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/video/?&videoSourceID=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.

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

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!!

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.

Do you think it's possible to slip a 77mm threaded filter in between the camera lens and the adapter?

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/

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/product/526428-REG/Sony_VCL_EX0877_VCL_EX0877_0_8x_Wide_Angle.html

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/product/526428-REG/Sony_VCL_EX0877_VCL_EX0877_0_8x_Wide_Angle.html

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.

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.

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

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

Awesome Craig, look forward to it.

- Ray

I just recieved the Sony WA adapter today...mind you the camera won't arrive until tomorrow. The lens is a bayonet mount as mentioned and the front element outer diameter is just under 4.5" in diameter. There is a hard rubber like WA sunshade built onto the lens and it appears to be non-removable. This is an interesting feature should one wish to use the WA with a matte box. I am inclined to beleive that it won't be possible. I am going to look into if the shade is removable from Sony.
The look and build is very, very good however.
Best, Craig

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

A good grab would be the same backgroud with/without the WA.
I got a call from my dealer in France who received 2 WA.
but :

1) would like to have a look at it before
2) would like to have a comparison with the schneider (which is 3 times the price)
3) would like to know if the French price is not 3 times the US price :)

So screen grabs are welcome :)
many thanks

Here are samples with and without the Sony .8 WA adapter.

http://abracadabrastudios.com/EX1/LensWAadapter.htm
Best, Craig

What was your focal distance? Or, how many feet would you have to step back in order to get the same shot without the adapter?

It doesn't look like as big of a difference as I would expect.

What was your focal distance? Or, how many feet would you have to step back in order to get the same shot without the adapter?

It doesn't look like as big of a difference as I would expect.

I was 4.5 feet from the front surface of the center pot.
Best, Craig

0.8x is always going to be a very mild increase, but I'm pretty sure Sony have limited the power in an effort to limit the losses. If you could shoot inside a library (and perpendicular to the bookcase Craig) we could assess the sharpness of the book spines up in the corners as well as seeing if the bookshelves bow outwards from frame centre.

tom.

Thanks for posting the pics. While I've been tempted it just doesn't seem like that gives enough bang for the buck.

A'ight Ryan Avery, it's your turn!

- Ray

Here are samples with and without the Sony .8 WA adapter.

http://abracadabrastudios.com/EX1/LensWAadapter.htm
Best, Craig

Hey. This only looks 20% wider!

Here are samples with and without the Sony .8 WA adapter.

http://abracadabrastudios.com/EX1/LensWAadapter.htm
Best, Craig

My only comment at this time is that the .8x from Sony seems to have alot of Barrel Distortion. I know for a fact that our .75x doesn't display that much BD.

Without seeing this lens shot on a test chart and color pattern I will have to reserve judgement. Thus far I will say that it seems to be a good low budget option for a zoom through piece. For the same money you can buy our .6x partial zooming piece that weighs less. As usual, its always a tough call and there is no perfect answer.

I will attempt to post some shots from my lenses as soon as I can.

Ryan Avery
Schneider Optics

And Ryan, you can still send me some lenses and I'll post the pics! =)

(Can't blame a guy for tryin!)

- Ray

[QUOTE=Ryan Avery;829102]My only comment at this time is that the .8x from Sony seems to have alot of Barrel Distortion. I know for a fact that our .75x doesn't display that much BD.]

Ryan, I am interested in your .6. I would like to know what the front outer diameter is, so as to fit into a mattebox. I would also intend on using your .6 with my Steadicam. Approx. how much of a zoom is possible with your .6 lens before you loose focus? Is there a front thread? What is the mm?
The major drawback about the Sony aside from weight is the non-removable sun shade hence no mattebox.
Best, Craig Hollenback
www.KeysTV.com

[QUOTE=Ryan Avery;829102]My only comment at this time is that the .8x from Sony seems to have alot of Barrel Distortion. I know for a fact that our .75x doesn't display that much BD.]

