Steve, I appreciate your reply. It helped.

I really discourages me that so many people could have looked at this thread but yet not be willing to even throw out an opinion.

i have the canon wd-72. i love the lense but i am very wary about using it because i cannot place a filter in front of it without buying a matte box. i had seen one a few days ago that said that it was compatible with the wd-72. ill see if i cant find it again and get back to you.

**edit** http://www.cinetactics.com/Detail.bok?no=15
here is a link for one that the manufacturer claims will work with the wd-72. it is cheap enough so i think that i may pick it up and see.

I had looked at that one, but just wasn't sure. If you decide to buy one, please let me know what you think of it. I really liked that it was collapsible to fit in bags.

Consider that some viewers might have a similar question and are looking for an answer themselves. There are several good threads already on the merits of the WD-H72 that could inform your decision, so you might try the search.

As far as a trade-off between wide angle vs. polarizer, your shooting needs and priorities could answer that. Isn't there a screw-on filter out there that you could mount the adapter to? Haven't tried this myself, but I may.

Chrisopher, i hear ya but there there are not too many options for this.
The WD-72 is the ideal choice and is worth having for other applications.
for this specific application, you will need a giant polarizer and box with the WD-72. it will be a front-heavy monster that i ceratinly would not be dragging around al fresco.

You can also buy a lesser brand WA with front threads and matching polarizer, which may slightly besmirch your image. Search around here and you will see the ones that were discussed.

with the gl2, i used the canon WA and put the polarizer on before the WA with great results. with an xl1-s, the WA 3x lens had front threads..so, my ass is a little chapped over this too.

on the upside, the A1 is pretty damn wide. for such shots that would need
a polarizer, i've just shot without a WA and did just fine.

Eric, the added weight of the matte box and filter is something I hadn't considered in addition to the wd-h72 weight. That might add up to enough to make roaming around falls and rocks for different angles a bit tough.

I had wondered about attaching a polarizer, then the wd-h72, but I wasn't sure how sturdy that would be since the filter rotates. I also wasn't sure about how mounting the wd-h72 to a filter would affect it's use. From what you said, it sounds like you had good results with that.

i do that with a gl2, not an a1. the a1 wd mount is different.

i'm saying.. i think there are some third party lightweight WA's for the A1 with front threads. i don't own any, but some people on here do.

you'd probably have to do something like this

http://www.schneideroptics.com/centu...h-g1/xh-g1.htm
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...olarizing.html

but, i'd really just try shooting some waterfalls without a WA first. trust me, that stock lens is pretty wide, crisp, and 72mm polarizers are easy to come by.

I have the Century .8x and it's awesome. Small and lighter than the Canon, and shows minimal barrel distortion (considering the A1's built-in lens already distorts a lot).

It has an 86mm front thread. With all wide angle lenses, you run the risk of vignetting when putting a polarizer on the front. I tried a standard polarizer on my Century and saw a slight vignette. So I returned the polarizer and am contemplating purchasing a slim polarizer designed for wide angle lenses.

Hope this helps. I've struggled with the wide angle / polarizer set up myself. Other alternative is to spring for a matte box and polarizer, which, although expensive, could be used with future cameras.

What Wide Angle lens if good for the A1?
 

Had a Vitacon 0.5X WA attached with the Macro lens. Well, the macro lens is pretty good, very shallow DOF. However the WA is giving me lots of Vignetting. Zoom out to remove it is ineffective and as I might as well use the fixed lens.
Anyone can recommend any 0.7X or 0.5X WA for the A1 without any vignetting? Good price preferably. Thanks. :)

Folks report good results with the Canon WD-H72.

However, are you proposing to stack adapters?

Kenny,

Schneider/Century Optics has the following available

0HD-06WA-XLH .6X WIDE ANGLE ADAPT HD CANON
http://www.schneideroptics.com/ecomm...=1385&IID=6219

0VS-08CV-72 .8X HD W/A CONVERTER 72MM
http://www.schneideroptics.com/ecomm...=1075&IID=2974

Have always heard great responses on their products.

Scott Cantrell
TapeWorks Texas Inc - HDVinfo Sponser

I have this .6x from Century. It works very well:
http://www.schneideroptics.com/ecomm...=1385&IID=6219

It is the same as the one sold before by Century, but it has differences in the mounting mechanisms for the XH camera.

It is also fairly lightweight.

(This is the first one listed in the post above.)

The .6x from Century is also not a zoom through W.A lens. only the higher priced ones are.

For $399 the Canon WD-H72. is the best in it's class. It is also a zoom through and it comes with a sun shade too.

May I know how heavy is it? I'm using it with Merlin so weight is pretty important I guess. Does it need any step up/down rings to be mounted onto the A1 and is there any vignetting when zoom out? Thanks.

I only had a UV filter attached to my camera lens.