Help Tiffen, Kenko or Raynox?

[G3guro]

Alright all you G3 Tiffen, Kenko and Raynox lens owners out there, help me decide which lens to get.

I'm planning to get the wide angle and tele lens but which brand is the best?

I'm thinking more towards the Tiffen lens 43mm.

Any feedback greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
G3guro.

[G3guro]

^

[NILOLIGIST]

G3guro,

I can't help you decide which one is for you but I can add to the list from which you can choose. Here is yet another lens to consider...LOL

http://www.phoenixcorp.com/Lenses/Digital_Lens/Digital_0_6X_Wide_Angle_Lens/digital_0_6x_wide_angle_lens.html

I may have considered this one if I had know it was available, it looks ok to me.

Big Smile,

[G3guro]

Thanks Frederique.....

Well.....I'm surprised no one else have given any inputs yet. I've heard good things about Tiffen.

Hopefully someone can shed some more light.

G3guro.

[NILOLIGIST]

G3guro,

Tiffen is fine, I have Tiffen wide angle and telephoto lens, so far so good. They have some weight to them, they look good through the lens too.

I would have gone with the 58mm, to avoid the vingetting problem, but hindsight is 20/20 right?

Good luck
Big Smile,

[G3guro]

Niloligist,

I would too. But, I don't like the fact that the 58mm lens blocks the AF Beam and the viewfinder. How do you like the Tiffen Telephoto lens? Does it bring the picture up pretty close at full zoom?

G3guro.

[NILOLIGIST]

G3guro,

Actually, it does sometimes too much for me. (LOL) I find myself moving back more and more. All in all, I like the lens so far, you can literally go crazy trying to decided which to get, in the meantime you could be taking photos and enjoying your camera.

Good luck,

[trbrogan]

Here are some photos with the Phoenix .6 wide angle lens. I'm very happy with the quality and value of this lens.


http://www.pbase.com/trbrogan/phoenix_wide_angle_lens

[NILOLIGIST]

trbrogan,

Wow, they are very nice and clear. Is there a lot of vingetting? All in all, the photos are really very nice and glad to hear you are happy with the lens, that is really all that is important.

Biggest Smile :))

[G3guro]

Niloligist,

That's funny. Another reason why I like the Tiffen is because it matches the color of the G3. The
Kenko is black.

Trbrogan,

Awesome pictures! Is the Phoenix len made in Japan? I know for sure that Kenko is made in Japan,
Tiffen is made in the U.S. and Raynox i'm not so sure.

Thanks,
G3guro.

[trbrogan]

G3guro

Yes! The Phoenix lenses are made in Japan. They also have a 2x telephoto I'm planning on getting after I get a tripod. I'm going to my local camera shop today to get a UV filter for the wide-angle, I'll update everyone as to the thresd size.

[Whaler]

Why an after market lens? We bought Canons, why not Canon lenses? After all, Canon knows a little something about optics. In addition, Canon did produce it's current line for the G3. I may be a little naive but "you get what you pay for" My 2 cents. . . . .

[NILOLIGIST]

Whaler,

I would have GLADLY purchased Canon lens, but Canon decided that we did not need front end threads so that we could add filters. That is my reason.

Big Smile,

[G3guro]

Whaler,

I agree 100% with niloligist. The Canon lens have no front end threads to attach filters. That's one reason i'm not going with Canon. Also, with the Canon wide angle and telephoto lens is a 58mm which covers the viewfinder and AF Beam. Checkout the comparison test on www.lensmateonline.com.

my .02 cents!


Trbrogan,

Thanks for the info! That's great! Where did you get your phoenix lens from?

G3guro.

[Whaler]

Yes! front end theading would have been nice for a "protective" UV filter but what other filters do you need? You can adjust the camera for different lighting types and what can you do with a filter that can't be done on the computer?

[NILOLIGIST]

Whaler,

UV for starters and a host of others that you might find interesting. I have the enhancer filter which I love. It is just a preference. I don't understand why Canon would not have given us the option. I cannot imagine buying a lens that I can not add to if I choose to in the future.

In effect, Canon, cut off their profits when they cut off our options.

Smile,

[Whaler]

NILOLIGIST,

Okay! By the way, loved the night shots you did.

[G3guro]

Alright, back to the question......so.....which one?

G3guro.

[trbrogan]

Whaler

Do you suggest we all buy Canon filters, Canon bags, and Canon tripods? I have non-Canon batteries, but they seem to work the same as Canon. Why does everything we get for our G3's have to be from Canon? Do you own Canon stock?

Happy April Fools Day!

[G3guro]

Too bad Canon came out with a black color lens. I want something that will kinda of match the color
of the G3.

G3guro.

[trbrogan]

Here is an interesting article on 3rd party lenses. Phoenix Lenses, which I have as my wide angle lens, actually manufactuer lenses using the Vivitar brand. Vivitar is a respected name in 35mm lenses. Phoenix is considered an up and coming quality lens maker/supplier. Phoenix lenses are made in Japan by Cosina. Cosina is the brand name used in Japan and worldwide for there cameras and lenses. I found many excellent reviews on there 35mm lenses on the internet. Here is the link to the article.

http://digigraphica.com/pick/lens.html

I still trying to find an online camera supplier that sells the Phoenix digital lenses. I but mine at a local camera shop.

Here is another article;

http://www.photoreporter.com/2001/10-08/digital_accessories_from_phoenix.html

[G3guro]

Trbrogan,

Good info! Thanks.... I never heard of Phoenix lenses before....I guess they are not as popular
as Kenko or Tiffen?

G3guro.

[trbrogan]

They only recenly started making digital lenses. Perhaps as there distribution grows you will here more. There SLR lenses are sold by many online camera stores.

[G3guro]

Yeah, it looks like it.

G3guro.