Sony AX-700 Camcorder: My bargain 1.45x Tele Extender—the Olympus TCON-14B

In the past I have often carried a 1.4 or 1.7x lens extender for whichever camcorder I have had at the time. That extra reach a lens extender gives can be very useful for mammals a long way away and for small mammals, birds and reptiles. Purist still photographers hate extenders because they degrade the image a little and sometimes a lot; they also reduce the maximum aperture. However, I have found them really useful for video and Sony used to make both tele and wide-angle adapters for its camcorders. They no longer do that. When I bought the Sony AX-700 last year I looked around for a suitable tele-extender. Most that have been made in the past have a much smaller diameter than the lens on the AX-700. But one doesn’t: the Olympus Tele Extension Lens Pro TCON-14B. This fits the 62 mm diameter screw fitting of the Sony without needing conversion rings. I soon found a range for sale at camera dealers and on eBay. I bought a mint one for £5.

The AX-700-TCON-14B combination

   

I had read old reviews which praised the optical quality of this Olympus lens which was built for an early digital camera, the E-10, a model first sold in 2000. I have found it to be the best tele extender I have ever used. Its only disadvantage is its weight of nearly half a kilogram; it really is solidly built.

The TCON-14B is a 1.45x extender which means I can achieve a 35 mm equivalent focal length of 505 mm using optical zoom only or 757 mm using clear image zoom. The values are with stabilisation turned off since I cannot imagine using the combination without a tripod. I normally output 4k footage to 1080 which means I can up to double the effective focal length in post production to over 1000 mm.

At short focal lengths there is vignetting, as with all tele extenders and so I only use it near or at the maximum focal length of the zoom lens.

The close focusing distance of 100 cm does not change with a tele extender and so it can be used for close-up shots when greater separation between subject and background is needed.

The front end of the extender has the slightly unusual 86 mm diameter filter thread.

The match between the diameter of the extender and the outside diameter of the camcorder lens is very close. The TCON-14B could have been designed for the AX-700 rather than for a camera 20 years ago.

One Tripod; Three Columns; Three Heads…and two types of mounting plate

Tripods are rarely a triumph of engineering design. Over the years I have owned or used many and even though I have a clear out once in a while, they still seem to accumulate as I try to find the perfect one for the job in hand. A major problem has been the attachment of heads; the torque from long lenses and telescopes has freed many a head from its mounting.

My go-to home and local, as opposed to travel tripod, is a Gitzo G1228LVL Levelling Mountaineer Reporter Mark 2. Although this one almost but not fully solves one of the key problems in tripod design—locking the head to the column by a bolt tightened from the underside of the ‘Power Disc”—changing heads then becomes a hassle, especially if I want to do a quick change. I have, therefore, searched for and bought on eBay as  many spare columns as I have been able to find: one full-length spare column and a shorter version. Therefore, when I want to change heads I just change columns. When the hook on the bottom of the column is not in place, that change takes seconds and even if I have the hook on, just a few seconds more.

The photograph below shows from left to right:

• Manfrotto Junior Geared Head 410 on Gitzo Series 2 Column Kit D1228LVL.C or D1228C
• 3-Legged Thing Eclipse Airhed Switch head on Gitzo Series 2 Ground Level Column Kit GS2511KB
• Gitzo GH1720QR 2-way Birdwatching Head on Gitzo Series 2 Column Kit D1228LVL.C or D1228C (Used for telescope and video)

The other infuriating thing about tripods is of course plates: different sizes from different manufacturers and different sizes for different heads by the same manufacturer. At least for the heads shown, I can now have just two kinds of camera plate. I have converted a plate for the geared head to Arca Swiss (Andoer Mini Adjustable Clamp Quick Release Plate Compatible Arca Swiss QR 38 mm) so that two can be used with a simple Arca Swiss Plate. However, the Gitzo birdwatching head still needs its own plates (medium-long version permanently attached to the telescope; short version for video cameras). At least, two is better than three.

Sony FDR-AX700: Function Button Settings for Wildlife and Travel

As I have written before the ergonomics of Sony camcorders fall short. After trying my AX-700 in the field for wildlife and travel with unchanged function buttons, I started to make a series of changes which have made life more convenient for my particular purposes.

An annoying feature is that some of the function buttons are labelled with their default function, so that their label remains when the button does something entirely different. If I do not use the camera for several months or hand it to somebody else, it helps to be reminded of what the new function is. Therefore I used to a labelling machine to mark new or changed functions. The labels, of course, can be removed if necessary.

Because I sometimes want to take a still photograph and on this model a visit to the menu system is needed to shift from video to still and vice versa, I assigned Button 3 to toggle between the two modes. Then Button 4 becomes the shutter release (as labelled) in Stills Mode.

The normal Menu button is inconveniently placed way along the side of the camcorder. In Video Mode, therefore, I assigned Menu to Button 4, which is convenient for the index finger of the right hand.

I am often using the camcorder to take birds in bushes or trees. To check quickly if the autofocus is on the bird or surrounding branches, I have Button 5 set for Focus Peaking—also convenient for a finger of the right hand. I can then quickly decide whether or not to switch to manual focus.

I found I needed the option to swap quickly between focus areas so I have assigned Button 6 to Focus Area.

Buttons 1 and 2 remain unchanged.

Thus far, I find the modified set-up works well for the kind of work I do. Here is a summary:

ASSIGN BUTTON 3 SHOOTING MODE toggles VIdeo—Stills

ASSIGN BUTTON 4 MENU (video mode only)

ASSIGN BUTTON 5 PEAKING

ASSIGN BUTTON 6 FOCUS AREA

And here is the AX-700 with the Function Buttons labelled: