Clarity; Brightness; Cost and its extremely light weight. The additional photographic opportunies created for the photographer, due to a 70 % increase in picture size, is fantastic.

None that I have discovered, as of yet.

Many teleconverters are accused of losing --f -- stops ( light entering the camera) when in use. Others have been tainted by reports of poor clarity, etc.

This is simply NOT the case with the Sony VCL DH1758 1.7 teleconverter from Sony, when matched with a Sony DSC H5 camera. It also fits the H1 and H2 series, but I did not test it on those models. The camera already has a 12x zoom, bringing its (35mm effective) zoom to 432mm. The added teleconverter adds 70 % to that, so one is up to a 734 mm lens equivalent. That is more effective lens than most professional sports photographers can carry along.. using a donkey.

Weighed in ounces instead of pounds or kilograms, the DH1758 gives the user a window on the world that simply doesn't exist without it. My first shot was of a sleeping duck 80 yards away. When I loaded the shot into the computer, I discovered two smaller swimming ducks in front of the original target. They were NOT visible to my naked eye, prior to the shot.

I noticed little or no loss of light (--f -- stops) when in use. My rudimentary testing procedures can be found at http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1009&message=21201529

The VCL DH1758 is a great addition to anyone's DSC H series Sony camera. It may fit onto other 58 mm equipped cameras, but I did not test it on anything other than my H5.

Customer Service

I have had no need to use as of yet.

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One cheaply made teleconverter that was included in a "kit" with my DSC H5 camera. It almost made me doubt that any teleconverter would work properly.