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General discussion

Telephoto lens for Sony camcorder - question

Aug 20, 2005 12:30PM PDT

Hi all,

I have a Sony HC90 with 10x optical zoom, and am looking to improve the zoom capabilities without degrading image quality. So, I have found the following options which claim to be compatible with my camcorder:

2x telephoto lens
8x telephoto lens

Now, my question. I am fairly new to the accessory scene (this is my first camcorder that can even handle accessories). If I purchase the 2x telephoto lens, does this mean that when my camcorder is zoomed all the way out (1x) it will appear as though it is at 2x zoom? And if I zoom to 10x, it will actually be 20x zoom? Is that how the system works?

And likewise, if I get the 8x lens and zoom all the way in, will it actually appear to be 80 times zoomed without the loss of quality one gets by using the digital zoom?

Thanks in advance!

Discussion is locked

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My advice. If it's not a Sony converter designed for this
Aug 20, 2005 4:25PM PDT

camera, don't buy it. You are quite likely to be unhappy with the results.

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Telephoto
Aug 21, 2005 1:56AM PDT

Yes, you are correct in your thinking. The 2x will give you a 20x, the 8x an 80x zoom. Keep in mind that the more zoom you have, the harder it will be to keep the picture steady. Also, take a look at the quality of these lenses. More light is required when you are adding a lens to the one on the camera. An 8x telephoto lens might sound good, but it would probably be very hard to get a quality image with that distance. I wouldn't get any more than 2 or 3x. Just make sure they are high quality lenses. Many of them out there are junk.

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BAD LENSES = bAD PICTURE
Apr 12, 2006 10:44AM PDT

There are lenses sold for one tenth of the price of the sony original, and they introduce a lot of distortion to the picture