The White Paper - Introduction To Add-on Lenses

Chapter 9 - Introduction to Add-On Lenses

More

It's only human to reach for more - to expand your vision, to bring your world closer, to make it bigger and deeper. This desire is the driving force behind digital photography - a market that thrives on more-and-more megapixels, bigger lenses, better pictures, longer-life batteries and an endless multitude of bells and whistles.

No matter what camera or lens you have, the time will come when you'll wish you could zoom in just a little bit closer - to capture the expression on an athlete's face, an animal in the forest, a meadow in a valley far away. Or widen your view to pick up a couple of trees on the hill off to the left or one more face in the family reunion. Or get in close to that exquisite insect, that berry hanging on a branch or that beautifully-colored tiny leaf.

Sony's H-Series cameras deliver amazing reach right out of the box. Their 12 - 15X zoom lenses (36-432 mm equivalent through the H5, 31 - 465 mm for the H7 and H9) cover a huge amount of ground - more ground than much-more expensive cameras that don't enjoy the leverage of the smaller sensor in the H-Series cameras..

Yet sometimes, even the extraordinary reach of the H-Series is not enough.

And that's where add-on lenses come in. The H-Series comes with a threaded adapter ring (really an adapter barrel) that lets you attach several types of add-on lenses and a wide variety of filters. The H1 through H5 take 58 mm add-on lenses, the H7 and H9 take 74 mm adapters.

Add-on Lenses

There are three kinds of add-on lenses:

Wide-angle add-on lenses Also known as wide-angle converters, "WA", wide-angle-extenders and wide-angle-adapters, these lenses broaden your reach, capture more of the scene and provide almost unlimited, crisp detail over most (if not all) of your picture. The wide-angle conversion lens can also be used as a deep-focus macro lens.

Telephoto add-on lenses. Also known as teleconverters, "TC", tele-extenders and tele-adapters. Teleconverters allow you to bring distant objects closer and capture more detail than you can with the built-in lens. They also let you shoot closeups from a distance (tele-macro).

Close-up lenses These lenses have a very special purpose: to allow you to get physically closer to your subject - closer than the minimum focus distance built into your lens. Where the teleconverter brings your subject closer to you, the close-up lens brings you closer to your subject. A close-up lens produces marvelous macro shots that isolate the subject in the foreground with a beautiful blurred bokeh in the background.

The following series of photos (all of them shot pretty much from the same location) provides an overview of both the native and extended ranges of the H-Series. It is, of necessity, a limited selection. Add-on lenses are designed to extend your creativity, and the creative possibilities they offer are as infinite and varied as the imagination of the people who use them.

Follow the green bridge in the center of the landscapes to appreciate the vastness of the reach of these cameras. The bridge is about 1.2 miles from the shooting location.

(Note: All focal lengths given in 35mm equivalent)

Fig. 9-1 With .7X wide-angle adapter (25.2 mm)

Fig 9-2 Native wide-angle

Fig. 9-3 Normal-eye view (approx. 50-55 mm)

Fig 9-4 Native telephoto (432 mm on H1 - H5)

Fig. 9-5 With 1.7X tele-adapter (734 mm)

Fig 9-6 Native telephoto (432 mm H5 shot close )

Fig. 9-7 With tele-adapter (734 mm H-5 shot close)

Fig. 9-8 With Canon 500d Close up Lens

Fig 9-9 With Canon 250d Close Up Lens

Quality Is Critical

As you can see from the images above, the H-Series covers an extraordinary amount of territory - and does it well. Some people were disappointed when they heard that, unlike many of the other Sony cameras, the H1 didn't have a Carl Zeiss lens. But the H2 - H9 are branded as Carl Zeiss. Be that as it may (and we have no idea whose lens design the H1 is), all the H-Series lenses are a revelation - delivering not just range, but sharpness, rich color, little distortion and beautiful bokeh.

