Olympus 1.7x Tele Conversion Lens TCON-17 ( for SP-550UZ/C-5050/C-740/C-750/C-725 )

I have been using the TCON-17 for a couple of months with my Fuji S5500, with good results. It is amazing to have that much zoom. With practice you can use it without a tripod, although at full x17 zoom (10x for camera, 1.7x for TCON - x17 total zoom!) it is difficult to avoid shake if the camera is just in your bare hands. As suggested on the S5000 user website, I permanently keep a filter screwed onto the S5500's adapter ring. That means that when I keep on (un)screwing the TCON-17 onto the camera I'm not damaging the adapter ring's screw thread, which is plastic (my filter's thread is metal, as is the TCON's thread). It works well and is a secure fit.
To sum up - I love it!

As well as fitting various Olympus cameras such as the C-5050, C-740, C-750, and the C-725, the lens is also supposed to fit some Fujifilm cameras such as the S5000 and S5500 - the price of the Olympus lens is cheaper than the Fuji equivalent TLFX9 lens and according to some more knowledgeable users, gives slightly sharper images.

It is also supposed to have a slightly superior conversion factor of 1.7x (compared to 1.5x on the Fuji lens), meaning say with the Fujifilm S5000 camera, the maximum focal length is increased from 370 mm to 629 mm (as opposed to 555 mm on the Fuji lens).

After using my Olympus C-765 Ultra Zoom digital camera for over 3 years, I have been very satisfied with the results. One of the camera's best features is it's impressive 10x optical zoom. After careful consideration I decided to buy an adapter ring (CLA-4)and upgrade the zoom to a whopping 17x zoom using the quite expensive TCON-17. The results are just as pleasing using the lens as the quality of the shots produced by the camera without an additional lens.

Positive Points:
The lens is well made, easy to screw on to the adapter and produces good quality shots. It has a nice feel to it and is easy to hold. It comes with a leather pouch and two caps; one for the end that attaches to an adapter and one for the actual large lens end. Though the lens is only supposed to be used at it's full extent as recommended, using it at less than this still produces clear, sharp images and also creates a ring of black background around the image creating almost like a plate design that can look very attractive, especially with landscape shots. It can be used for non-Olympus digital cameras such as Panasonic digital cameras.

Negative points:
Sometimes when zoomed fully in the camera cannot always focus on the subject. The lens is quite heavy. If shooting in poor light conditions or indoors the built in flash of the Olympus C-765 UZ will not be powerful enough as you will be shooting things further away to usual. To me the lens seems expensive but if you take alot of far zoom photographs it may be worth it and eventually pay for itself as oppose to upgrading to an SLR.

Practicality:
The lens is of more use when taking outdoor shots in a source of good, natural light, as oppose to indoor shots. The built in flash of the camera is not powerful enough to light the subject, therefore it may well be worth purchasing an external flash. The lens itself weighs about the same as the camera and so when walking around it is best to make sure you have the strap around your neck and you hold the camera as the unit points downwards due to the weight of the lens. The body is made from metal and the lens only comes in black which stands out if you are using a silver camera. The quality of the lens seems fine with no blemishes and the exterior is metal and keeps cool thus the unit is nice to hold. It can become a pain when having to carry the lens around separately so it will be worth purchasing a carry case large enough for the additional lens and it quickly becomes apparent of the time it takes to screw the lens on and off the adapter and also then attaching and deattaching this to the camera itself. Leaving the adapter connected to the lens would be the best idea but then the lens is unprotected at the adapter end as the cap does not fit the smaller screw end of the adapter. Also if storing the lens in the pouch, this is quite tight fitting and so the lens cover for the actual lens end often comes off when trying to get the lens out or putting it back away.

Summary:
All in all it does what it says on the tin by producing good quality photos and has a nice smooth feel to it. I rate it 4/5 for taking photos of people or landscapes far in the distant that your built in optical zoom will not use but highly recommend you buy a case to store it in and only buy it if you are a keen photographer as it is an expensive accessory if it is only to be used a few times.