Anyone familiar with these? http://tinyurl.com/36svv5

My friend improvised one onto his HD100 and got a full zoom through for less than 100 bucks.

I can't see how a 58mm diameter add-on can work without vignetting when you rig it on an 82mm thread lens....
If there is a larger diameter version, it could be worth using for quick shots where some image quality sacrifice is worth it to get the perspective you need.
Trust me, I'd love to find a reasonable priced solution until I can afford a more quality accessory.

sean,

im the friend of brian, that link points to an 58mm converter, but what i actually used was a 67mm. I cant find a photo of it to show to brian that shows the vitacon except that 58.
What i did was took apart an 82mm uv filter by unscrewing the threaded inner lock ring that holds the glass in place and used that small ring NOT the outer frame.
I cemented the threaded lock ring on the "waist" of the vitacon .05x wide angle lens adapter this will engage the 82mm thread of the jvc and will let the 67mm side of the lens goes IN and closer to the front glass element of the stock jvc lens. This prevents vignetting.

Ted

When I got my camera I was surprised when I first looked at the stock lens. The thread ring is 82mm, but the actual front element is only about a 58mm! There's a lot of room between the two and if someone could measure the size I'm sure that the front element itself would be surprisingly small.

This lens trick would probably work fine with a 67mm and not vingette because of the small front element. I'm not sure if jvc made the front thread 82mm just to boost the numbers and make it seem larger, or possibly to ensure no vingetting. But for whatever reason this is probably a viable option if your strapped for cash and are good and making things.

If you have some pictures you could post Ted that would be great.

Ben

I'm pretty sure this particular setup won't work with my 17x though... The front lens glass is quite close to the filter ring, and only a few mm smaller in diameter.

Heres a pic of the modified Vitacon lens;
http://tedramasola.9k.com/images/vitacon%20pic1.jpg

Heres a comparison shot
http://tedramasola.9k.com/images/with%20&%20without%20pic.jpg

if no pic show up click this link
http://tedramasola.9k.com/about.html

I agree Sean, I doubt it would work on any other professional lens. That's why I said I was surprised when I looked at the lens. I work with a lot of lenses and they all have the large front element right up next to the thread. So when I saw what fuji did with the 16x I thought that was a very clever trick. It really is a small diameter lens and not even close to 82mm. The 17x probably has a legitimate 82mm, or very close to it, front element.

Oh well, I'm not saying I dont' like the stock lens, you just get what you pay for. It works for me.

Yeah Ted, it looks like it does the job. If a person has the money I think it's best to buy a full 82mm thread on, but this is a really great option. Even if it wasn't zoom through it would be a great way to provide a wide angle shot on a budget. Nice work and good find.

Ben

Is the lens you used actually 62mm?

Here are a bunch of Vitacon wide angles, and there is no 67mm.

Is one of these the one you actually used?

http://www.globalmediapro.com/do/category/vitaconlenses

Jack,
The one i used is not in those photos.
I believe the one i retrofitted is for DSLR, here are some photos.

Ted, can you also post your photo of your workstation before and after the WA converter?

Heres a with and without pic.

Ted, you are a really clever guy!
If I had the 16x, I'd be going for this real quick!
The skateboard adapter is cool too - but the 120 DOF adapter! That I'll post about where it got moved!

Clever indeed.

Even more so being that it's wider than the WCV-82SC 0.8x and a quarter of the cost. How does the glass perform with the zoom through, is there much detail loss either wide or tight? The WCV-82SC 0.8x is a good piece of glass but I still see the image go a tad soft when I press my nose to the screen (something we do often).

If you make another I would seriously consider buying one from you.
At 0.5x that's a lot more useful than our costly 0.8x.

Either way thanks for sharing.

Daniel,

the vitacon gives a sharp image from the widest 5.5 to about 15 on the stock fujinon lens.
Im attaching big comparison files, but note that these are already jpgs. I do see a slight barrel effect but i can live with it under the conditions that i use it with.

If you can find that type of lens there, it would be easy to make yourself.

I can help you with it if you got the lens.

Ted

Perfect, the additional images are exactly what I needed. I noticed the barreling as well and although it's not ideal it is a fair trade off considering the cost factor for a 0.5x zoom through. I also see a little more CA than the shot without the adapter, but mostly at the edges and no more than we have found on the 0.8x adpater.

I'm more then willing to try and build one as well, with your help of course. You think that maybe any 82mm filter lock ring should work? Also, I'm not finding a lot of the Vitacon DSLR HD 67mm 0.5x adapters anywhere.

Find an 82mm filter where the glass is held in place by a notched lock ring. you use this notch to unscrew this ring that holds the glass in place.

You might ask, why not use the outside frame? I tried it before but the frame is too high. The inner ring has a thread that is similar to the outside frame of 82mm.

You slip this down the waist of the WA adapter, tape it place then cement it using a strong epoxy mixture. in my case i used pioneer marine epoxy.

tip: wrap the rest of the WA and ring(especially the thread) with masking tape to prevent your epoxy or cement from damaging the threads and glass.

Attached is a CU shot of a filter sample.