Housing?
 

Jeremy,

What kind of housing are you using?

Why do you want to use diopters?

What port are you using on your housing? (Standard, Macro or Wide Angle?)

What is your subject matter?

The metal rim is not so much a factor as the magnification of your diopter. The more powerful you go, the thicker the lens will be. The containment ring should stay the same. The difference in thickness will be in the glass. This is where you will probably run into a problem as the glass will protrude farther as the magnification intensifies.

You may want to contact the housing manufacturer and ask them what the clearance is from the front of the camera's lens to the rear element of the port, or if equipped with one, the color correction filter that usually swings in between the two.

RB

Thanks
 

thanks for the info...I'll get ahold of the Century folks

Century 0.7 converter
 

hello everybody. My first post here, been reading for a while though.

First let me say that the information in this forum is absolutely wonderful and very informative. I'm foremost a record producer/engineer but with the invention of DVD the borders between audio and video production are shrinking more and more and I am getting into the video side of things. It's almost senseless to try to shop an "audio only" demo to a major label. So, I'm about to buy an XL1S in order to be able to shoot music videos and for some educational DVDs. I did have an XL1 before, which I sold right before the XL1S came out. I still have a Century Optics 0.7 wide adapter for the 16X standard lens. My question: will this converter fit on the Canon 16X manual lens?

Thank you for your help.

Welcome Michael!
I do not have this converter so take my reply with a grain of salt. But, yes, if it screws onto the front of the lens then it will the 16x manual lens. Both lenses share a 72mm thread diameter.

.7 Century
 

Michael:

It wont fit, its just enough off that it wont. However if you are buying the Kit it will fit on the 16XII lens. The 16x Manual it wont however.

I found out the hard way, however thanks to Dean (I think that was who told me) another member on the board Ive found out Century will retrofit that adapter to fit the manual. I beleive he said it was about $100 to have it done.

Hope this helps

M

Michael,
For the benefit of others, what is it about this .7 adapter that does not enable it to fit on the 16x Manual Servo lens? The filter size and threading on the manual and servo lenses are the same size and, I believe, pitch.

what it is
 

Ken:

The 72mm screw on part of the lens is the same, but the century is a bayonet mount (pro dv .7 wa is what I think were talking about the one I have). There is a slight difference on the way it can mount on from the standard lens. It seemed to almost work but theres just a slight difference with the twist on where it dosent quite catch.

I actually called Century when i first tried it and they verified the problem, they didnt offer a retrofit then. Now they do offer a choice when you order one, you can choose between one which will mount on the 16xII/I or the 16Xmanual. (both are the same price I think).

As I said I wasnt aware of the retrofit but this discussion came up about a month ago on the board and Dean Sensui (forgive me if I have it wrong/trying to give credit for some good information) pointed out he managed to get his retrofitted by Century for about $100. I plan on having mine reworked next month when Im in California.

Sorry I cant give you the technical reason, its simply a slight off on the groove twist on mounting for the bayonet between the two lenses.

Michel

Thanks for your help guys

That's what I was afraid of. I assume after it gets modified by Century to fit the 16X manual lens it probably won't fit the 16xII anymore. Looks like I need to invest in another adaptor.

Century optics Wide angle adapters
 

Hello folks,

I'm looking to buy a wide angle adapter for my XL1-s. I wanted to get the .7 Century optics, but the price is alittle high. The .6 seems to have a wider angle and is less expensive. I'm wanting to shoot weddings, events, and maybe some music videos or documentories. Will the .6 be good for me or restrict me? If there are any users out there your comments would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Jerome

The Century .7x is a full zoom-through converter which produces a 30% wider field of view. It works throughout the entire zoom range of the 16x lens, and therefore it's a bigger piece of glass. That's why it's more expensive.

The century .6x is a partial-zoom adapter which produces a 40% wider field of view. It works only at the wider end of the 16x lens. Since it's a smaller piece of glass, it's less expensive than the .7x.

If you need full zoom-through capability, then the .7x is the right one for you. If you prefer a slightly wider field of view, would rather spend less and don't mind the limited zoom capability, then the .6x is the one you want.

