked out the websites for the following lens manufaturers... Cokin, THK (Tonika/Hoya/Kenko), Bower (but am having trouble finding online retailers), Raynox, Tiffen and Sima. Without any user feedback, I don't know which brands are good and which ones to stay away from. Are there any other brands/websites that could broaden my research?

Thanks for your help so far