Mind blown!

I don’t know exactly what eBay is today, but I know it was a Den of Thieves where people could go to buy and sell stuff, usually used. And I know several people who were ripped off (lost money) on eBay, both as buyers and sellers. As a result, my mindset toward eBay has been “avoid it like the plague!”

eBay seems to have evolved into an Amazon-like online superstore where you can shop for new stuff as well as buy/sell used stuff. Imagine my surprise when I rolled the dice and ordered a hard-to-find item from a vendor in Japan and the experience turned out to be 99.9% positive. Mind blown!

The Backstory

A long time ago, I bought a “tele conversion lens” and adapter for my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ150 superzoom bridge camera. Both accessories were made by Panasonic. Using the tele conversion lens, the actual magnification is 1.7 times the display. For example, at 24x — the maximum zoom magnification of the FZ150 — the actual magnification is ~40x!

When I upgraded to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300, I wanted to be able to use the same “tele conversion lens.” It was unclear to me whether the DMW-LA5 adapter that works with the FZ150 would fit my FZ300. I was aware that Panasonic also made (past tense) a DMW-LA7 adapter for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200, but I wasn’t sure the same adapter/lens combo would work with my FZ300.

Impasse Breakthrough

Recently I stumbled across a comment by a Panasonic employee in the Q&A section of an archived product page for the DMW-LA7 adapter (regret I can’t remember where I read the comment) in which the employee clearly stated the adapter is compatible with the FZ300.

Product image courtesy Panasonic Store on Amazon.

Turns out the adapter is no longer made by Panasonic so I started searching online for a place to buy the adapter, new or used. After a lot of fruitless searching, I found several vendors on eBay that sell the adapter. I fully expected the adapter would turn out to be a knock-off of some sort, but hey, it’s essentially just a metal tube with screw threads on both ends so I figured any DMW-LA7 compatible adapter should work. I decided to place an order with a company called “Japan-Excite.”

My order was delivered 10 days later. I was STUNNED when I opened the “parcel” and discovered the adapter is original equipment from Panasonic, in the original box, and apparently new! And I was delighted that it fits perfectly on my FZ300 and with the DMW-LT55 tele conversion lens.

Needs Improvement

So why did I say the experience was 99.9% positive? Because the “parcel” used to ship the product looked like a laminated paper bag of some sort — it reminded me of the brown paper bag lunches my mother used to pack when I was in elementary school. Inside the bag, the item was packed in bubble wrap enclosed by corrugated cardboard folded four times to fit around the bubble wrap (open on both ends). All of that said, the product was delivered in good condition. But I must say that I would NEVER ship merchandise from Japan to the United States (or vice versa) using anything less than a sealed cardboard box with plenty of packing material surrounding all sides of the product.

Summary

Long story short, all’s well that ends well although I can’t help but feel like I was extraordinarily lucky!

In summary, the Panasonic DMW-LT55 tele conversion lens works with either the DMW-LA5 or DMW-LA7 adapter: the DMW-LA5 adapter works with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ150; the DMW-LA7 adapter works with both the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300.

I’m eager to field test the new adapter with my FZ300 to see whether the tele conversion lens performs as well as it does using my FZ150.

Related Resources

• Sailboats – a blog post by Walter Sanford.
• Panasonic Lens Adaptor DMW-LA7 dmwla7 DMC-FZ200 – sold by Japan-Excite.
• Panasonic digital camera optional lens adapter DMW-LA7 – sold by a vendor on Amazon. After a little poking around on the Amazon Web site I concluded this item probably IS NOT sold directly by Panasonic, rather it is sold by a store front for one of several third-party vendors.

Copyright © 2021 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Sailboats

While photowalking Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve on 08 February 2016, I stopped to shoot several sailboats moored on the Potomac River, downstream from Belle Haven Marina.

“Andiamo” means “Let’s go!” in Italian. The next photo shows a couple of no-name boats. What’s up with that? I think a big part of the fun of owning a boat is choosing a clever name.

“Just E-nuf” appears to be in the worst condition of the four sailboats — looks like the boat is just good enough to stay afloat!

The Backstory: I was field testing a “tele conversion lens” for my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ150 superzoom camera. I bought the accessory lens and adapter along with the camera, although I’ve never used them. Using the tele conversion lens, the actual magnification is 1.7 times the display. For example, at 24x — the maximum zoom magnification — the actual magnification is ~40x! Panasonic recommends using a tripod with the tele conversion lens; I did. In addition, I used the camera’s built-in 2-second timer to further reduce camera shake. In my opinion, the image quality is more than acceptably good — looks like I should have tried using the tele converter lens sooner!

DMC-FZ150 | tele conversion lens (DMW-LT55) | lens adapter (DMW-LA5)

Copyright © 2016 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.