Raynox vs Sony Lenses
 

I have a Sony PD150. I want to get a wide angle lens. BHphoto has the Sony adapter for $270, and a Raynox wide angle for $130. In buying the Sony, am I truelly getting better glass or am I buying just the Sony name brand.

For the money + quality, check out what Tiffen has.

There's also Canon, Kenko Proline and of course Century Optics.

Don't Optex make them too?

Yes.
http://www.zgc.com/html/optex__65x_w...e__bayonet.htm

I believe ZGC is a board sponser and the only place to get the OpTex in the USA?

Ismail, to answer your question, the Sony lens is excellent glass. Very little barrel distortion, and complete zoom through capability. "Zoom through" means you can zoom the entire range of the lens without the wide converter losing focus. I believe the Raynox is NOT a zoom through. (There are so many of these, I sometimes get them mixed up) You can check on this. Some people will argue that a lens that has minimal distortion and is significantly cheaper, is the better lens, even if it does not have complete zoom through capability. I, on the other hand, want to have complete zoom through capability, and will pay a premium for it.

The problem with the Sony wide lens, is that the front element is very large, almost 4 inches diameter. This will limit you on filter options. It also makes it an easy target for flares. You should be a lens shade for it, which will cost about $100 from www.cavision.com. But that won't solve the filter problem.

You might look at the similarly priced Century Optics, which is great glass in a smaller package. Get the bayonet mount model and it will be easy on/ easy off. More info at www.centuryoptics.com.

But again, the Sony lens is excellent glass.

I wouldnt be suprised if Canon doesnt make the Sony WA lens ??????

Or maybe Raynox does. Who knows, Sony buy in a lot of their components (even their Zeiss lenses) and all are made to pass Sony's pretty strict specification.

Wayne gave a pretty straight answer. Of all the wide-angles I tested for a British video mag, the Century came out tops in the 0.65x range. As so it should - it was a great deal of money. The Raynox 0.66x gave far less barrel distortion though, but at maximum zoom it was very much softer than the Century.

The Century had better coating, has a wonderfully smooth breech lock bayonet and the lens caps don't fall off in sunshine. It's the one to go for if you don't mind barrel distortion.

tom.

The Tiffens are made with very high grade glass, and do have filter threads on the front. A friend of mine has the Kenko Pro wide and tele for the VX2000, and they also have filter threads.

I looked on the Tiffen site and they don't list a 58mm

Bryan, I'm at a complete loss for words. That guy I mentioned that tested these lenses, it must have been a TRV or GL2 or something other than the VX/PD150. So I cannot recommend a wide for you. I thought the Kenko Pro looked damn good, during playback, but I'm sure there's better ones. I would strongly advise against buying a wide without filter threads though. There are times you have to use a UV or polarizer to protect the lens or cut the glare. Remember that fellow in Hawaii? He had a Century tele for his PD150. He did a lot of shooting at the beach, and the darn sand/wind was eating away his expensive Century lens.

Hi Bryan. I spoke with Ian from Lorne Lapham today. They sell the Century .60 for $329. The Sony costs $499. The Kenko XPRO .65 sells for $449. Prices are in Canadian Dollars (0.68 US). The glass is ever so slightly better with the Century, but it does not have filter threads. The Kenko filter threads are 82mm on the outside; and it is suggested that Heliopan slim line filters should be used. To keep this brief, I just want to end with saying that Sony 58mm wide angle comes out of the same factory as Kenko 58mm XPRO. They look almost the same. For further information, Ian can be reached at: info@llsr.com

I'm looking at the various options for a wide angle but really feel a filter holder and lens hood is a must.

The Kenko pro seems the best bet so far. As the front threads are 82mm the filter and sun shade options are limited. I'm looking at the Lee wide angle lens shade with and without (4"x4") filter slots. It can be mounted alone or on a Lee filter holder.

If you use a filter holder on the lens you can clip the lens hood to the holder. You can also mount the shade directly to the lens.

Parts required for slotted lens hood only would just be an adapter ring and the slotted holder.
(approx $230 for the slotted hood and $70 for the adapter)

To use the filter holder as your filter mount and then buy a standard WA hood without slots. ($220 for the WA hood, $95 for the filter holder and $70 for the adapter ring)

There is a standard lens shade available for $98 (no slot) or $115 (2 slot). That way I could use the 4x4" filters on the 58mm filter ring as well.

http://www.leefiltersusa.com/PDFs/Camera/CamPdfIndex.html#

I just bought the Sony Lense for a total of $211.78 (including the shipping) from ecost.com.