35mm adapter for hd1/hd2
 

This is a wild question and I would love some thoughts on this. I love my HD1 and wish there was a 35mm lens adapter for it, like there is for the big cameras(DVX100 HVX200 etc) Having the shallow DOF and a focus ring could really make for some beautiful shots with this camera. Still having16x9 would be even sweeter but the adapters out there (SGPro, Letus35, M2 etc) cannot do this either from what I've read. Just a thought. Waddya think? There are some very resourceful users out there. Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Sanyo HD1+Redrock M2
 

Arlan, check this ;)

rig:
http://www.redrockmicro.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2962

samples:
http://www.redrockmicro.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2961

Arlan.

If your camera has manual control over shutter speed so that it can be tied to 1/50th or 1/60th second and has a threaded filter mount on front which you could fit step-up rings to mount a close-up lens of acromatic dioptre type, if it can zoom from about 25mm to about 55mm, there is unlikely to be a reason why it would not work, just might require some mods here and there to get it to fit without falling off.

Some small cams even have the ability to focus close enough on an object that you might get away with no close-up lens at all but that is a rare exception in real life.

To see whether it is feasable, try these simple tests.

Read your camera literature and see if shutter speed can be manually controlled?

Can video autogain be turned off without causing the manual shutter speed setting to be over-ridden by the camera to compensate?

Draw a rectangle 24mm x 18mm or find a barcode of the same size or paint one down to size with "white-out" correcting fluid. If you drew your rectange by hand, also draw a fine grid of lines across it vertical and horizontal.

Start your camera and try to zoom in to frame tight on this rectangle or even a little bit inside it. If you can do this and the image remains sharp, you may ba able to get away without a close-up lens.

If the camera can't get close enough, go to your nearby still-image camera retailer and see if they have a three-pack of cheap single element HOYA close-up lenses, sometimes known as macro lenses. These come as a sachel of three lenses with 58mm filter thread mount, +1, +2, +4.

There may be a version which fits directly up to your camcorder's filter thread diameter.

Try these on your camcorder. either by simply holding them up in front of the camcorder lens or if you are cashed up, buy a step-up ring so you can screw them onto your camera if they don't already fit.

Try each individually or combinations of one screwed into another to see whether you can focus tight on the 24mm x 18mm frame. You will probably find +3 (a +1 with +2 screwed into the front) through to +7 at zoom settings between about 35mm and 55mm will get you in the ballpark.

The single element dioptres are good only for rough testing. They will not get you good sharp distortion-free, chromatic aberration-free images. Once you establish which power of close-up lens gives you the best result, that is the power of achomatic dioptre you will need to look for.

The Brevis, SGPRO, Redrock M2, Letus35, all have a form of achromatic dioptre fitted as does the real thing, the Mini35, for lens-in-camera style camcorders.

It won't hurt to enqire with the vendors directly, or post on the Alternative Imaging Methods section below this. Chances are, somebody has tried it.

thanks
 

Thanks Guys. Robert, what adapter are you using to mount the hd1 to the m2 redrock adapter? I didnt see any threads on the camera to use a step up ring. Your footage looks great. I would love to get that look from my hd1, but would probably go for a less expensive rig like the letus. Very smart mounting it upside down. Thanks and take care,
~Arlan~

HV1a and 35mm
 

I love this concept! Can either of you offer a little more info on how to accomplish this? The letus prices don't seem to be that much cheaper, but than I'm not even sure of what I need to be looking at.

I have two HV1a's and a Canon HD10. I'd love the 35mm option for the HV1a's.

Thanks for any info.

what I've found so far
 

ok guys,
With the sanyo hd1 there are no threads on the front of the camera to mount an adapter set. Sanyo sells a wide angle adapter that pushes on, i think its a 0.6x wide angle adapter, pretty cheap too, under $80. This adapter has threads on the outside, 49mm. I found a step up ring 49mm to 52mm on ebay for like $4 bucks. I like the letus 35a as a 35mm adapter. Its priced good and I can mount the hd1 upside down to get around the whole inverted image dilema.(Thanks Robert you rule). I should'nt need rails or anything else, the camera is way lighter than the adapter is. With the Nikon f-mount ring, I can get a 50mm nikon f1.8 for about $100 new, alot cheaper used. My goal is a very inexpensive 35mm rig that looks good for a low price. More people can have access to it. If anything I have listed so far has serious problems please let me know. I'm planning on doing this soon if my exwife finds it in her heart to send the child support this month. Otherwise I'll have to save and wait a month or so. If this works I'll take pictures and post some clips as well. Take care and thanks,
~Arlan~

Sanyo HD1x to 35mm
 

Cool! Let me try to put this together:

HD1x to Sanyo wide angle adapter.

Wide angle adapter to step up ring (49mm to 52mm).

Step up ring to Letus 35a.

Is this correct? I'm not sure what a Nikon f-mount ring is and where it fits in the chain. Is the wide angle LENS necessary? Or is it there strictly for the thread capability?

Where do you set the HD1 focus, full wide?

yup
 

Thats right Frank. The wide angle adapter is for 49mm thread use only. The nikon mount is the piece to mount your desired lens to the letus35a. I was going to use a nikon 50mm f1.8 lens, hence the nikon mount. If you put this together before me, and it sounds like you will, please let me know. I'd love to see how the image looks. The letus has a different look than other adapters. Its a little softer, like 8 or 16mm film look. The sanyo is a little sharp in my opinon, so I hope this balances out well for a final picture. Again this would be an inexpensivce setup others could easily afford. I work in Public Access Television, so I am very interested in filming techniques that are affordable and accessible to the masses, Thanks,
~Arlan~

Sanyo sells a plain 49mm slide on thread adapter if you don't want to use the wide angle, it is $20.

35mm Adaptor
 

Thank you Arlan and Matthew.

I won't be making the upgrade any time soon... unfortunately. But I am so pleased with the pair of HD1a'a that I have, that I would really like to make this happen at some point.

The focus issue is really the single biggest obsitcle in these cameras. The fact that once recording is engaged you can no longers use the manual focus adjustment is a real handicap.