This brilliantly-engineered, image-stabilized lens is the defining feature of the H-Series. So why would you put a cheap piece of mismatched glass in front of this high-precision instrument? That's exactly what you do when you use a low-cost teleconverter or a third-rate close-up lens.

Every flaw, every distortion, every aberration is multiplied by the H-Series lens as the light travels from your adapter lens, through the native elements, down to the sensor.

Have you seen a cheap 3X teleconverter on eBay? Forget it. The H-Series lens can't take a 3X teleconverter (think of it, a 1296 mm lens?). It can't take bargain-basement glass either, unless you don't care about heavy purple fringing, edge distortion, vignetting (dark borders), chromatic aberration or major color distortions.

There are five reasonably-priced add-on lenses that work well with this camera; lenses whose quality, magnification and coatings are a good match for the H1. These are the only add-on lenses I feel confident enough about to recommend:

The Sony teleconverter lens ( VCL-DH1758 for the H1 - H5, VCL-DH1774 for the H7 and H9) - 1.7X telephoto magnification
The Sony wide-angle conversion Lens (VCL-DH0758 for the H1 - H5, VCL-DH0774 for the H7 and H9) - .7X wide-angle magnification
The Canon 500d close up lens - 2 Diopters (Works well on the H7 and H9 with a 74 - 58 mm step-down lens)
The Canon 250d close up lens - 4 Diopters (Works well on the H7 and H9 with a 74 - 58 mm step-down lens)
The Sony close up lens (VCL-M3358) - 3 Diopters (Works well on the H7 and H9 with a 74 - 58 mm step-down lens)

Conversion lenses have improved dramatically over the last few years - they can deliver the same image quality as your native lens. In fact, in a major departure from the past, some add-on lenses can actually improve the quality of existing lenses. I recently bought a B+W close up lens. B+W makes some excellent glass, but this particular lens turned my nice soft pink mums into a high-contrast, orange-brown mess. But when I stacked this lens beneath a Canon 500d to increase my magnification, the coatings and the superb quality of Canon's 2-element lens corrected the aberrations of the B+W and delivered gorgeous pictures.

On the other hand, those cheap, no-name, super-multiplier eBay specials are not "improved" lenses like the Canon or Sony lenses, and don't sport the elements, coatings or quality that mark the better lenses. You get what you pay for. Buy them at your own risk. Bad pictures are a high price to pay for cheap glass.

Extension, Not Enhancement

I can't tell you the number of times I've read (or been told) that people were disappointed with their add-on lenses because they couldn't use them throughout the entire H-Series zoom range. They blamed the lenses which are, in fact, doing exactly what they're supposed to do.

A conversion lens is not a replacement for your built-in lens. It is not a full-time enhancement. It is an extension, designed to be used when you run out of range and need to extend your reach.

It should be attached to your camera only as needed, and removed when not.

A digicam teleconverter is supposed to cause vignetting when you dial the zoom back from telephoto (see chart and example below). A close up lens will not focus if you point it at a tree in the distance. But the same teleconverter that vignettes at 114 mm will give you a beautifully detailed image of a subject miles away at 432 - 465 mm. The wide-angle converter that does nothing for your image at 120 mm will dramatically increase the sweep and depth of field of your shots at 36 or 31 mm. And nothing will give you close up and personal views of the tiniest flora and fauna like a high-quality close-up lens at full zoom.

The bottom line on digicam teleconverters is that there's simply no rational reason why they should cover the range already handled so well by the lens already built-in to all the cameras in the H-Series.

Fig 9-10 Zoom and vignetting with teleconverter on H1 - H5

Note: some people may take exception to the so-called "limitations" of the conversion lenses because they come from the DSLR world, where adapters are placed at the back of the lens - between the lens and the body. Sure, these converters work through the entire zoom range of the main lens, but do so at the cost of 1-3 f-stops!. A teleconverted lens, in the DSLR world, is a dark lens. In fixed-lens digicams, you have no choice but to attach the converter to the front end of the lens, since the lens isn't removable. But these relatively inexpensive lenses are wide enough and bright enough that you don't have to sacrifice any light to use them! Your Sony H-Series camera is an f 3.7 lens at 432 mm and is still an f 3.7 lens at 734 mm.

