Best 0.6X Wide Angle for EX1?
 

Does anyone have a 0.6X wide angle (and a hood) for their EX1 that they like and trust to deliver?

I'd be thrilled if I the adaptor can be fully wide with no vignetting and razor sharp. Don't care about zooming in or leaning cathedrals.... everything is leaning here anyway ;)

There seems to be very little info on this matter and the stuff I'm finding is pretty depressing.

Big thanks :)

i've always been a fan of Schneider Optics. i don't know who else makes a .6x for an EX1.

Michael.....
Go here:
ex1 0.6X

well, without testing each of them and considering the price of each one, i'd go with the Century which is a Schneider product. in my opinion the Century will probably have the sharpest glass.

If you search around you will find several posts of folks mentioning that they are disappointed with the Century 0.6X adaptor.

Anyone else?

I believe those little .6 adapters from Schnider are a different beast than the larger zoom-through ones. If all you are looking for is wideness without zooming then the little ones may be the trick.

Personally I want a full zoom-through .65 for my EX1. At least a .7 with full zoom through. I saw one for 1,200.00 - a bit pricey!. When I got the Century .65 for my VX2100 it was 400.00 and I thought that was a lot - but dealing with all things EX1 I have come to expect everything to be overpriced.

If you're hoping an aftermarket add-on lens adapter is going to be a spectacular performer, I think you might be forever disappointed. I bought my Century/Schneider x0.6 to do one very specific task but I wasn't expecting it to perform at the same level as a dedicated wideangle lens. Given the distortion (barrel) that the Century has, it will never be "great" but it's adequate for my needs. If pristine WA shooting was my main interest, I'd buy either an EX3 with a WA lens or go with one of the DSLR alternatives once they mature.

Well if you would only take a few minutes to consider the differences between the VX and the EX, you'd realize they are completely different beasts by nature. The VX is standard definition 720x480 vs full HD 1920x1080 on the EX. The VX has a 58mm filter size vs 77mm on the EX.

I'd expect it to cost more to make a wide adaptor lens for the EX1 that produces acceptable results. Nevertheless, if you look at the link which Jonathan posted above, the Century .6x for the EX1 is is only $375. But I don't think I'd be happy with this lens myself. I have the Century .6x for my Z1 and it can be fun when you want that distorted wide effect, but it's pretty soft. For the price though, I was not unhappy with the z1 lens. For one thing, the Z1 just isn't as sharp as the EX1 to start with.

You're right Boyd.

It takes some good glass to capture clean HD. I guess I was thinking more generally for EX1 stuff. It seems like a lot of accessories are unnecessarily expensive for the EX1, and video in general. I would like to see a nice sharp zoom-through .65 or .7 WA adapter for the EX1 come in under 1,000.00.

Thanks for the replies folks.

So far nobody has anything to say about the 16X9 Inc. or Cavision adaptors.

I found a thread on another site where someone expressed disappointment with his 16X9 Inc. glass and returned it. Too Soft.

Anyone else here who can comment on a 0.6X wide angle for the EX1 that they know and like?

Jonathan-
I have the Schneider .6 and am quite happy with it. Sure, it does have to be spotless due to the fact that the camera is in macro basically focusing on the wide element itself, but unless shooting into direct light I have not found this to be a deal killer. I have not had a complaint about the sharpness (nor has any client I've sent video to) and yes, it does have barrel distortion, but it is a very wide lens after all! Sometimes that distortion actually enhances a look.
The thing I like best about it is that it is small enough to literally stick in my pocket (in a clean pouch, of course!) and throw it on as needed. Since the camera needs to be in auto focus w/ macro on, and I never shoot in auto otherwise, I just leave the camera in auto and pull the focus ring to 'full manual' for all my regular shooting. Then when I need the adapter, I just push the ring back, let it get in focus, and I'm good to go. I have found that once it has found focus, you can switch the auto focus off (using the 'auto' switch, not the focus ring) so it doesn't 'hunt' and even manually focus from there. (though it rarely needs much adjustment at that point unless you get REALLY close to something)
There is a bit of vignetting on overscan (at least on mine) but I can zoom a bit to clear that, and most of the time it doesn't show up in the clip anyway. Yes, you can zoom a bit, not sure what the range is, but it's actually pretty decent for making a small composition adjustment.
Century also makes a pretty nifty little lens shade which accepts the exact same 4x4 filter holder as my Chroziel matte box. So you can even use 4x4 filters (one, anyway) with the adapter.... but the shade has to be mounted EXACTLY level, or there will be some vignetting from that too. Again, you can always zoom a little past it, but the whole idea of having a .6 is the tremendous wide angle of view, so it's best to make the most of it and take a little effort to make sure everything is set right. It's a bayonet mount, so it goes on and off very quickly.
I bought this for use in very tight spots such as inside a vehicle or aircraft... and for those situations it has been perfect.

Nice work Derek..... exactly what I was hoping for :)

So when you are fully wide on the EX1 lens you do see some vignetting?

And the edges are sharp?

Big thanks for all the extra info as well!

Hey, Jonathan-
On full wide, I do see a minor bit of vignetting... but I believe it's visible only on overscan. I don't generally edit my own content, so I haven't really looked that closely after shooting beyond spot-checking and ingesting to a hard drive. I usually am handing off my footage to a producer and that's the end of it for me. But I've never had a client mention it, so I think it's strictly an overscan issue. When I first started using the adapter, I was zooming in a bit just to be safe, but now I don't even worry about it anymore.
Images do look sharp edge to edge. If I can get some time in the next day or so to I'll get some capture frames and post them for you.
For the money, it's a great little adapter.... of course I'm a big fan of Schneider optics anyway!
Glad this helps a bit.... I'll attempt to get the frame grabs asap

Very cool Derek..... looking forward to the frame grabs!

I'm very far from the west..... a friend will be coming with the adaptor but I need to have it ordered extremely soon.

Also I need a hood but want to keep it simple.... any ideas?

Again a huge thanks for your help with this :)

I believe this is the lens shade that Derek is talking about: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/376587-REG/Century_Precision_Optics_0VS_SS05_00_VS_SS05_00_4x4_Sunshade_Filter_Holder.html
I have one of these and have used it with the Century .6x on my Z1. It's a nicely made product and does not vignette on the Z1. The nice thing about Century/Scheider lenses is that they all have the same outer diameter so you can use the same mattebox and lens shade with all of them.

But I wouldn't be surprised if you got some vignetting on the EX1. I have tried this on the Century .75x on my EX1 and you have to be very careful to align just right. I also have the Century/Schneider mattebox for my Z1 and it's really nice - great build quality. It also works with all their lenses: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/563681-REG/Century_Precision_Optics_0DS_MB44_WEX_0DS_MB44_WEX_4x4_DV_Matte.html