Noob needs help

[Cody Gusling]

what does a "X2 Tele Converter" lens do???

[ameerat42]

Hi Cody. It magnifies the image of the original lens by, in this case, 2 times. There are also 1.4X and 3X teleconverters. Effectively, they increase the focal length of your lens by the stated factor, so a F=200mm lens with a 2X converter becomes 400mm. At the same time, it decreases the set aperture of the lens, so that if you are using "f/8" then it's actually f/16. for a 2X converter. Am.

PS, added as an Edit: There can be image quality loss when using them.

[mongo]

doubles your the focal length of the lens you fit it to ie 2oomm becomes 400 mm AND it reduces the amount of light by 2 stops - so your shutter speed is reduced. One effect is considered desirable while the other is generally not (but not necessarily disastrous)

[kiwi]

...and personally I wouldnt buy one typically...maybe just maybe the new Nikon one, they are usually quite detrimental to image quality, certainly the older Nikon and kenko, and sigma ones I have used in the past have been

[bushbikie]

.....but if i can't afford a nice 400+mm lens then a converter is one option to get an increase in focal length, albeit at a sacrifice to the apeture and (probably) IQ. But if it means I get that shot that I wouldn't normally be able to get....any photo is better than no photo.

Cheers,
Tony.

[rwg717]

You need to be careful if you buy Canon TC's, they don't fit all lenses, only some of them
Richard