Evaluation of Sigma 1.4 teleconverter lens.

I have in my possession, a Sigma 1.4 X teleconverter lens, that a friend gave to me... I think it is supposed to be for a video camera, but it fits on my FZ28 with it`s 46mm thread, and does not need to be removed when shutting the camera down... I have not used it much, (for no particular reason) since I did my initial tests when I got it, and found it only increased the 18X zoom by a small amount... Recently I have been investigating the internet to see if I could come up with a cheaper alternative to the TCON17 favoured by so many... below is an evaluation of a Sony lens that I rather liked.... however, I may have done it a dis-service and been too quick to return it....
Since returning it to Amazon, I have become aware of a setting on page 5 of the FZ28 camera menu listed as "Conversion"... Not fully understanding what it meant, I left it alone, until a remark on the FZ35/38 group on flickr.... so, today I have done some more test with my 1.4 X teleconverter lens, to see if it makes any difference to the "quality" of the pics.... I am not sure it makes any difference at all....! I think the reason for having the setting, is to ensure that when you zoom back from full zoom, the motor stops about halfway, preventing the additional lens from jamming inside the housing.... so it is really a safety setting....

Anyway, I put up four pics that have come straight from the camera. (apart from the text added to them) for you to decide, and tell me if you can see any difference in the "quality" of the pics...

NOTE... CLICK ON THE PICS TO GET A LARGER VERSION....

The first two are NORMAL settings.... 18 X zoom and 18X zoom with the 1.4 x converter.....

The second two are both taken with the "conversion" setting at "T" (18x and 18x plus1.4x)

If you can see any quality difference, (or none at all) then please leave a comment below, or on the FZ28 thread here

http://www.flickr.com/groups/793920@N24/discuss/72157622887937015/

Thank you for your time....

Cropping from Rubbish Pics to make a "Keeper" !

Just passing on a few thoughts on how to make "a keeper" out of a lot of Rubbish Pics !....

If I had put the "originals" on my flickr site, I doubt if I would have had any comments, so I tried to crop the "best bits" and here is what I did.

You can see the comments here.....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/32369450@N02/

click on the pic (on Flickr ) to bring it up to size, and the comments are displayed below it...

Due to the way this blogger site works, the one that is on flickr, is the last but one !..... the others are not on flickr...

A new year has arrived!

Christmas has been and gone. ! The decorations are all put away for another 11 months!.. Went to North Wales for the New Year. Almost did not make it, as snow was forecast for the journey day. and the day after we got back home, we also got a really good covering of snow..... about 6 inches. which is unusual for being on the south coast of England...... Yes, we "sometimes" get snow, but not normally as much as this..... Just about all transport stops, and life becomes just a tad difficult!... we live on a small hill, so getting the car out and back in, is just a waste of time and effort.... we just have to hoof it, or stay indoors until the snow thaws sufficient to get traction on the road surface again.!....

So here is some "snowy pics"...

OK..... have been tinkering with the Menu Settings on the FZ28, with the results as above.....

1. Sepia.......
2. Normal.....
3. Cool .....
4. Warm....

the snowman and the icicle were taken with "normal" settings.... I am quite pleased with the icicle droplet, as I only took three manual shots before getting this one !...

Christmas is coming.....

Every year, I go up into the loft, and bring down about 30 boxes of decorations !... My wife just loves to decorate the house, and collects "bits and pieces" as and when she sees them... we have a small bungalow, at present, but have lived on a narrowboat, and also had much larger houses too... No matter how big or small, the rooms get festooned with all manner of christmas decorations... We have a christmas tree, complete with lights, outside the house, we have another near the front door, one in the lounge, one in the bathroom, one in the second lounge, plus many other items, such as mechanical/musical father christmas` that sing a song, .... we have lots of "fairground ornaments" when activated, play christmas carols, and move the carousel horses up and down. Not content with that, she makes all the shelves up into christmas displays, and even the fireplace is not left out !.... This year we have the nativity scene surrounded by snow.

Here are a few photographs to give you an idea of how hard she works to make our christmas, "christmassy" ! !..

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A windy day at the seafront

Was blowing an onshore gale down at Southsea today, so much so, that the hovercraft service to the Isle of Wight was "temporarily suspended!"

Oh YES !.. The runner got a real good soaking, an even bigger wave crashed over the bin lorry as he was running by ! ! ! ...

At Last... I have my FZ28 back again.

At last !... I received my camera back from the supplier.... "repaired and checked under warranty".... nothing else... no reason given for the fault, or what caused it... so I won`t know if I do it wrong again, until it happens !... oh well, I don`t think it was me anyway!..
Only taken a couple of pics of a squirrel eating nuts, and a short movie of another squirrel, who seems to like eating the bulbs he digs up !...

Now the big problem is learning how to use the zoom lever on the front, cos on the fuji, it is two push buttons on the back !...

As a matter of "technical" interest... I saw the culprit, then I went to front of house to get my camera. on the way back, I set it on movie mode, and zoomed up to the full 18X optical, then slowly moved the curtain aside, to shoot the movie through two panes of double glazing in the door !... so that is why it may look a little "flat" in the contrast department...

Actually , I think it is pretty good, considering the conditions, light wasn`t all that good as it was cloudy, and rain in the air, so quite a damp atmosphere too.

A minor problem?

I haven`t been using my FZ28 for the past 3 weeks, because it had to go back to the suppliers. It developed a "weird" fault... I was using it as normal, and suddenly the zoom returned back to nothing!... I tried to use the zoom lever to get back to what I was shooting, but it just kept returning to the "home" position!.. I then found out that none of the buttons on the back of the camera functioned !... Switched off, removed the memory card, re-inserted it, and everything seemed to be back to normal, carried on for a couple of days, and then it did it again!. This time it zoomed out to max zoom (including digital zoom) and would not return. ! Changed the battery and it came back to normal again, for an hour or so, then did it again, changed the battery back to original and it settled down... Having cleaned the card contacts, and changed the battery, the fault was so intermittent that it could not be pinned down to anything that I had, or was, doing. So, I contacted the suppliers, and they sent me a returns number.... They say it will be between 2 to 6 weeks before anything happens. !...

Meanwhile I have missed a couple of really good shots, that needed the 18X optical zoom on the FZ28 compared to my (now) reserve camera the Fuji S5600 which is only 10X optical zoom.

Oh well, I am glad I did not sell it after getting the FZ28 !... I may be suffering from withdrawal symptoms, not having the FZ28, but at least I can shoot with the Fuji until it returns.

Went down to the sea front to watch the world go by, and met some starlings for lunch !... lucky I had my Fuji !... Also saw the sailing barge "Alice", which seemed to be practising raising and lowering the sails. Just for good measure, I also saw HMS Liverpool, entering harbour, whilst the regular Hovercraft service from Southsea Beach to the Isle of Wight came into view. ! All within 1 hour ! ! !...