My TCON-17 came in the mail yesterday. (Thanks Mom and Dad!) The TCON is a 1.7x teleconverter lens made by Olympus for several models of their cameras, but which has been used successfully by a number of Minoltans on the 7 series cameras (including the A1 and A2) with a step-up ring.

This means that my camera now has a maximum focal length of 340 mm. Kick ass.

Of course I had to try it out, especially since I need to know how to use it before Petit Le Mans weekend here in a week and a half. Pros: Good sharpness, light weight, looks menacing. Cons: Some vignetting even at the maximum zoom, difficult to handhold shots. Luckily, Anti-Shake buys a couple of stops on the handholding part, and with some levels adjustment even somewhat underexposed shots can be made to work. I typically work by default in aperture priority mode at f/5.6, but that doesn’t cut it with the TCON attached in the shade. The shutter speeds selected are far too slow to prevent blurring with the teleconverter attached. So I’ve finally found a use for shutter priority modes.

I got a couple of decent shots of the local wildlife on Skiles walkway, which I’ll share with you presently.

ISO 100, 1/60 s, f/3.5

ISO 100, 1/20 s, f/3.5