Wide Angle Conversion Lens Problem
 

I have recently purchased a Sony HVR-HD 1000 camera. I like that it is very easy to use, and set up. So, overall, I have no complaints. However, I have a digital high definition 0.5X wide angle lens with macro. I shot some footage with it, and ran into a problem. Any time I zoomed all the way out, I got this halo effect around the outside of the frame. Basically, the extreme corners of the frame were black, but they were rounded, almost as if it was the beginnings of a tunnel effect. When I zoomed in just a little, this went away. I did make the adjustment for wide angle within the camera settings before I started shooting. It was disappointing that this happened. Especially, because I could not tell it happened until I viewed the footage later on my computer. This effect didn't show up in the viewfinder or LCD at the time of shooting. What could this be, and what should I do?

This sounds like you are getting a bit of your lens hood in the shot when zoomed all the way out.

Sound like you're get vignetting with your wide-angle adapter. My telephoto has the same problem, but I get to see the whole of the round adapter, lens hood on or no. The only way to get rid of it is either to make sure you work out where it starts and don't zoom past that point, or just fix it in post. In Vegas you can zoom into the picture and move the captured area around as needed. It works nicely and for anythng I've shown at full resolution, there have been no noticable artifacts.

I've noticed the LCD and viewfinder don't show the full width and height of the actual capture, which is why you don't see any vignetting when recording. But that does mean anything in frame through them will be in the 'safe' area when editing in your NLE.

Bernard - you don't say what wide-angle converter you're using (is it called 'Digital'?) but you've not got a step-down ring between it and camera lens have you? Or maybe a filter still on your zoom lens?

Most camera v'finders overscan because TVs of old all used to overscan. Most modern TVs show the whole frame so it's best to do some careful checks with the pictures as shown on your editing computer.

What should you do? Sell the 0.5x as vignetted images just look bad. Or zoom in a little (though this defeats the whole object of fitting a wideangle) or buy the genuine Sony adapter.

tom.

the real sony WA adapt. and... lets go into detail on WA Adapts.
 

lets see some comparison shots as hi res still between some of these WA adapts. I know myself that it is a great mystery area.

what are really the 'good' ones?