Thanks for the info. :-)

Chris, what do you think is better the Century Optics or Canon's 3X?

7X Century doesn't fit on XL1 lens
 

I just purchased a 7X Century wide angle lens attachment for my XL1. When I affix it to the bayonet system on the XL1 lens, it is very loose and actually fell off (softly) one time. This can't be normal.

Has anyone else had this problem? Am I missing a part? Also, the lens itself rotates, is this a focus movement?

To what lens did you attach this? What is the diameter of the
filter? Did you attach it without the lens hood?

You know, Century Optics sell two differents models of .7 WA for the XL1: one with a mounting system for the XL IS standard lens (white) and another one for the manual lens. are you sure you bought the good one for your lens?

The WA attachment features a locking ring as part of the bayonet mount. The lens itself will rotate after you mount it -- this rotation will lock the whole assembly onto your lens. It's not a focusing feature.

If the WA lens doesn't fit perfectly onto your lens, then, as Jean-Philippe mentioned, you have the wrong adapter. You can return it or -- if it's a used lens -- have Century convert it to fit. The conversion will cost about $100.

Dean Sensui
Base Two Productions

Nathan...

Hope you don't mind my putting my $0.02 in here.

Using the 0.7x adapter has more flexibility than using the 3x Canon. It gives the same coverage but a deeper zoom range.

Personally, I have a 0.7x mounted on my 16x manual lens and seldom take it off. In fact, I wish there were a lens designed with this particular focal range.

Dean Sensui
Base Two Productions

Century .7X
 

Thanks for the info. It is the IS lens 16X zoom with auto focus.
I'll take it to Century and have them figure it out.
It seems to work optically just fine but I have to tape it on.

BB.

Don't mind $0.02 worth at all. Just looking for advice.

I was shooting a video in cockit of a Piper Warrior and I was wondering what I could do to improve the width.

Nathan...

Glad to give an opinion. If it's in a cockpit, the 3x might be a better choice as it's much more compact.

So now it's up to $0.04 :-)

I used to fly a Piper Warrior when I was an active pilot. Sure miss flying.

Dean Sensui
Base Two Productions

The Century Optics wide adapters use the bayonet mount in place of the lens hood, don't they? Would I be better served to buy a 72mm threaded adapter if I want to keep the lens hood on? Does anyone have any info on the Digital Optics .5 or .45 adapters that are all over EBay now?

if it's possible, can you put a century .6 on top of the 3x lens? if so does that mean you get an even wider and more distorted look (2.35?)

Cavision vs. Century
 

Hi,

could somebody give me a break down why to buy a Cavision and not a Century or vice versa Matte Box?
From what I can see (on the Net) Century seems to be a better quality (looks more solid) well and they have a better Internet presentation (we all know we can't judge the quality of the product from that)

How well do these Matte boxes work with the 3x Wide lens from Canon?

Thanks for the Help.

Shaggy

Oh yeah, are all the Cavision Matte boxes the same? They only Mention Sony and Panasonic Camcorders on the B&H page.

I bought Cavision bellows matte box from B&H in parts, because they didn't sell a complete kit for the XL2. The quality of the components is excellent, however, the bellows arrived from B&H with missing rails and mounting hardware. A few emails(which were never responded to) and a phone call to B&H customer service told me they had to refer my question to Cavision. I've NEVER heard back from B&H.

At this point, I must say that the Cavision product is very well made, however, trying to find a place willing to support Cavision is difficult. Considering the outrageous price of their componentry, I consider this to be fraudulent.

Century 1.33 Anamorphic / 16x Servo Lens
 

I just purchased the Canon 16x Servo lens for my XL1s and then got a Century 1.33x Anamorphic lens adapter for it. The adapter is a bayonet mount with instructions on how to mount it on the lens. I have gone over these instructions several times now yet the adapter remains loose on the lens; it can even be remove without reversing the mounting procedure. A matching flanged mount and tightening ringing are supposed to be lined up with the distance line mark on the adapter. This is then mounted and turned till hitting an internal flange stop. Then the tightening ring is suppose to be turned further, in the same direction until the adapter is pulled tight up against the lens.