If you're not comfortable with the idea of attaching and detaching your conversion lenses as needed, ask yourself a simple question: why would you use a telephoto adapter lens when you're trying to shoot wide-angle? That's exactly what you're doing when you zoom out with a teleconverter attached to the front of your lens. Both of the Sony conversion lenses give you a little slack to play with so the transition from "conversion" to "native" won't be too abrupt. But zoom enough in the wrong direction, and you'll exceed the purpose of the lens and end up with something like the following:

Fig 9-11 Vignetting at 65 mm with teleconverter attached

Don't be surprised if you see this. Think of it as a warning: time to remove the conversion lens.

The Setup Menu

If you go into your camera's setup menu, you'll find four options under Conversion Lens: Off, Tele(photo), Wide(-angle) and Close-up. These options are designed to save you from using the wrong lens at the wrong focal length by limiting the camera's zoom to a range that works with the add-on lens you selected. It's may not be a bad idea to use this menu setting until you become comfortable with your add-on lenses. Soon enough, you'll want to go solo and use your own judgment since setting the menu each time you attach or detach the lens can be a bit of a pain.

In fact, to be totally honest, conversion lenses can be a bit of a pain. Screwing them on, screwing them off, storing the lens caps, losing the lens caps, forgetting to put them in your bag, forgetting you have them in your bag. It's one more thing to juggle while taking pictures.

If you're looking for the most effortless, point-and-shoot experience, don't buy a conversion lens. They are indeed inconvenient. But many (including myself) have found that what they do for your pictures is well worth the added cost, weight and inconvenience.

And they look cool, too!

Fig 9-12 H1 with DH-1758

Fig. 9-13 H9 with DH-1774

Recommendations

I have come to believe there are four categories of photographers - four genetically distinct classes of people taking pictures: wide-angle people, telephoto people, close-up people and people who are perfectly happy with the generous range already built into the H-Series cameras.

If you're one of the latter, you don't need any add-on lenses.

Wide-Angle On the other hand, even if you're a casual family photographer, you might do well to consider the wide-angle converter for birthday parties and play dates.

If you're a landscape photographer, it's a must-have.

Even if you're getting by with the native H-Series lens, the wide-angle conversion lens might introduce you to viewpoints, perspectives and vistas you'd never considered before. The wide-angle converter could conceivably provide you with a new path to growth as a photographer.

Telephoto I can't imagine being without this one, but then again, I'm a telephoto-kind-of-guy! I love the ability to look farther than my eye can see. I love the ability to look closer at leaves and flowers and the forest floor. Shooting birds, small animals? You have to have this one. It's the only way to get close enough to shoot them without frightening them off.

And I love the beautiful soft blurred backgrounds you get from going super-telephoto.

Unless you're completely uninterested in closeups, from near or far, you'll like this lens and you'll use it. Often.

Close Up Lens If you're photographing nature, you need this one. Nothing else gets you close to nature the way a close up lens does. Insects, flowers, berries - all the flora come alive, inviting you into a tiny, but rich and colorful world. Do you run out of subjects sometimes? Pop on a close up lens and explore an alternative world. You'll never be short of interesting things to photograph.

Read It Anyway

Even if you don't intend to purchase or mount any add-on lenses, I recommend that you read the sections of The White Paper that follow. The same principals apply to your zoom lens that apply to the add-on lenses. As I stated in the opening of this chapter - the difference between the native lens and the add-on lens is that the add-on lens gives you more. More of the same. Hopefully, the following chapters will provide some useful information on using the wide-angle, telephoto and macro capabilities you already have in your camera, and will perhaps inspire you to reach beyond.

