Wide Angle Lense for XLH1
 

What are the options for Wide Angle Lenses for the XLH1?

Are Canon going to release new lenses or does one currently buy/use what is currently on offer?

Canon Australia said at our launch, that Canon are currently working on further HD lenses for the XL H1. They also mentioned that they currently are working on 4 - 6 lenses in total - possibly more in the future .

They would not pass on any other information regarding it however.

And none of us really knows if or when any new XL lenses might appear on the scene. My own suspicion is that there will NOT be any new lenses for at least many months, probably towards a year. But that's just a guess -- there is NO official information from Canon on more lenses at present so for the near term, I'd recommend other solutions.

Personally, I think my existing 3x is going to perform well enough when I really need a WIDE shot. Early indications are that mini35 is going to perform really well with the H1, so that with a wide lens might be another option, depending on a person's needs:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=57376

To Bad...
 

...if Canon ("the lens company") won't do a HDV wide soon! /J

Fujinon has already introduced an HD wide angle for the JVC HD100, but when HD100 owners found out that it was going to have a street price of around $10,000 (double the cost of the camera) there was much sobbing and tearing of hair. When you consider the cost of wide angle HD lenses for the 2/3" format you can see why a Fujinon rep called $10K a "bargain priced" lens, still most HD100 owners just couldn't get over the fact that the lens cost would be a multiple of the price of the body. Since this Fujinon wide lens has not exactly been flying off the shelves, it may be that Canon is still trying to find a cost vs. quality ratio that would be attractive to H1 users.

Has anyone tried the Century HD add-on? I seldom need a wide lens, and would consider this as an easy and relatively inexpensive sollution if it's any good. My experience with these type lenses has been not great in the past, but wondered if anyone has tried one of the new ones yet... Steve Rosen