Panasonic DMW-LT55 55mm Tele Conversion Lens for Panasonic FZ7, FZ30, FZ18, and FZ50 Digital Cameras

I purchased this lens for my new FZ 18 but it doesn't seem to fit. Am I mistaken? Any help please. Thanks John

This lens ended a growing frustration of trying to clearly photograph birds that kept a good and safe distance. Now I can quietly adjust camera settings until that magic moment when they get close enough to let me capture sharper eyes and more detailed colorful feathers. Re the blue heron upload, my car served as a blinder to shoot this shy bird. When it unexpectedly landed nearby I practically held my breath while slowly raising the camera to hide my face. I then had to change a low battery and camera settings without looking so as not to reveal my presence. When using the raw image file format the DMC-FZ50 won't let you use the zoom x2 or x4, but between the FZ50 12x Leica lens and this 3x teleconversion lens you can shoot raw images at a fair distance that'll hold up very well to enlarging and cropping. An attached teleconversion lens will make your camera front-heavy in an unbalanced way, so do increase grip strength when it is attached, especially when using the camera with a tripod, so as not to lose your camera to gravity. The camera I use to shoot pictures with this teleconversion lens is: Panasonic DMC-FZ50 10.1MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)

This lens helped capture quality photos of elk high in the tundra of Rocky Mountain National Park along Trail Ridge Rd. last week. It also captured very good detail in scenics taken there. The added capability is well worth the price. ced

I BOUGHT THIS TELE CONVERSION LENS (TC) TO USE WITH A NEWLY PURCHASED PANASONIC FZ50. YES, IT DID BRING THE SUBJECT IN CLOSER BUT I FOUND THAT BY TAKING THE 'SAME' SUBJECT WITH AND WITHOUT THE TC LENS I COULD GET THE EXACT SAME RESULTS IN PHOTOSHOP WITH ABSOLUTELY NO LOSS OF IMAGE SHARPNESS.

Conversion lenses have always had a poor reputation. Typically generalizations like fuzzy, corner falloff and so on. The Panasonic DMW-LT55 Tele Conversion Lens appears to be the exception. Mounted on a Lumix FZ50, it produces images that are sharper than expected. Not as sharp as those that would be produced by a Nikkor or Canon, but sharp and detailed enough.

There is no noticeable falloff at the edges or corners. No vignetting either. Contrast is excellent.

On the FZ50, the LT55 can be used handheld with the camera's Optical Image Stabilization system activated. That is, frankly, astonishing.

A neat trick on the FZ50 is being able to reduce the resolution of the image from 10 megapixels down to 3 megapixels (just using the center of the sensor) and effectively increasing the power of the tele converter to that of a 1,137 mm lens. The images aren't bad.

The converter is lighweight and easily attached to the FZ50. Any filter on the lens must be removed first. No adapter is required.

Overall, the FZ50 is a nice knockaround and travel camera. It's light, has an incredible 12x Leica design approved lens, a 10 Megapixel sensor and just about every feature you could want. Adding the LT55 to your kit gives you that extra-long telephoto you've always wanted to carry without doing damage to your back. Neat product.

Jerry