It seems that the bayonet mounts internal flange width isn't quite thick enough for the turning ring to clamp down on the corresponding lens bayonet flange.

Is this a defect in the lens? Adapter? Just the way it is? I am missing something? I have to adapt something for tightening? Or the lens adapter should be returned for another? Anyone else have a similar problem?

The adapter is CEVSWS13MXL (Century's number) $1299. - VSWS13MXL (B&H Photo number). The lens is Canon 16x Servo Manual Zoom XL 5.4-86.4mm, $1499. Both are quite expensive (to me at least) and I thought that for the price and the fact they were designed to work together that they should have a positive and tight fit up.

As is, I would be afraid of the adapter falling off while in use. I also don't see how the combination could maintain any type of focus, though I have not tried it out yet to see if that is true.

I am shooting an expedition near the end of this month and need the issue addressed.

Any help would be appreciated.

Fix
 

OK, guess I will be answering my own questions here.

Called Century and found out that sometimes the Lens bayonet mount isn't "timed" properly, closing tightly on the lens flange. There is a field fix, but involves removing some optical pieces and trial-and-error adjustments till it seats properly. I opted to just send it back to their California plant for the "timing" adjustment. My understanding is that this is more of an improper clocking of the mount internally, not allowing the mechanism to close down enough to lock on. They gave me their Fedex number and said it should be back this week adjusted properly.

Use on other lenses
 

I also found out that these adapters can be used on other lenses just by re-timing the mounts. Unfortunately, Canon decided to change the thickness of the bayonent flange mounts; 16x Manual is thinner and made of hardened metal whereas the 16x Auto is thicker and made of composite material. They also recomended that the only sun shade I should consider is a taped on black piece of construction paper. I also have used a superclamp setup and a large umbrella... works great! Now for filters....

richard,

i appreciate you sharing this info with us. i'm sure it will prove useful for me and others down the road.

good luck...

Finally got the 1.33 adapter back
 

from Century last night. They were not the most cooperative company to work with and I will be going out of my way to not use any more of their products. Sure the unit came back finally fixed but the lackadaisical way they approached the fix on my new purchase tells me that they do not value customers at my level. A couple hour fix took 16 days to get back to me. Why they could not have just sent me a new one escapes me since they stressed to me how big of an operation they really have there in California.

I do have a question though... I know it is helpful to put the camera viewfinder in the 16:9 line mode, but I don't see too much squeeze with this 1.33 adapter. I shouldn't be using the camera setup 16:9 mode as well, right? This method is new to me and yes I am going to shoot some tests first of course. I will also be using a DTE hard drive and laptop to make sure everything in the field is working as advertised.

So now I adjusted the back focus ring on the Canon 16x Manual Servo lens and then attached the adapter to it and discovered it would not focus very well at infinity. Checking the lens carefully I discovered that the macro button was pushed in and stuck there. I tried everything to get it unstuck... it is straight out of the box that way.

I am taking it back to Glazer’s tonight to see what they can do about it. My shooting date is quickly approaching. I am doing a documentary of an expedition for the History channel which will be airing after Nov. this year. I am cutting some things real close this time. My stabilizer arm is still in route. Wish things would a little easier.

We will be using horses and ATV's during the expedition and shooting with sticks will be all but impossible for most of the stuff.

Loose screw
 

The macro button housing became misaligned when one of its screws loosened up. Glazer's fixed the problem on the spot.

Try the Cinetactics MatteBlox. See if the opening on their soft matte box is large enough for your lens. I use it on my much smaller (but native 16:9) PDX10.

Sean McHenry

Century wide angle converter
 

Hi all,
I'm just wondering if anyone here is looking for a wide angle converter.
I have a Century Pro DV .7X model for sale in the classified forum if anyone is interested. I made a mistake when I bought it, because it won't fit the 20X lens
of my XL2. It's a beautiful piece of lass with zoom through.
Cheers
Jon

Bayonet mount? Century will modify the mount for you - at a cost.

I have the 0.6x, and can make it fit on the XH-A1 with a bit of careful manipulation. It take a bit of practice to get it down.