Other High Quality Telephoto Converter Lenses

Other High Quality Telephoto Converter Lenses

In addition to Nikon's TC-E15ED, there are three more high quality telephoto converter lenses: Olympus TCON-14B, Olympus TCON-17, and Sony VCL HGD1758. To use any one of these three converter lenses, the Coolfix 5700 Adapter or similar adapter tubes and possibly step rings are required because Nikon's UR-E8 is not compatible with these lenses.

Olympus TCON-14B

The Olympus TCON-14B is a large and heavy telephoto converter lens with a magnification ratio of 1.45X, which brings the 5700 maximum focal length to 406mm = 280×1.45, slightly smaller than that of the 5700 plus TC-E15ED (i.e., 420mm). The TCON-14B has a rear thread size of 62mm and a front thread size of 86mm. Therefore, it can be mounted on to the Nextphoto Coolfix 5700 adapter tube directly. See the 5700 Adapter Tubes page for the details. The left image below shows the lens and the right one has a TCON-14B mounted on a 5700 with the help of the Coolfix 5700 adapter. One significant advantage of using this TCON-14B is that there is no vignetting even if you pull the Coolfix 5700 all the way back and zoom the 5700 on-camera lens in until it touches the TCON-14B. The focal length is 27.3mm, which is equivalent to 107.37mm. Therefore, there is no focal length gap from 35mm (5700's shortest focal length) to 406mm.

Olympus TCON-17

The Olympus TCON-17 is a light 1.7X converter lens with a plastic barrel. It extends 5700's focal length to 476mm = 1.7×280, which is longer than that of the TC-E15ED. The TCON-17 has a 55mm rear thread and has no front thread. Therefore, you will need a 62-55mm step-down ring to mount the TCON-17 on to the Coolfix 5700 adapter tube. The left image below shows the lens and the right one has a TCON-17 on a 5700 with the help of the Coolfix 5700 and a 62-55mm step-down ring. You can pull the Coolfix 5700 back to nearly the shortest length without causing vignetting, and the 5700 minimum focal length is about 31.9mm. Therefore, with the Coolfix 5700 and TCON-17, the usable focal length range is from 125.5mm = 31.9×3.933 to 476mm, and, hence, there is no focal length gap from 35mm to 476mm! This is an advantage over the TC-E15ED.

Sony VCL-HGD1758

This Sony VCL-HGD1758 is also a 1.7X converter lens and is the heaviest of the three discussed on this page. It extends 5700's maximum focal length to 476mm. This lens has a 58mm rear thread and has no front thread. You will need a 62-58mm step-down ring to mount it on to the Coolfix 5700 adapter. The left image below shows the lens, and the right one has this lens mounted on the 5700 with the help of the Coolfix 5700 and a 62-58mm step-down ring. The minimum focal length that can be used with the Coolfix pulled back without vignetting is about 21.0mm on the 5700. This means that the Sony 1.7X can be used in the focal length range of 82.6mm and 476mm, and, hence, there is no focal length gap from 35mm to 476mm! This is an advantage over the TC-E15ED, and performs better than the TCON-14B and TCON-17.

Technical Data

The following technical information are taken from Olympus and Sony user manuals. This information is for the 5700 only, and should be different for other cameras.

Item Olympus TCON-14B Olympus TCON-17 Sony VCL-HGD1758
Number of lenses 5 elements in 3 groups 5 elements in 3 groups 5 elements in 3 groups
Magnification x1.45 x1.7 x1.7
Combined focal length 406mm (35mm equivalent) 476mm (35mm equivalent) 476mm (35mm equivalent)
Angle of View approx 6 degree approx 5.5 degree approx 5.5 degree
Combined max. aperture F4.2 at telephoto side F4.2 at telephoto side F4.2 at telephoto side
Minimum Focusing Distance approx 50cm approx 65cm approx 80cm
Rear Thread Size 62mm 55mm 58mm
Front Thread Size 86mm none none
Size 89mm × 69mm 80mm × 75mm 90mm × 73mm
Weight 475g (16.8 oz) 260g (9.1 oz) 560g (20 oz)