Owned the JVC100 for a few years now and am very happy with it. been using the stock lens and - considering the price point - am very happy with that as well.

But I'm longing for some wide angle shots w/o breaking the bank - esp because I'm thinking about upgrading to the new Sony 1/2" camera.

Any tips or suggestions about which way I should go? Thanks!

john

If you can get a clip-on wide angle converter that will be the cheapest way. They work fine and are cheap. You just can't zoom through them that's all.

The JVC/Fujinon .8x wa adapter is zoom-through and costs about $500 new. I bought one used off this forum for $350. Not super-wide, but good optics. Certainly cheaper than the 13x I can only dream about!

I have the JVC/Fujinon converter. It help greatly. FYI a WA converter is a zoom-thru while a WA adapter is not.
Good Luck.
Ken

Thanks a lot guys...

john

If you are doing any work where quality is a premium then you should avoid wide-angle adapters/converters. If you can put up with some additional chromatic aberration and vignetting then by all means go for it. But be aware, when it comes to optics, you get what you pay for.

Owned the JVC100 for a few years now and am very happy with it. been using the stock lens and - considering the price point - am very happy with that as well.

But I'm longing for some wide angle shots w/o breaking the bank - esp because I'm thinking about upgrading to the new Sony 1/2" camera.

Any tips or suggestions about which way I should go? Thanks!

john

I know what you are saying as I recently had the same feelings. After trying the EX1 from Sony I was disappointed with the low light and stock lens on my JVC 111. I hated the small form handycam look however and after trying the Fujinon wide angle lens I went and bought one. I love the camera again. The lens is fantastic and as well as super wide, the low light capabilities are improved out of sight. At the end of the day this lens will pay for itself in a very short time. It has allowed me to keep the JVC for a while till something better comes out. The lens is now half of the price from when I bought the camera 18 months ago and well worth it.

The fujinon Th13x3.5 is indeed quite impressive. I have one on the cam all the time. It might be a bit out of the price range, yet I think you might be better off investing in that lens rather then in another cam (you'd be buying another cam with a stock lens of its own).

Which DVInfo dealer would have them used? I know they were what, around $10 grand new a while ago - simply beyond my price range.

john

Perhaps an ignorant question, but is the 17x lens any wider than the 16.5x stock lens?

I noticed it is cheaper and people also say it is sharper and brighter.

I just got in a 17X, seems to be marginally wider, 5.5mm for the 16x and 5mm for the 17x. Not a huge difference on that end.

Is it a lot brighter?

I don't believe it is any brighter. To avoid hijacking the thread Take a look here:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/jvc-pro-hd-acquisition-systems/78898-fujinon-17x5-lens.html

Pretty good rundown on the lens, matches my (limited so far) experience with the lens.

Thank you!

Isnt it that the smaller number in lens "mm" is wider? Thus 10mm is wider than 15mm? So i think 16x is wider than 17X?

John Vincent,

A real cheapo alternative i did before was to mod a slr wide adapter from vitacon and glued a thread on it to fit the filter thread of the hd100. I posted my mod here,
DIY WA lens for HD100 (http://tedramasola.9k.com/about.html)

heres a with and without pic comparison.

http://tedramasola.9k.com/images/with%20&%20without%20pic.jpg

If my memory serves me right, the WA adapter was around 130 ish US$.

Sweet - thanks!

john

Isnt it that the smaller number in lens "mm" is wider? Thus 10mm is wider than 15mm? So i think 16x is wider than 17X?

Half right. The 17x lens is 5mm at the wide end, therefore it is wider than the 5.5mm 16x lens. At the telephoto end the 16x lens is 88mm (16 x 5.5mm) and the 17x is 85mm (17x 5mm)

Which DVInfo dealer would have them used? I know they were what, around $10 grand new a while ago - simply beyond my price range.

john

We do, but we're in Europe, not certain that'll help you...