On Mon, 12 Feb 2001 15:51:57 -0600, "Richard Smedley" wrote:

>Okay, maybe I'm missing something here (go ahead, flame away, I can take
>it), but wouldn't the low-light capability of my camcorder be increased by
>simply increasing the size of my lens objective diameter? I used to be into
>amateur astronomy and it was an elementary concept that by increasing the
>diameter of your objective lens (or mirror for Newtonians) that you would
>proportionally increase the "light-gathering" power of your scope. Wouldn't
>the same principal apply for the lens in my camcorder? For example, won't
>the WD-58 wide angle adapter on my GL1 increase it's light-gathering power
>and hence it's low-light capability? Now keep in mind I'm saying all other
>factors being equal, including the size of the CCDs when comparing
>camcorders.

What you are after is the relative aperture of the lens.
Focal-length divided by clear aperture diameter equals
relative aperture, as in 100mm/25mm = f4. Adding a WA
converter may enlarge the front element size, but this
does not change the relative aperture...