Do I need a "telephoto" or "wide-angle attachment" for my digital camera?

Do I need a "telephoto" or "wide-angle attachment" for my digital camera?

Mark Comon (Vice President, Paul's Photo, Torrance, CA) gives expert video advice on: What digital still-camera accessories are essential?; What are some optional accessories that will help me take better photos with my digital camera? and more...

In the early days of compact digital cameras, telephoto and wide-angle attachments were common accessories. Today, they're not so common because most of the cameras today don't take telephoto and wide-angle attachments. The lenses are built into the camera or the cameras are too small to take an attachment. If your camera does take a wide-angle or telephoto attachment, you need to add the lens adapter to the camera and then the telephoto or wide-angle lens attachment. The telephoto lens will bring you in closer. The wide-angle attachment will give you a broader field of view. In today's market, though, most people who are looking for that kind of adaptability opt for the SLR camera instead of the compact camera because the telephoto lens adapter, the lens and the wide-angle lens adapter and the wide-angle adapter, if added to your compact camera, will cost more than if you bought a digital SLR to begin with that already has the interchangeable lenses.