Need some ebay advice, telephoto/wide angle

jjhenders · 02-23-2011, 06:20 PM

Please forgive me if this question has been asked many times, but while on ebay today I noticed ads for BK 52mm 2.0x telephoto lens for kx and also "Wide angle lens for kx". Both were in the low $20 range and appeared to be something that's screwed on to your lens. Do the work? well? Are they even worth $20? Will they in any way serve the same purpose as a real telephoto or wide angle lens?

Thank you.

**boriscleto** · 02-23-2011, 06:37 PM

Do they work? Yes.
Do they work well? No.
Are they worth $20. Hell no.

Unless you want to recreate the Holga/Lomo experience stay away from them.

chalion · 02-23-2011, 06:54 PM

Buy stamps with that money. Then, at least you know you're getting your moneys' worth.

Ira · 02-23-2011, 06:55 PM

Ignore that crap.

GerryL · 02-23-2011, 07:03 PM

There were high quality versions of these which were the Raynox and the others made by Olympus and Sony.
These were however more useful with the bridge cameras or as they would call it superzooms like the Canon S3 IS and the like (G7, G9's).
These where attached to these bridge cameras to provide some sort of an SLR/DSLR psuedo-interchangeable lens feel since these superzooms had fixed zoom lenses and the only way to alter them was with these additional screw on lenses.
These high quality lenses however, costwise, are in the range of real SLR/DSLR lenses.
You might want to visit lensmate if you want to know more about them: Canon PowerShot G9/G7 Lensmate Products and Accessories
I had a Canon S3 IS before and this is how I learned about them.
It would be best however to stick with SLR/DSLR lenses with the same costs.
Those $20 are most probably crap.
If you attach these on the wrong lenses also, some vignetting will result (for wide angle).

gp1806 · 02-23-2011, 08:01 PM

Olympus made a series of lenses of this type for their advanced P&S cameras, WCON, TCON, and MCON. The one that I would recommend for DSLRs is the MCON, for macro converter. Came in two sizes, 49mm and 55mm threads, and mounts like filter. A high quality, multi-coated, two element design that came in a folding pouch with a flash diffuser. Works well. These show up on ebay every so often, but they are not cheap, IIRC, I paid $30 or so for mine.

RioRico · 02-23-2011, 08:18 PM

Cheap strap-on's like these are crud. Even many expensive ones are crud. Don't get me wrong, I happen to like some cheap crud. [in-law jokes deleted] These kind of strap-on's are fine, and fun to play with, as long as you don't expect anything like image quality. I use this sort of crud to generate raw material for the shooping machine. My motto: I capture and torture images. With this crud, your images are pre-tortured. Such a deal!

**boriscleto** · 02-23-2011, 08:19 PM

Originally posted by gp1806

Olympus made a series of lenses of this type for their advanced P&S cameras, WCON, TCON, and MCON. The one that I would recommend for DSLRs is the MCON, for macro converter. Came in two sizes, 49mm and 55mm threads, and mounts like filter. A high quality, multi-coated, two element design that came in a folding pouch with a flash diffuser. Works well. These show up on ebay every so often, but they are not cheap, IIRC, I paid $30 or so for mine.

For example.

Olympus TCON 17 Converter

Also known as the B300. I picked up mine with an IS-3 DLX film camera for $40. It worked well with my Panasonic Superzoom, better than the cheap 2x converter I had before it, but nowhere near as good as a real telephoto lens. I get better results with my Promaster 100-400 ($80) and much better results with my DA L 55-300 ($219).

I've never used the MCON, but I can't imagine it being better than the Raynox. And it's more expensive than the Raynox.

MCON 40

gp1806 · 02-23-2011, 09:00 PM

I bought an old used MCON, not a new one. I've never used the Raynox, but I can say the MCON works well.

jjhenders · 02-24-2011, 05:55 AM

Gee, I had no idea that question would elicit such volume and, in some cases, such disdain for the products. I've been forwarned and will not buy them. Only wanted to save some money, but maybe there are better ways. Can anybody tell be what the Holga/Lomo experience is/was referenced by boriscleto?

**boriscleto** · 02-24-2011, 06:21 AM

Originally posted by jjhenders

Gee, I had no idea that question would elicit such volume and, in some cases, such disdain for the products. I've been forwarned and will not buy them. Only wanted to save some money, but maybe there are better ways. Can anybody tell be what the Holga/Lomo experience is/was referenced by boriscleto?

Lomography - Wikipedia
Lomography
Welcome to the Lomography Online Shop - Lomography Shop
The Ten Golden Rules – Lomography

Lomography is all about weird color balance, bad focus, and chromatic aberrations. They achieve this by using cheap/toy cameras, expired film, or alternative processing. The Lomography store will gladly sell you a $10 thrift store camera for $100. The Holga is the camera that inspired the movement.

Dagger · 02-24-2011, 06:25 AM

Totally useless, I've made the mistake of buying one some time ago and now it's a ugly paper weight

reeftool · 02-24-2011, 09:00 AM

Your money will be better spent on a used telephoto. If you aren't afraid to tackle manual lenses, you can buy some excellent old glass for not much more than cheapo adapters. A better quality 1.4x or 2x converter, which mounts between your lens and camera will do much better but they aren't cheap and may not work well with all lenses.

02-23-2011, 06:20 PM	#1
jjhenders Inactive Account Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Broadway, VA Photos: Albums Posts: 99	Need some ebay advice, telephoto/wide angle Please forgive me if this question has been asked many times, but while on ebay today I noticed ads for BK 52mm 2.0x telephoto lens for kx and also "Wide angle lens for kx". Both were in the low $20 range and appeared to be something that's screwed on to your lens. Do the work? well? Are they even worth $20? Will they in any way serve the same purpose as a real telephoto or wide angle lens? Thank you.

