HVX 200 and Century Optics Teleconverters

S

srfjm

Active member
I'm in need of more reach for a series of surfing shoots we're going to be doing. I know Century Optics makes good stuff, but does anyone have any experience with the 1.6 or the 2.0 teleconverters? I'm mostly concerned about a loss in image quality.

Thanks!
 
I've got the 1.6, and there's basically no loss in image quality. It's great glass. Not a tremendous amount of magnification, but it gives you a decent zoom range too. The 2.0 gives more magnification at the expense of having less zoom range (and being heavier and more expensive). If you need the most telephoto, the 2.0 looks like it'd do great.
 
Thanks for the response Barry - great news on the quality factor. The one reviewer on B&H's site mentioned that the 2x was heavy enough to require rails... any experience with that?
 
RE: HVX 200 and the Century Teleconverters...

RE: HVX 200 and the Century Teleconverters...

I do a lot of professional sporting event shoots, and we use the teleconverters quite a bit. Crisp sharp images and good glass. But keep in mind that you will see the lense's housing anytime you zoom out. What does that practically mean? You're going to start to show that housing in frame as your surfer approaches the shore, assuming that you yourself are shooting from somewhere near the water line.

Also, know that the 2X lens is really too heavy to be fitted to the HVX 200 without some support. You're fine with the 1.6 but not the 2.0.

Good luck!
 
The 2x is heavy heavy, yes. Rails though? I don't know, I've only seen it at trade shows, haven't used it. But the Century lenses mount using the bayonet, not the lens threads. That's a much more secure mounting system.

Someone on here has the 2X. Was it Kevin Railsback? Or Ben Balsar? Hopefully someone who has it will "weigh in" and let you know for sure about the necessity of rails.
 
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