Next:Chapter 10 - Extending Your Reach: Wide Angle
Return to White Paper Introduction and Contents



	Chapter 9 - Introduction to Add-On Lenses

	More It's only human to reach for more - to expand your vision, to bring your world closer, to make it bigger and deeper. This desire is the driving force behind digital photography - a market that thrives on more-and-more megapixels, bigger lenses, better pictures, longer-life batteries and an endless multitude of bells and whistles. No matter what camera or lens you have, the time will come when you'll wish you could zoom in just a little bit closer - to capture the expression on an athlete's face, an animal in the forest, a meadow in a valley far away. Or widen your view to pick up a couple of trees on the hill off to the left or one more face in the family reunion. Or get in close to that exquisite insect, that berry hanging on a branch or that beautifully-colored tiny leaf. Sony's H-Series cameras deliver amazing reach right out of the box. Their 12 - 15X zoom lenses (36-432 mm equivalent through the H5, 31 - 465 mm for the H7 and H9) cover a huge amount of ground - more ground than much-more expensive cameras that don't enjoy the leverage of the smaller sensor in the H-Series cameras.. Yet sometimes, even the extraordinary reach of the H-Series is not enough. And that's where add-on lenses come in. The H-Series comes with a threaded adapter ring (really an adapter barrel) that lets you attach several types of add-on lenses and a wide variety of filters. The H1 through H5 take 58 mm add-on lenses, the H7 and H9 take 74 mm adapters. Add-on Lenses There are three kinds of add-on lenses: Wide-angle add-on lenses Also known as wide-angle converters, "WA", wide-angle-extenders and wide-angle-adapters, these lenses broaden your reach, capture more of the scene and provide almost unlimited, crisp detail over most (if not all) of your picture. The wide-angle conversion lens can also be used as a deep-focus macro lens. Telephoto add-on lenses. Also known as teleconverters, "TC", tele-extenders and tele-adapters. Teleconverters allow you to bring distant objects closer and capture more detail than you can with the built-in lens. They also let you shoot closeups from a distance (tele-macro). Close-up lenses These lenses have a very special purpose: to allow you to get physically closer to your subject - closer than the minimum focus distance built into your lens. Where the teleconverter brings your subject closer to you, the close-up lens brings you closer to your subject. A close-up lens produces marvelous macro shots that isolate the subject in the foreground with a beautiful blurred bokeh in the background. The following series of photos (all of them shot pretty much from the same location) provides an overview of both the native and extended ranges of the H-Series. It is, of necessity, a limited selection. Add-on lenses are designed to extend your creativity, and the creative possibilities they offer are as infinite and varied as the imagination of the people who use them. Follow the green bridge in the center of the landscapes to appreciate the vastness of the reach of these cameras. The bridge is about 1.2 miles from the shooting location. (Note: All focal lengths given in 35mm equivalent) Fig. 9-1 With .7X wide-angle adapter (25.2 mm) Fig 9-2 Native wide-angle Fig. 9-3 Normal-eye view (approx. 50-55 mm) Fig 9-4 Native telephoto (432 mm on H1 - H5) Fig. 9-5 With 1.7X tele-adapter (734 mm) Fig 9-6 Native telephoto (432 mm H5 shot close ) Fig. 9-7 With tele-adapter (734 mm H-5 shot close) Fig. 9-8 With Canon 500d Close up Lens Fig 9-9 With Canon 250d Close Up Lens Quality Is Critical As you can see from the images above, the H-Series covers an extraordinary amount of territory - and does it well. Some people were disappointed when they heard that, unlike many of the other Sony cameras, the H1 didn't have a Carl Zeiss lens. But the H2 - H9 are branded as Carl Zeiss. Be that as it may (and we have no idea whose lens design the H1 is), all the H-Series lenses are a revelation - delivering not just range, but sharpness, rich color, little distortion and beautiful bokeh. This brilliantly-engineered, image-stabilized lens is the defining feature of the H-Series. So why would you put a cheap piece of mismatched glass in front of this high-precision instrument? That's exactly what you do when you use a low-cost teleconverter or a third-rate close-up