If you have just ventured into photography, you will realise that most of the equipment i.
e. mainly lenses, can be rather costly. So, if you prefer not to spend too much on your new hobby yet, a lens converter is a relatively inexpensive way begin.Lens converters are lenses which can be attached to an existing lens to enhance its focal length. Thus, you can get more flexibility out of your existing lens. Although there are some lens converters for point-and-shoot cameras, most of the time, these converters are meant for use on Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras.When buying a lens converter, make sure that it is compatible with your camera and that it fits nicely. Sometimes the package comes with an accompanying adapter, to help secure the converter securely to your camera.There are 3 types of lens converters - macro, wide angle and telephoto. Macro lenses allow you to get up close with your subjects, wide angle lenses let you capture a wider field of view and allows you to cram more details into the image. Telephoto lenses allows you to zoom in further to get a closer view of your subjects.When using the lens converter, you would usually have to make some adjustments to your camera settings. Focus and exposure may have to be adjusted manually, because converter lenses usually do not work as well with automatic settings.Conversion lenses are denoted as 2x, 2.75x or something similar. This simply means that if your camera has say, 12x zoom, adding a 2x converter will result in a 24x zoom lens. A wide angle conversion lens will have its factor denoted as less than 1 e.g. 0.75x. There are also some things to take note of. For instance, using a telephoto lens with the wide angle setting turned on will result in the lens converter producing vignette images, which means the edges of the photos are darker than the center. However, some photographers may choose to make use of this as a deliberate effect for their pictures. To make the most out of your lens, it is advisable to read the documentation that comes with it. As this lens is not part of the camera, information on its function will not be found in the camera user manual.Since lens converter are very much more affordable than a new lens, you might want to consider buying different ones to experiment and explore. They are also relatively easier to carry around as compared to bringing a bag of different lens around. The best way to find out what they can do is to try them out. With cameras being digital, there is no worry about taking bad pictures as unwanted pictures can always be easily deleted.
