Questions aboutTelephoto Lens on Digital Camera

I recently purchased an Olympus SP-350 digital camera and I am planning on buying a telephoto lens for added zoom. The camera already has 3x optical zoom. If I buy a 4x telephoto conversion lens and put it on the camera, does that mean that I now have a maximum of 12x zoom (the 3x of the camera multiplied by the 4x of the lens)?

No, it's two different "X" meanings. On the camera, the 3X would refer to the range of the zoom. The lens might be 7-21mm and since 21 is three times 7, they call it 3X. It has nothing to do with the focal length or magnifying power.

The telephoto adapter probably has a magnification factor of 4X. That means that it takes the 21mm and magnifies it four times so it's about 84mm. (Just picking numbers for examples, check the camera manual to know what they are for sure).

Ok, the Olympus SP-350 has a lens of 8-24mm. So if I add a 4x telephoto conversion lens the 24mm will be multiplied by 4, making it a maximum of 96mm?

Yes. A lot of times that 96mm is also given as a "35mm equivalent" which would give a comparison to the angle of view that you would get with a 35mm film camera. This will vary from camera to camera, but it's probably something close to 400mm. This is a very long telephoto and you'll need to take extra care to hold the camera steady to get a sharp image.

My older HP Photosmart camera has a 5.8-17.4mm lens, as compared to the Olympus' 8-24mm lens. Does the 5.8mm compared to the 8mm mean that the HP camera will be able to frame a larger area than the Olympus at its lowest zoom?

it depends- the HP may have a smaller sensor than the Olympus so it may be about the same range or even tighter.

I don't think there's much of a standard for sensor size for compact digitals. Not a problem, just a little more difficult for figuring out the math... The sizes shouldn't vary too much so approximations should be... well, approximate. :)

Just remember, there are different aux. lenses. Some you only can use with the camera lense zoom all the way out. So make sure you can return it if it doesn't work on the camera, or better try before you buy.