lens. Every flaw, every distortion, every aberration is multiplied by the H-Series lens as the light travels from your adapter lens, through the native elements, down to the sensor. Have you seen a cheap 3X teleconverter on eBay? Forget it. The H-Series lens can't take a 3X teleconverter (think of it, a 1296 mm lens?). It can't take bargain-basement glass either, unless you don't care about heavy purple fringing, edge distortion, vignetting (dark borders), chromatic aberration or major color distortions. There are five reasonably-priced add-on lenses that work well with this camera; lenses whose quality, magnification and coatings are a good match for the H1. These are the only add-on lenses I feel confident enough about to recommend: The Sony teleconverter lens ( VCL-DH1758 for the H1 - H5, VCL-DH1774 for the H7 and H9) - 1.7X telephoto magnification The Sony wide-angle conversion Lens (VCL-DH0758 for the H1 - H5, VCL-DH0774 for the H7 and H9) - .7X wide-angle magnification The Canon 500d close up lens - 2 Diopters (Works well on the H7 and H9 with a 74 - 58 mm step-down lens) The Canon 250d close up lens - 4 Diopters (Works well on the H7 and H9 with a 74 - 58 mm step-down lens) The Sony close up lens (VCL-M3358) - 3 Diopters (Works well on the H7 and H9 with a 74 - 58 mm step-down lens) Conversion lenses have improved dramatically over the last few years - they can deliver the same image quality as your native lens. In fact, in a major departure from the past, some add-on lenses can actually improve the quality of existing lenses. I recently bought a B+W close up lens. B+W makes some excellent glass, but this particular lens turned my nice soft pink mums into a high-contrast, orange-brown mess. But when I stacked this lens beneath a Canon 500d to increase my magnification, the coatings and the superb quality of Canon's 2-element lens corrected the aberrations of the B+W and delivered gorgeous pictures. On the other hand, those cheap, no-name, super-multiplier eBay specials are not "improved" lenses like the Canon or Sony lenses, and don't sport the elements, coatings or quality that mark the better lenses. You get what you pay for. Buy them at your own risk. Bad pictures are a high price to pay for cheap glass. Extension, Not Enhancement I can't tell you the number of times I've read (or been told) that people were disappointed with their add-on lenses because they couldn't use them throughout the entire H-Series zoom range. They blamed the lenses which are, in fact, doing exactly what they're supposed to do. A conversion lens is not a replacement for your built-in lens. It is not a full-time enhancement. It is an extension, designed to be used when you run out of range and need to extend your reach. It should be attached to your camera only as needed, and removed when not. A digicam teleconverter is supposed to cause vignetting when you dial the zoom back from telephoto (see chart and example below). A close up lens will not focus if you point it at a tree in the distance. But the same teleconverter that vignettes at 114 mm will give you a beautifully detailed image of a subject miles away at 432 - 465 mm. The wide-angle converter that does nothing for your image at 120 mm will dramatically increase the sweep and depth of field of your shots at 36 or 31 mm. And nothing will give you close up and personal views of the tiniest flora and fauna like a high-quality close-up lens at full zoom. The bottom line on digicam teleconverters is that there's simply no rational reason why they should cover the range already handled so well by the lens already built-in to all the cameras in the H-Series. Fig 9-10 Zoom and vignetting with teleconverter on H1 - H5 Note: some people may take exception to the so-called "limitations" of the conversion lenses because they come from the DSLR world, where adapters are placed at the back of the lens - between the lens and the body. Sure, these converters work through the entire zoom range of the main lens, but do so at the cost of 1-3 f-stops!. A teleconverted lens, in the DSLR world, is a dark lens. In fixed-lens digicams, you have no choice but to attach the converter to the front end of the lens, since the lens isn't removable. But these relatively inexpensive lenses are wide enough and bright enough that you don't have to sacrifice any light to use them! Your Sony H-Series camera is an f 3.7 lens at 432 mm and is still an f 3.7 lens at 734 mm. If