Ricoh GXR: S10 Converters and Focal Range

Converters for the S10 Camera Unit | Sample Set 1 | Sample Set 2

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This page presents the two converters that are available for the S10 camera unit, the DW-6 at the wide end (0.79x) and the TC-1 at the tele end (1.88x), and two example sets of photos demonstrating the focal range of the S10 module with and without converters. Within the zoom range, I show only three or two sample focal lengths, including the ends of the zoom range.

Converters for the S10 Camera Unit

There are two converters for the S10 camera unit that allow to extend its zoom range:

DW-6 (0.79x) for the wide end: extends the zoom range to 19mm equiv. (see below).
TC-1 (1.88x) for the tele end: extends the zoom range to 135mm equiv. (see below)

Note that the TC-1 can only be used at the very end of the tele range - otherwise you will get vignetting. Thus, it is not possible to cover the range from 72mm to 135mm equiv. with this converter. The same holds true for the DW-6 in the opposite direction, but there it is not so much of a problem (or a wish...).

Both converters can also be used at the GX100/200 (I had bought the converters for the GX100). However, there you need lens hood HA-2 to attach the converters, whereas for the S10, you need lens hood HA-3. The differences are probably minor, but I was not able to check this. On page P10 Converter Experiments, I also show that the HA-3 does not fit the P10 camera unit because of minor differences. But some users were able to modify the HA-3 so that it fits the P10, too. This allows you to use the DW-6 wide angle converter at the P10. See the page for a discussion of the results.

Photos: Tele converter TC-1 (1.88x) (left) and wide angle converter DW-6 (0.79x) (right)

Photos: S10 with wide angle converter DW-6 (0.79x) attached (left) and with tele converter TC-1 (1.88x) attached (right)

Photos: Lens hood HA-3 (top left), S10 with lens hood only (right) - S10 with DW-6 for comparison at the bottom left

Below, I present two sample sets of photos illustrating the zoom range of the S10 camera unit with and without the converters.

Sample Set 1

Click the images for larger samples (600px wide).

S10 + DW-6, 4.0 = 19 mm (DW-6 = 0.79x)

S10, 5.1 = 24 mm

S10, 10.5 = 50 mm

S10, 15.3 = 72 mm

S10 + TC-1, 28.8 = 135 mm (TC-1 = 1.88x)

DW-6 = 0.79x

TC-1 = 1.88x

Sample Set 2

Click the images for larger samples (600px wide).

S10 + DW-6, 4.0 = 19 mm (DW-6 = 0.79)

S10, 5.1 = 24 mm

P10, 6.0 = 28 mm

S10, 10.5 = 50 mm

S10, 15.3 = 72 mm

S10 + TC-1, 28.8 = 135 mm (TC-1 = 1.88x)

Conclusions

While the zoom range of 1:3 (24mm to 72mm equiv.) may not look too impressive (but very useful), the converters DW-6 and TC-1 more than double the range and transform it into a 1:7 zoom range. This is even more useful, because it provides you with a lot of options at the wide end (19mm, 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, and so on - actually, there are no steps between 24mm and 72mm provided you do not activate step zoom).

Please note that you also need the HA-3 lens hood in order to be able to use the two converters. Also note that the LC-2 lens cap cannot be used with the HA-3 lens hood and the converters.