Lens Adapter

To the amateur photographer, the use of a teleconverter lens adapter may not seem appropriate, but for professional use it becomes a critical piece to have in a lens kit. The basic principle of any teleconverter lens is to double the focal length. To put that into plain English, it basically moves an image closer to the focal point of a camera, making the object of a shot a whole lot closer than it was before. The main benefit here is that you can take close up shots of objects that are farther away. The only real drawback is that they tend to reduce the resolution of an image and reduce the amount of light travelling onto the camera.

Depending on which teleconverter you go for, you can increase the image by 1.5x or 2x focal length which will either improve it by a half measure or double it. Some of the manufacturers even make a 3X where the focal length is tripled. You basically attach the lens to the body of your camera and then you attach the actual lens on to the teleconverter. Once attached to your camera, your images will immediately appear closer and a little bit darker as well.

The reason for the darker image is simply due to the physicality of the lens. The additional focal length created from the additional piece in the lens, reduces the amount of light entering the camera’s sensor. Unfortunately there is nothing that can be done about the reduced light, so one has to consider its use when looking for that long distance shot.

To give you an idea of the capabilities, if you take a normal 600mm lens and compare the shot to a 300mm lens with a 2x teleconverter lens attached, you will get the same shot for an object in the distance, but it will be a bit darker and the image clarity is slightly compromised. The bottom line here is that you can get the same distance shot you want from a bigger lens, but you won’t be paying as much for the converter as what you would for the higher powered lens.

Not all teleconverters will work for a given camera, so you need to make sure that the lens us compatible for your camera and lens. As a general rule, any wide angle or wide angle zoom lens cannot be used. Lenses with slow maximum apertures cannot be used, and again there is a general rule that any lens with a maximum aperture that is slower than f/ 2.8 will not work with a teleconverter. If you are not sure then you check with the manufacturer or take a look online for places that will give you that information.

Over all, a teleconverter will aid you getting those long distance shots but there are a couple drawbacks that you need to keep in mind if you are just planning to save money. You can work with the shot if you are looking for that particular effect, but if you want crystal clear shot, you should look at a better lens.

As it is with any lens adapter and camera, you are always going to focus on two primary deciding factors when choosing another lens. The price and performance of each lens and adapter combination are what you are going to be looking at. In most cases affordability is a huge issue and many photographers would agree some of the camera equipment you get out there can be excessively expensive. As part of the reason behind switching to a different manufacturer, you always have to make sure that what it’s going to cost in the long run, is going to be worth your while.

However cost effective the purchase may seem, there are still additional factors that you have to consider when making the change. A lot of the changes are inherent in the manufacturing of the different makes and models, purely because each brand prefers to keeps it in-house so to speak and make sure that if you buy a Nikon body, you will also use the Nikon lenses. The drawback is the affordability in certain cases, and sometimes that affordability is compromised by quality. What you then find is the cheaper option doesn’t always give you the shot that you need.
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Digital single-lens reflex lens adapters or “digital SLR” lens adapters for short are different lenses that can be fitted to your existing digital SLR camera by means of either a bayonet or screw on mount. They add more diversity to the effects that can be achieved in the photo’s you take. To boil it down Lens adapters allow you to reduce your lens investment, as well as the continued use of your favorite lens.

Lens adapters are used to attach converter lenses, filters, and close-up lenses to the front of the cameras. Classically, Lens adapters are made from lightweight aluminum alloy or plastics to lighten the load placed on the front of the camera.

While some lens adapters are made to be fitted and left on your camera, others must be replaced once you are finished using them. It is important to remember that there should be sufficient room in your camera bag to accommodate the additional space used by the lens adapter, should you elect to leave it on.

When purchasing a digital SLR lens adapter, it will be to your benefit to take the following into consideration. Firstly, you need to ascertain if the lens adapter in question is compatible with your camera’s make and model. It is always advisable to pair the make of the lens adapter, with the same make as the camera, i.e. an Olympus Camera, should only use an Olympus lens adapter. Some of the more recent camera models do allow for use of other makes of lenses, but be very sure that you do your homework regarding compatibility.

Before mounting and dismounting your new lens adapter for the first time, be sure you have familiarized yourself the procedure in the user’s guide. Check that the system of mounting (usually bayonet or screw on) is the same as you camera’s.

Many useful lens adapters for older cameras have been discontinued because of newer models and varieties that have been released. Your best bet would be to hunt around in the used sections of the classifieds or even on the internet on popular sites like eBay or even craigslist.com

A Pentax lens adapter will generally work slightly differently than other adapters, primarily because lenses are screwed on rather than locking them in place with a slight twist. On the contrary to a lot of the other manufacturers, the threaded mounting was designed to be universal for any screw in lens. This meant that you could mount any lens you wanted, as long as it had the thread. Of course this doesn’t mean much for all the Pentax lenses, but should you wish to go for something made by Canon or Nikon for example, you would need to adapt the thread so that the clip in lenses would slot in like they would for the camera bodies they were made for.
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Lens converters also known as dept-of-field adaptors, are attachments that fit to your existing digital camera lens. Lens converter allows you to increase the magnifying power of the camera and to get better images of distant objects at a narrower angle. If you are interested in increasing the capabilities of the lens on your digital camera, converter lenses may be just what you’ve been looking for.

There are two ways that lens converters get fitted to your camera namely bayonet and threaded screw.

To start using a converter lens, you will have to change a menu setting in your camera to match the converter type. The exposure and focus will have to be adjusted manually since converter lenses don’t always function well in automatic profile. Detailed information about the use of lens converters is explained in the guide that comes with the lens.
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