Beginner is looking for lens advice
 

Hi,

I am a beginner wedding videographer and I was wondering what lenses some of you use on your camcorders for weddings. I already use macro lens to get more in the shot, but I have to be careful not to zoom out so much that it creates fish eye effect.

Is there a wide angle lens that will not create fish eye effect at maximum zoom out?

So, what else it there that could make my job easier and better?

How about other accessories for wedding videography?

Hi Peter,

It depends on what camera you are shooting with, but generally speaking, look for a .7. If you go much wider than that, you will see some of the fisheye look you referred to. When I shot with a PD150/170 I used a Canon WD-58, which is a .7.

Now that I am shooting with the Z1, I want to get a Century Optics .7.

Other accessories to make the job easier? What gear are you currently using. One danger in adding more gear is that you have to haul around all of that gear, so you need to be selective.

Not to steal the answers from the original poster, but can anyone answer this question pertaining to a Sony FX7. I actually was just starting to look into this!!!

You might want to check this out. http://www.vfgadgets.com/RedEye.htm

John

Hi Dawn,

I would check out the V1/FX7 forum here at DVInfo. There are several threads on wide angle lenses over there.

Hi John,

I bought a Red Eye .7 at NAB. I liked it with the Z1 on the Glidecam because it weighs practically nothing, but I found it lacking in that it could not zoom in more than about 50%. I was looking for a .7 that I could zoom to 100 % and still look good. You know, a lens that can stay on the camera practically all day, except for the actual ceremony.

The Century Optics that I tried out at WEVA was great. The quality was very high and it uses a bayonet mount. The only two negatives were the price and the weight, but that's the price to pay when going HD with a 72mm thread.

Also look here:

http://www.raynox.co.jp/english/video/hdrfx7/index.htm

Stelios

Thanks Mark. I wondered about zoom through. I have a Century optics for my 58mm thread and love the glass. I would like to get one for my 72's. Maybe Santa will bring me one :)

Peter,

It depends on what camera you are using but Schneider Optics makes the Century .6x for most current HDV cameras. The adapters are partial zooming and the converters are full zooming. If you want the widest possible, buy a wide angle adapter. It will give you little barrel distortion with as little loss of resolution at the edges as possible.

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

Ryan Avery
Regional Sales Representative
Schneider Optics