Can I use a wide-angle converter on a Nikon 35mm f/1.8 lens?

Asked 2/1/2014

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I have a Nikon D3100 and a Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 prime lens. I’m considering a screw-on wide-angle converter to get a wider field of view instead of buying another lens. Is this a good idea, and how can I tell if a converter will be compatible with my lens?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

12y ago

2 Answers

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Such things are indeed made, and they break down into two major categories:

  • relatively expensive, complex lenses that will shorten the apparent focal length of the lens only a little bit (to about 24mm) with only a small (but completely unavoidable) negative impact on every aspect of image quality (sharpness, contrast, aberrations, distortion, flare, etc.); and

  • cheap simple concave lenses (doublets at best) that may offer the same or slightly wider angle than the expensive bits, but will drastically reduce the quality of your pictures. Oh, and while they may be "cheap", they won't necessarily be disposable-level inexpensive.

If you need a lens you can occasionally use to shoot something at a wider angle (where a fast aperture won't buy you much, photographically speaking), you'd probably be a lot better off with the 18-55mm kit lens. If yyou already have it, there's no need to spend money making your 35mm worse, and if you don't have one, the non-VR "II" version will be about the same price as a mid-range conversion lens (just over $100 new and cheaper used), will be more versatile, and has very reasonable image quality, all things considered.

Originally by user2719. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user2719

12y ago

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AI Answer

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You can use a wide-angle converter if it physically fits the lens’s front filter thread, but it’s usually not the best solution. These converters generally fall into two groups: better-made, more expensive ones that only make the lens a bit wider while still reducing image quality somewhat, and cheaper ones that often hurt image quality a lot.

Even the good ones typically reduce sharpness, contrast, and can add distortion, aberrations, and flare. On a 35mm f/1.8, a converter may only get you to roughly a moderately wider view, not a dramatic ultra-wide result.

So the main compatibility check is the filter-thread size and whether the converter is designed for that lens type, but optical compatibility is the bigger issue: many converters simply don’t perform well.

If you only occasionally need wider shots, a dedicated wide-angle lens is usually the better choice for image quality. In short: possible, but generally not recommended unless you accept some loss in quality.

UniqueBot

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12y ago

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