Anyone know of tele adaptor beside the century optics ones? I saw on ebay a 2X adaptor by digital optics> Anyone tried that one?

In terms of the optical quality of telephoto converters, really you get what you pay for. Century Optics is a world leader in this realm. They use Schneider glass, and are considered among the very best of the business. Well worth the money.

Is there any way of using a step down ring or something so that you can buy a 2x teleconverter made by canon or century optics that was made for the vx2000/pd150?

I have a step down ring from 72mm to 58mm from Adorama, to use the Sony VCL-HG1758. It vignettes if the standard lens is not on maximum telephoto.

Patrick

Thanks Patrick.
So basically you cant zoom through at all. Thats rather disappointing. Do you find it of use to you at all then? It would be rather restricting to stay at one focal length.

Patrick,

I have been seriously considering getting the Sony adapter, so I want to make sure that I thoroughly understand your post. Are you saying that there is no zoom range at all, that you must go all the way to Z99 on the camera to avoid vignetting? Does your information come from your own personal experience, or is this what you heard from somewhere else?

Please don't take my doubt personally... It's just that I thought I remembered a post from last year regarding the Sony VCL-HG1758, and that it said you didn't hit vignetting until about Z60 or less.

Thanks for the information,
David

Does anyone else have any experience doing this. If I can put a 58mm 2x lens on the DVC80 with a step up ring w/o vignetting at the max. tel. position then this might be the best choice for me. I don't care about zoom through at all. Right now I am leaning towards the DVC30 for its 16x lens but the DVC80 has a very good reputation and if this will work then that gives me a second viable option.

Regards,

Mark

Yes, it is my personal experience, unfortunately. Just rechecked: it starts vignetting at Z90. As a result I have not yet actually used the lens since buying it. However, I am hoping it will be still useful at full zoom for wildlife shooting.
You might do better if you could find a different step down ring. The Bower 72/58 ring (from Adorama) does not screw properly into the DVX100 filter thread. A thinner ring, that screwed in tighter would be better.
Incidentally, there is a completely different lens called the VCL-HGD1758, designed for digital cameras. Maybe this is better?
Patrick

I had an old 58mm teleconverter lens, tried it with the DVX using a 72->58 step-down ring. It also began vignetting at around Z90.

The Century lens starts vignetting about Z60 or so. In fact, on Century's website, they say that the usable zoom range becomes 36mm-72mm, which is only 2:1.

There is no useful telephoto converter solution that I know of, that provides decent magnification and full zoom through.