Canon A95 - Adapter

[Chiaroscurist]

I recently bought my first digital camera, the A95, and I couldn't be happier with it. I want to expand its capabilities by adding additional lenses such as telephotos, close up (macro), and so forth. But before going ahead and deciding on my own, I've noticed at lensmateonline.com, there are two adapters for this cam, the 52 and the smaller, 37mm. However, I do not plan to purchase the 52 adapter from canon, as it is cheaply made of plastic. I might also try that reversal lens thing with the A95. But still undecided. Hehe.
Other A95, what are some of your set ups?

- Mike

[Don Schaeffer]

I have Canon's adapter for my A70. I use it all the time and never take my wide angle lens off the camera. You are right. It is cheaply made. In fact, the adapter sometimes seems to mis-shape so the lens falls off or the thread doesn't hold the lens well. That 37 mm adapter looks really good from here.

[Pixel9ine]

I have bought all three adapters for my A95-- the Cannon 52mm adapter is lightweight but flimsy when compared to the Lensmate units.

Both adapters by Lensmate (52 and 37 mm) lock solidly into the bayonet mount, whereas Cannon's adapter allows some movement, which can distort the image. Plus, on an aesthetic note, they match the camera body's color very well. I use Lensmate's 37mm adapter for use with a Tiffen 0.56x wide angle lens, and even though it's a fairly heavy lens, it holds very solidly.

As fas as bang-for-the-buck is concerned, the Lensmate adapters are tough to beat.

[blacvios]

With the tiffen 0.56x lens do you need a spacer to improve the focus currently got the original telephoto 1.74x, intend to get a wide angle soon.

Generally the lens you will need would be a telephot, wide angle and macro if you do macro shooting.

[Pixel9ine]

With the tiffen 0.56x lens do you need a spacer to improve the focus?Yes. I got the 37mm spacer as well.

The only issue with the Tiffen Megaplus is that it's so wide you can't add a lens hood without some vignetting unless you zoom in one stop. It's not really much of an issue.

The only other lens I have right now is the Cannon TC-DC52 which has a "zoom factor" of 2.4x (as opposed to Cannon's recommended TC-DC52A at only 1.75x). I'm still looking into whether I need a spacer with the DC52 (and would welcome opinions from anyone with this setup).

[Club]

i have the lensmate 37 mm with the adapter ring, tiffen 2x telephoto, tiffen .56x wide angle, and the tiffen 37 mm 17+ macro lenses.

I am happy with it all and it is all well built, image quality is somewhat reduced with the 2x in some conditions

I ordered it all from lensmateonline and they were great to deal with.

[QliQ]

What is the different between 52 m and 37 mm? What is the effect on the shots?

[Pixel9ine]

They're just different thread mounts. They'll change depending on the lens manufacturer.

For instance, the Tiffen Megaplus lens I have is made with a 37mm thread. The Canon TC-DC52 is made with a 52mm mount. Hence, I'm running around with two different adapters for my lenses.. (suits me fine, I just leave them on the lens and use the bayonnet mount on the camera; it's quicker that way.)

[mycanon]

Hi. I have a 37mm lens adapter and 37mm spacer bought from lensmate. My Tiffen telephoto lens fits snugly on the lens adapter and spacer. You have to get the spacer so the lens does not overextend to hit the lens adapter when you zoom in.

One nice thing about this setup is I am able to use 55mm filters on the 37mm Tiffen lens. I am trying to experiment with my shots using different filters I bought from eBay. Picture quality is still very nice.

However, I am beginning to think I should just have bought an S2 or a Digital Rebel. With all the attachments to the A95, the price would turn out to be more expensive than S2 without the hassle of putting on and removing these attachments. Anyway, I might as well enjoy what I have for now. Regards.

[Pixel9ine]

I am beginning to think I should just have bought an S2 or a Digital Rebel. With all the attachments to the A95, the price would turn out to be more expensive than S2 without the hassle of putting on and removing these attachments.I agree with you. I too am wary of investing too much into accessories for what still amounts to a Point & Shoot type camera (though a darm good one at that!). However, my main focus is developing my skill, both technical and creative-- and extra adapter or two only makes that job extending the flexibility of the tool I have.

Also, don't forget that many guys with 20D's and Digital Rebels still take P&S's like the A95 when they need to travel light and still take a decent picture-- I'm quite sure that I'll have my A95 for some time to come, regardless of any equipment upgrades (should my skills warrant them)...