From: "Bernd Moeller" <dsl33687a@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> I have one. My personal opinion is that the results it delivers are
> amazingly good for the money, and it handles well. My entry in the
> Macro-TOPE was taken with this gadget, as I don't own any real macro
> lenses (a few zooms with "Macro" settings, but that doesn't count) -
> they are just too insanely expensive for the relatively few times I
> would probably use them. I haven't used the Panagor for a while as I
> sniped a Vivitar Macro Focusing Teleconverter off *B*y some months ago
> which IMHO is just as good for macro but will also focus to infinity
> and can therefore be used as a regular 2xTC, which the Panagor can't.
> So now I have to carry just one converter where I had to haul two
> around before.
Damn. I knew it. Must have a Vivitar Macro Focusing Teleconverter now!
No - seriously. Your experience with the Panagor sounds promising and the
Yope shot is also great: crisp and sharp (hot). I like the way the blurred
background is rendered.
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I owned the Panagor converter nearly two decades ago, but it was swiped
along with all my other Olympus/Zuiko-gear in 1984. I agree with the first
poster that the Vivitar macro TC (which I own) is superior to the Panagor.
In fact, the results with the Vivitar macro TC and a standard lens were
tested and found comparable to results obtained with Nikon's famous 55mm/2.8
macro, although one would have to stop down about three stops or so for this
to be true.
According to at least one pro, Don Hicks, who uses Olympus gear, the Vivitar
macro TC is superior to the Zuiko 2x TC when employed with high end lenses
like the Zuiko 180/2 & 350/2.8 (which Don owns). Presumably, it should work
similarly with other Zuiko LD lenses like the 100/2 and 250/2 since they
share similar glass formulations. (It might be interesting to see what
results are possible with a Vivitar macro TC and the Zuiko 35-80/2.8 LD
zoom, but zooms are not generally recommended in combo with 2x TCs because
they tend to yield crappy images.)
I use it occasionally with my 90/2 to derive a 180/4 macro. More recently,
I prefer to employ the Olympus B-300 1.7x TC (for the IS series cameras)
with the 90/2 to obtain a much brighter 153/2.5 macro combination. Internal
focusing 200mm macro lenses effectively reduce to 150mm optics at their
closest focusing distances anyway; so the 90/2 & B-300 combo is very much so
a viable and BRIGHTER combo. If I need the extra reach, I can resort to the
90/2-Vivitar macro Tc combo or slap a Nikon 5T/6T diopter on my Vivitar
Series I 70-210/3.5 "macro" zoom.
I don't own a Zuiko 50/2 yet, but I understand it is so sharp it is probably
too detailed for portrait usage. I could see myself employing the 50/2 with
my Vivitar macro TC in a pinch to tame its sharpness a tad for great
portraiture. I can do the same now with the 90/2 macro for close up
portraits that would be too revealing were the lens to be employed alone.
A great 2x macro TC is an extremely versatile beast. Don't ever leave home
without one. ;-)
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