02-23-2011, 08:19 PM	#8
boriscleto Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: North Syracuse, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,475	Originally posted by gp1806 Olympus made a series of lenses of this type for their advanced P&S cameras, WCON, TCON, and MCON. The one that I would recommend for DSLRs is the MCON, for macro converter. Came in two sizes, 49mm and 55mm threads, and mounts like filter. A high quality, multi-coated, two element design that came in a folding pouch with a flash diffuser. Works well. These show up on ebay every so often, but they are not cheap, IIRC, I paid $30 or so for mine. For example. Olympus TCON 17 Converter Also known as the B300. I picked up mine with an IS-3 DLX film camera for $40. It worked well with my Panasonic Superzoom, better than the cheap 2x converter I had before it, but nowhere near as good as a real telephoto lens. I get better results with my Promaster 100-400 ($80) and much better results with my DA L 55-300 ($219). I've never used the MCON, but I can't imagine it being better than the Raynox. And it's more expensive than the Raynox. MCON 40 Last edited by boriscleto; 02-23-2011 at 08:26 PM.

02-24-2011, 06:21 AM	#11
boriscleto Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: North Syracuse, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,475	Originally posted by jjhenders Gee, I had no idea that question would elicit such volume and, in some cases, such disdain for the products. I've been forwarned and will not buy them. Only wanted to save some money, but maybe there are better ways. Can anybody tell be what the Holga/Lomo experience is/was referenced by boriscleto? Lomography - Wikipedia Lomography Welcome to the Lomography Online Shop - Lomography Shop The Ten Golden Rules – Lomography Lomography is all about weird color balance, bad focus, and chromatic aberrations. They achieve this by using cheap/toy cameras, expired film, or alternative processing. The Lomography store will gladly sell you a $10 thrift store camera for $100. The Holga is the camera that inspired the movement. Last edited by boriscleto; 02-24-2011 at 06:34 AM.

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02-23-2011, 06:37 PM	#2
boriscleto Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: North Syracuse, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,475	Do they work? Yes. Do they work well? No. Are they worth $20. Hell no. Unless you want to recreate the Holga/Lomo experience stay away from them.

02-23-2011, 06:54 PM	#3
chalion Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: SE Pennsylvania Photos: Albums Posts: 628	Buy stamps with that money. Then, at least you know you're getting your moneys' worth.

02-23-2011, 06:55 PM	#4
Ira Inactive Account Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Coral Springs, FL Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,216	Ignore that crap.

02-23-2011, 07:03 PM	#5
GerryL Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: CA Posts: 2,731	There were high quality versions of these which were the Raynox and the others made by Olympus and Sony. These were however more useful with the bridge cameras or as they would call it superzooms like the Canon S3 IS and the like (G7, G9's). These where attached to these bridge cameras to provide some sort of an SLR/DSLR psuedo-interchangeable lens feel since these superzooms had fixed zoom lenses and the only way to alter them was with these additional screw on lenses. These high quality lenses however, costwise, are in the range of real SLR/DSLR lenses. You might want to visit lensmate if you want to know more about them: Canon PowerShot G9/G7 Lensmate Products and Accessories I had a Canon S3 IS before and this is how I learned about them. It would be best however to stick with SLR/DSLR lenses with the same costs. Those $20 are most probably crap. If you attach these on the wrong lenses also, some vignetting will result (for wide angle).

02-23-2011, 08:01 PM	#6
gp1806 Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Chicago suburbs Photos: Albums Posts: 848	Olympus made a series of lenses of this type for their advanced P&S cameras, WCON, TCON, and MCON. The one that I would recommend for DSLRs is the MCON, for macro converter. Came in two sizes, 49mm and 55mm threads, and mounts like filter. A high quality, multi-coated, two element design that came in a folding pouch with a flash diffuser. Works well. These show up on ebay every so often, but they are not cheap, IIRC, I paid $30 or so for mine.

02-23-2011, 08:18 PM	#7
RioRico Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Limbo, California Posts: 11,263	Cheap strap-on's like these are crud. Even many expensive ones are crud. Don't get me wrong, I happen to like some cheap crud. [in-law jokes deleted] These kind of strap-on's are fine, and fun to play with, as long as you don't expect anything like image quality. I use this sort of crud to generate raw material for the shooping machine. My motto: I capture and torture images. With this crud, your images are pre-tortured. Such a deal!

02-23-2011, 09:00 PM	#9
gp1806 Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Chicago suburbs Photos: Albums Posts: 848	I bought an old used MCON, not a new one. I've never used the Raynox, but I can say the MCON works well.

02-24-2011, 05:55 AM	#10
jjhenders Inactive Account Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Broadway, VA Photos: Albums Posts: 99 Original Poster	Gee, I had no idea that question would elicit such volume and, in some cases, such disdain for the products. I've been forwarned and will not buy them. Only wanted to save some money, but maybe there are better ways. Can anybody tell be what the Holga/Lomo experience is/was referenced by boriscleto?

02-24-2011, 06:25 AM	#12
Dagger New Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 3	Totally useless, I've made the mistake of buying one some time ago and now it's a ugly paper weight

02-24-2011, 09:00 AM	#13
reeftool Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Upstate New York Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,554	Your money will be better spent on a used telephoto. If you aren't afraid to tackle manual lenses, you can buy some excellent old glass for not much more than cheapo adapters. A better quality 1.4x or 2x converter, which mounts between your lens and camera will do much better but they aren't cheap and may not work well with all lenses.