you're not comfortable with the idea of attaching and detaching your conversion lenses as needed, ask yourself a simple question: why would you use a telephoto adapter lens when you're trying to shoot wide-angle? That's exactly what you're doing when you zoom out with a teleconverter attached to the front of your lens. Both of the Sony conversion lenses give you a little slack to play with so the transition from "conversion" to "native" won't be too abrupt. But zoom enough in the wrong direction, and you'll exceed the purpose of the lens and end up with something like the following: Fig 9-11 Vignetting at 65 mm with teleconverter attached Don't be surprised if you see this. Think of it as a warning: time to remove the conversion lens. The Setup Menu If you go into your camera's setup menu, you'll find four options under Conversion Lens: Off, Tele(photo), Wide(-angle) and Close-up. These options are designed to save you from using the wrong lens at the wrong focal length by limiting the camera's zoom to a range that works with the add-on lens you selected. It's may not be a bad idea to use this menu setting until you become comfortable with your add-on lenses. Soon enough, you'll want to go solo and use your own judgment since setting the menu each time you attach or detach the lens can be a bit of a pain. In fact, to be totally honest, conversion lenses can be a bit of a pain. Screwing them on, screwing them off, storing the lens caps, losing the lens caps, forgetting to put them in your bag, forgetting you have them in your bag. It's one more thing to juggle while taking pictures. If you're looking for the most effortless, point-and-shoot experience, don't buy a conversion lens. They are indeed inconvenient. But many (including myself) have found that what they do for your pictures is well worth the added cost, weight and inconvenience. And they look cool, too! Fig 9-12 H1 with DH-1758 Fig. 9-13 H9 with DH-1774 Recommendations I have come to believe there are four categories of photographers - four genetically distinct classes of people taking pictures: wide-angle people, telephoto people, close-up people and people who are perfectly happy with the generous range already built into the H-Series cameras. If you're one of the latter, you don't need any add-on lenses. Wide-Angle On the other hand, even if you're a casual family photographer, you might do well to consider the wide-angle converter for birthday parties and play dates. If you're a landscape photographer, it's a must-have. Even if you're getting by with the native H-Series lens, the wide-angle conversion lens might introduce you to viewpoints, perspectives and vistas you'd never considered before. The wide-angle converter could conceivably provide you with a new path to growth as a photographer. Telephoto I can't imagine being without this one, but then again, I'm a telephoto-kind-of-guy! I love the ability to look farther than my eye can see. I love the ability to look closer at leaves and flowers and the forest floor. Shooting birds, small animals? You have to have this one. It's the only way to get close enough to shoot them without frightening them off. And I love the beautiful soft blurred backgrounds you get from going super-telephoto. Unless you're completely uninterested in closeups, from near or far, you'll like this lens and you'll use it. Often. Close Up Lens If you're photographing nature, you need this one. Nothing else gets you close to nature the way a close up lens does. Insects, flowers, berries - all the flora come alive, inviting you into a tiny, but rich and colorful world. Do you run out of subjects sometimes? Pop on a close up lens and explore an alternative world. You'll never be short of interesting things to photograph. Read It Anyway Even if you don't intend to purchase or mount any add-on lenses, I recommend that you read the sections of The White Paper that follow. The same principals apply to your zoom lens that apply to the add-on lenses. As I stated in the opening of this chapter - the difference between the native lens and the add-on lens is that the add-on lens gives you more. More of the same. Hopefully, the following chapters will provide some useful information on using the wide-angle, telephoto and macro capabilities you already have in your camera, and will perhaps inspire you to reach beyond. Next:Chapter 10 - Extending Your Reach: Wide Angle Return to White Paper Introduction and Contents