Nikon Lens Converter: General Operations

Modes and Icons

Since there are five lens converters, Coolpix 4500 has five converter modes, one for each lens converter: Wide Adaptor for WC-E24 or WC-E63, Telephoto1 for TC-E2, Telephoto2 for TC-E3ED, Fisheye1 for FC-E8 in circular image mode, and Fisheye2 for FC-E8 in full frame mode. The following table summarizes these modes:

Converter	4500
	mode	icon
No lens setting
WC-E24 or WC-E63	Wide Adaptor
TC-E2	Telephoto1
TC-E3ED	Telephoto2
FC-E8 circular	Fisheye1
FC-E8 full frame	Fisheye2

After setting the camera to one of these modes, the on-camera lens will be zoomed in or out so that the combined lens will not vignette and, at the same time, disables internal and external flashes. Details can be found on each individual page.

Using Lens Converters in the Regular Mode

If fact, you do not have to set your camera to one of the converter modes. In general, you can simply mount a lens converter and use the zooming buttons to adjust the focal length of the on-camera lens until you are satisfied with your composition. In this case, the camera is in the Regular mode.

When you are in the Regular mode, you can operate the camera and the mounted lens converter as if the converter is not there. You can zoom in and out in the extended focal length range, although vignetting may occur in some cases. More precisely, when TC-E2 or TC-E3ED is mounted, vignetting will occur if the on-camera lens is zoomed all the way out. See the image below. Although both internal and external flashes can be used (if they are not turned off), exposure will not be correct because some lens converters will block the flash sensor. Another obvious problem is that the viewfinder is blocked partially or completely. Thus, use LCD monitor instead. Other than these problems, there is no big differences between the Regular mode and a converter mode.

Setting and Resetting a Lens Converter Mode

Use the following procedure to set or reset the camera to a particular lens converter mode:

1. Take all filters off from the on-camera lens.
2. Mount the desired lens converter.
3. Make sure the camera is in one of the following modes: P, S, A or M. The converter mode is only available in one of these four modes. If the camera is not in one of these modes, hold the MODE and turn the command dial until one of the four indicated modes appears in the lower-left corner of the LCD monitor.
4. Press the MENU button once to enter the first page of the SHOOTING MENU. You will see the following screen:
   
5. Use the down arrows of the multi-selector to enter the menu system. The first menu item is highlighted as shown in the left image below. Then, press the MENU button to enter the second page as shown in the right image below.

6. Use the down arrow of the multi-selector to highlight the Lens item as show below:
   

   Note that if the camera has been set to one of the converter mode, the corresponding icon appears on the first column.

7. Press the right arrow of the multi-selector to select this item. The LENS menu appears showing all five lens converters plus the slide copy adapter. In fact, this LENS menu has two pages, the slide copy adapter appears on the second page. The first item Normal is used for resetting the converter mode.
   
8. Use the up and down arrows of the multi-selector to move up and down until the corresponding lens converter is highlighted. Then, press the multi-selector to make a selection. After making a selection, press the MENU button three times to return to shooting mode. The icon of the selected lens converter appears in the lower-left corner of the LCD monitor. The following shows that the Nikon 3X TC-E3ED converter is selected:
   
9. To reset to no lens converter, following the above procedure and select Normal. Once reset, the converter icon on the LCD monitor disappears. To set the camera to a different lens converter mode, follow the procedure above and select an appropriate one.

Coolpix 4500 has a short-cut for selecting a lens converter. Once the LENS item is highlighted, you can use the command dial to make a selection. As the command dial is being turned, the icon of a lens converter is shown on the first column. Keep turning the command dial until the corresponding converter icon appears. Then, press the MENU button three times to return to the shooting mode.

Some Reminders

The following are some important notes when using a lens converter.

• When a converter is mounted, internal and external flashes are either turned off (if you have set the converter mode) or not function properly (because the flash sensor is blocked).
• Since converters block the viewfinder, you should use the LCD monitor for composition.
• Except for WC-E24, all other lens converters are heavy and big. Consequently, the lens unit may tilt even the camera is mounted on a tripod. Should this happen, the swivel lock is very useful. The swivel lock is located in the bottom side of the camera as shown in the left image below. When the level is at the position close to the lens unit, the swivel lock is open and the lens unit may rotate more than 280 degree. If this level is slid toward the tripod hole as shown in the right image below, the lens unit will be limited to be rotated 180 degree, and, as a result, it will not rotate pass the horizontal position.

  Swivel lock level unlocked	Swivel lock level locked

• Never pick up the camera by converter. This could break the connector between the on-camera lens and lens converter.