.png?v=1667978305)
When it comes to dermoscopic imaging in the modern era, nearly every tutorial, marketing photo and setup video seems to make the assumption that you’re taking photos with your smartphone or tablet. But if you're a clinician, researcher, or imaging enthusiast, chances are you prefer to take photos with a high-resolution “traditional” camera. Despite the many benefits cameras offer, such as larger sensors, better glass, more control over exposure and white balance, etc., they’re unfortunately now in the minority when it comes to how clinicians are obtaining their dermoscopic images.
In this article, we’re going to discuss the current state of camera-based MagnetiConnect adapters, the market reality that shaped it, and what to do if your camera's filter thread size is no longer a stocked option.
A Shrinking Accessory Category
On any given day, smartphones and tablets now account for the overwhelming majority of devices used to actually capture dermoscopic images. And this reality is reflected in the lineup of accessories dedicated to helping clinicians obtain their photos. The variety of camera-specific connection hardware has been narrowing for years, while phone and universal tablet adapters are becoming more prevalent.
This shift in volume has a direct, practical consequence. Just as the number of clinicians using dedicated cameras for dermoscopy imaging has decreased, so too has the availability and variety of purpose-built adapters made for doing so. Design and production of accessories requires investment, which by its nature requires that a minimum number of sales need to be anticipated before continued production can be justified.
A Quick Reminder - How MagnetiConnect Actually Works
MagnetiConnect is Dermlite’s solution which allows clinicians to easily take dermoscopic photos during the workday. It works by magnetically bonding each MagnetiConnect-compatible dermatoscope to the imaging device’s lens — not only in precise alignment, but also with enough "grip" to stay in place while taking the photos.
Regardless of which imaging device is used, MagnetiConnect essentially consists of two main components:
The first is the ferrous metal ring surrounding the lens of each compatible Dermlite dermatoscope. These rings, for all intents and purposes, are the same on all MagnetiConnect-compatible dermatoscopes.
The second component is the one which varies significantly from clinician-to-clinician: the adapter. Whereas one dermatologist may use their iPhone 17 to take dermoscopic photos, another may use their iPad. And rarely, some will use a dedicated camera such as DSLR, mirrorless, point-and-shoot, etc. – and if you’re still reading, you're probably one of them.
The Camera Side of The MagnetiConnect System
When it comes to cameras, accessories which attach to the lens typically do so by threads. Filters and/or secondary lenses are just a few such examples.
The MagnetiConnect Camera Adapters utilize this same system. Each adapter essentially consists of a threaded ring designed to be connected directly to your camera lens, similar to how you would apply a new filter or other accessory.
The design itself is straightforward: the MagnetiConnect camera adapters utilize magnets on the side which faces the dermatoscope. These magnets then "unite" the Dermlite dermatoscope to the camera lens — providing both a firm bond as well as perfect alignment between the two.
Historically, though, the challenge is that since filter thread size varies by lens, Dermlite has traditionally needed to offer these adapters across a wide range of sizes, enough to cover most common DSLR, mirrorless, and point-and-shoot lens threads in active use. Because of the weaning popularity we discussed a moment ago, the "lineup" of available adapters has narrowed considerably. Today, only a few adapter diameters remain available.
The Solution: Step Adapters
If your lens's filter thread size doesn't match a currently available MagnetiConnect adapter, the fix isn't a specialty part, but instead one of the more common accessories sold in photography: a step-down (or step-up) ring.
A step ring is nothing more than a machined metal ring with one thread size on the outer, male side and a different thread size on the inner, female side. You would simply attach the adapter's threaded side onto your camera lens, then connect the MagnetiConnect adapter onto the other side — giving you a complete path from your lens to the magnet. The step ring carries no optical element at all, so it introduces no glass, no coating, and no focal power into the system. It's a mechanical coupler, nothing more.
Step-up adapters (right).
Notice how the threaded side begins smaller and gradually increase in diameter with each additional ring.
Step-down adapters (left).
Notice how the threaded side begins larger and gradually decrease in diameter with each additional ring.
A single step ring can bridge sizes that are far apart, not just adjacent ones. A 58mm lens stepping down to a 37mm MagnetiConnect adapter, for instance, is a single, one-piece ring. You don't need a set of intermediate sizes stacked together to get there.
Finding the Right One
Step rings are a mainstream photography accessory, not a specialty medical part, and they're sold widely through ordinary camera-accessory retailers and marketplaces. A few things to check before buying:
- Know your lens's thread size: Confirm your lens's actual filter thread size first. It's usually printed on the inside of the lens cap or around the front rim of the lens itself, marked with a Ø symbol followed by a number in millimeters.
- Search by both sizes: Search using both numbers together, for example “62mm to 37mm step down ring,” or “62-37mm adapter ring.” Listings are almost always labeled exactly this way, lens size first, accessory size second.
- Step-up vs. step-down: A step-down ring takes you from a larger lens thread to a smaller accessory thread. A step-up ring does the reverse. Check which direction you need before ordering; the two aren't interchangeable.
- Price and availability: These are inexpensive, typically well under $20, and widely available from mainstream camera-accessory sellers. There's no need for a specialty medical-device vendor here.
IMPORTANT: Try to Avoid Stacking Multiple Rings
A single step ring bridging two sizes is a routine, well-tolerated setup. Chaining several together (such as using a kit of sequential step-down rings to bridge a large gap one small step at a time) is a different story, and worth avoiding.
To be clear, when searching for the right step-down (or step-up) adapter for your needs, be sure to search for a single adapter (using the search method described in the image below:
Put another way, what you'll want to avoid is finding (and purchasing) a step-down (or step-up) ring kit. Unlike a single adapter which directly bridges your lens with the Dermlite adapter, a "kit" will require you to sequentially stack multiple rings together — sometimes quite deep.
The issue isn't focus. A dermatoscope mounted on a camera in this way forms what's called an afocal system: the dermatoscope's optics output light that's already collimated, effectively coming from infinity, so the camera lens focuses on it the same way it would focus on any distant scene. A longer gap between the two doesn't change that.
What a longer stack actually does is narrow the image. Each ring is a tube, and several of them joined together form a longer, narrower tunnel between the dermatoscope's optics and the camera's lens. That tunnel increasingly blocks light at the edges of the frame, a problem photographers call vignetting, and at the extreme it can reduce the usable image to a small, dark circle in the center of an otherwise black frame. Multiple threaded joints also add mechanical play, which can leave the dermatoscope slightly tilted off-axis rather than sitting perfectly square to the lens, showing up as uneven sharpness across the image.
A single step ring, by contrast, adds only a few millimeters of length. That's a small enough change that it doesn't meaningfully affect the image, which is exactly why it's the approach worth using here.