I’m not one for lusting over new camera gear or accessories. Well not since 2015 anyway. When the Leica Q came out and I held one in my hands that was the moment for me when I realised why all of the photographers I admired would always say that gear doesn’t matter.
I was browsing eBay last week and in the ‘things you may like’ section this wide-angle converted caught my eye. Not because it was a camera gadget but because in the title it reference that it had a 49mm thread mount. The size of thread on the front of my Leica Q. And that was enough for me to click the listing to read a little more about it.
A combination of a catchy title, the price tag of £10, and it was late at night meant that I had clicked ‘buy it now’ before I even had the chance to think about it.
I managed to reassure my self that it was a ok because apart from buying batteries and memory cards I don’t really buy anything for my photography ‘hobby’. So this was going to be my fun little treat.
Unable to find much about it online I can only tell you that it is a x0.5 wide-angle converter. This changes the fixed 28mm lens on the Leica Q to a 14mm field of view. Annoyingly because it was not designed for a full frame sensor it has a very noticeable vignette.
The black around the image is also caused by the 28mm lens being wide enough that if can see the inside of the extension tube that the wide-angle converter is mounted on. I did try cropping one of the images to see how it looked but it wasn’t great.
When you remove the obvious visual novelty factor from the image you are left with a soft image and 99% of the time; a flare. This converter has a kink for turning the faintest hint of light from the smallest light source in to a smear of glowing orbs across the image.
After a walk around the town and a few mirror selfies, I already know that this will seldom be used. I imagine it will sit on my shelf for months and I will only be reminded of it’s distorted existence when a friend asks if they can borrow it.
I may take it with me when I next photograph a concert though. But until then here are some sample photos:
Blog End.
bryanleonardthompson.com 