I tried Sony's wide angle lens adapter today
 

I tried Sony's wide angle lens adapter today (VCL-EX0877) and was very pleased. I forgot to set the camera's menu setting for "wide conversion lens" to "on" but, I believe that setting only affects OIS. It was full zoom through without vignetting, and, there was no obvious chromatic abberation, or corner softening. The barrel distortion was a bit more than I expected for a .8 adapter, but not too bad all the same. It attached quickly and easily with its bayonet style mount and has a slip on plastic lens protector.(the lens shade from the camera of course does not fit on the larger front of this lens) It's actually quite slick and looks like it is built right onto the front of the camera! It does add a fair bit of weight as it's a big chunk of glass alright. I also noticed that the Schneider Optics line has been announced:

http://www.schneideroptics.com/century/dv/ex/ex.htm

Check out the price of the extreme fisheye!!

You can see the adapter on the camera in this footage from the video forum in London.

http://video.news.sky.com/skynews/vi...urceID=1303834

If only that guy with the suit on would leave it alone that is..... (Sorry Mr Bloom) :)

Craig,did you need to switch the macro function on ? I've got a redeye wide angle for my EX1 but it won't focus unless the macro is on,this is instructions from the redeye site.Also the redeye is nota full zoom through,only up to 25mm before loosing focus.
Also are you saying that with the sony lens there's no need for any sort of lens or mattebox,you get everything you need with the lens ?
Can you tell me where you tried it,and how much ?
Can you PM me if it's not a DVinfo sponsor.
Thanks,Paul.

77mm thread
 

Hi Craig, I'm planning on purchasing the Sony WA you spoke about. Is it a 77mm rear thread on as in their spec sheet?
Do you think it's possible to slip a 77mm threaded filter in between the camera lens and the adapter?
Can you tell me what the front outer dia is in mm? Are there front threads as well?
Thanks,
Craig Hollenback

Craig,

It is good to hear some feedback about the Sony WA Adapter. I would encourage anyone else to tell me about thier experiences with the piece. So far I have noticed a lot of barrel distortion for a .8x on the Sony and it weighs a ton as well.

For the record: Our new converter is a .75x and can accept a filter and lens hood. The .6x is very light weight and the same as before goes for the filter and hood options. The Fisheye is unique and the tele has sharp performance across its useable zoom range.

Thanks for your thoughts on the Sony.

Ryan Avery
Schneider Optics

Craig H - Sony's 0.8x is a bayonet fit and I'm pretty sure comes with its own 16:9 (barn doors lens-cap) hood, as on the V1 and Z1.

I don't think that would be a good idea. You're not supposed to put 'stuff' between a converter and the lens as far as I know.

The adapter is massive and you will definately need a matte box to mount filters in front of it. I'm not sure if 4x4's will do it either, but I ve only looked at it "in passing". It does come with a lens cap, no barn doors afaik.

George/

Bayonet Mount?
 

According to the B&H site, the Sony adapter is threaded, no mention of a bayonet mount, which is preferred. Have they got it wrong or are there two versions out there?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...ide_Angle.html

Ordered today
 

I ordered one today and it will arrive on Wednesday. I'll let your know how it works out . It fit my budget, so I'll have to live with the added weight.
Best, Craig

Can one of you lucky W/A owners post a pic of it mounted on the EX, I'd love to see how it fits. Thanks for the feedback!

Thierry.

Got the wide angle today
 

I just picked up the Sony WA today. It is a bayonet mount. It really looks like part of the lens. The outer diameter is exactly the same as the Fuji and the color is exactly the same. It is about 9cm long.

With the large battery in use the weight distribution from front to back is pretty even. I am thinking about using a skateboarding wrist guard for support when doing extended hand held work. Not really! but between the WA and the BP-U60 the EX1 is feels solid. I had to rebalance my jib with a couple extra pounds.

For my taste wish it went a bit wider. But I am shooting a lot of panoramic stuff next week and it will come in handy.

I am not in a position to post a photo at this moment.

I just can't get over the fact that ok it looks pretty, is beautifully made, matches the 14x zoom in diameter, colour and surface texture, gives sharp zoom-through pictures but at the same time is

bulky, heavy, expensive and adds so little to the wide-angle coverage. Thank goodness the EX1 sees wide right out of the box, because wearing a 0.8x all day long is never a recommendation, and adding to the barrel distortion is generally a no-no.

tom.

Recorder/backup device
 

Moved to new topic

Would be tickled pink if someone could post some vid or even just screen caps of shots taken with the wide on and with it off.

- Ray

Raymond...
 

I will try to post some examples later this week as well as the same shot taken with a Canon 5d with a 24mm lens. I will also attempt to compare an ISO from the Canon to the EX1 in the test as well.
Best, Craig