Ryan, I am interested in your .6. I would like to know what the front outer diameter is, so as to fit into a mattebox. I would also intend on using your .6 with my Steadicam. Approx. how much of a zoom is possible with your .6 lens before you loose focus? Is there a front thread? What is the mm?
The major drawback about the Sony aside from weight is the non-removable sun shade hence no mattebox.
Best, Craig Hollenback
www.KeysTV.com

Craig,

Our .6x has a 105mm outside diameter which should fit into most matte boxes including our Century Wide Angle Matte Boxes made by Vocas. The front thread is 102mm. We tried to make it a standard size but the next common size down was 95mm and the next common size up was 127mm so we went with a custom size of 102mm. We make a 102mm UV and Linear Polarizer. The zoom is about half of the zoom range from wide to mid-telephoto.

Ryan Avery
Schneider Optics

Ryan, Thanks for the info. It sounds great. Can you tell me when it will be available via B&H? Also, will your Vocas matte box work directly (clear the built in mic) with the native EX1 lens as well as your .6x WA adapter. Does it ship with rods, etc?
Best, Craig

Ryan, Thanks for the info. It sounds great. Can you tell me when it will be available via B&H? Also, will your Vocas matte box work directly (clear the built in mic) with the native EX1 lens as well as your .6x WA adapter. Does it ship with rods, etc?
Best, Craig

We have a significant number of back orders on this lens. I would image that B&H will likely have it available some time in late April at this point. I am not certain how many they have on back order.

We have tested our Vocas clamp-on matte box and it works ok with the EX1. The version with rods does not and my understanding is that Vocas is working on an EX1 version with rods. With the current clamp-on version, it clears the mic fine but filter tray has to be loaded from the bottom. My understanding is that all the matte boxes currently available have the same problem but I haven't tested them all.

Ryan Avery
Schneider Optics

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.

Bit late, but as it turned up today I thought I'd oblige. Only got the cam on my phone at the moment so sorry for the quality.

regards

Paul.

look at the photos above
and this link at b&h

Sony | VCL-EX0877 0.8x Wide Angle Lens Adapter | VCL-EX0877 (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/526428-REG/Sony_VCL_EX0877_VCL_EX0877_0_8x_Wide_Angle.html)

anybody knows why the lens hood on this sony wide angle lens not the same?
are they exactly the same wide angle lens?
Which lens hood wood be better?
Thank you for any answers to this questions//////

Because that's not the EX0877 in the B&H picture.

I have the Sony WA and the lens hood is not removable. Someone suggested to saw off the lens hood but not sure how did it go.

Saw off the lens hood John? Whoooh! The lens hood is the cheapest, lightest, most effective and efficient means of upgrading picture quality known to man.

I believe the intent was to allow the WA lens to be used with a mattebox. Something that the permanently attached lens hood makes damn near impossible, especially if you want to use filters.

Here's someone who sawed it off...


http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/sony-xdcam-ex-cinealta/129687-sawing-lens-hood-off-sony-wide-anyone-done-tips-2.html

alister
i know that the photos from b&h and paul joy photos are not the same (hood) but it is exactly the same model. why? whats the difference between the two aside from the hood and which one is the older model?

The B+H photo is wrong.
The photo shown is actually the Sony .8 for the Z1 (i have this lens)

Just ignore the photo with the removable hood.

duncan, thank you sir.....

Do not try to shoot sunsets with the Sony wide angle lens. It flares with at least 3-5 halos bouncing off all the glass in the lens. The normal lens is great at sunsets with super anti-glare coating allowing nice compositions (off center) of the sun with little or no flare. However, the wide angle even centered flares like an Iraqie gun site...

That may be a little harsh of you Greg. You've added four extra elements (in three groups) to your zoom's line-up, so introducing 6 extra air-to-glass surfaces. Even with the best will in the world (and the best multi-coating) you're going to up the flare levels every which way. In lens making terms and tolerances you've added these extra elements off axis with the zoom's centre-line, so exacerbating the flare problem.

Add-on focal length converters are always going to be a second-class way of doing business. They have their uses, but come with unavoidable side-effects.

tom.