Century wide angle converter

[Chris Hurd]

Hi Ryan,

Rest assured these companies are not "teaming up" and this is not a money-making scheme. The fact is that quality glass has been and always will be relatively expensive.

I've used the Century fisheye before with both lenses and I'm hoping you understand that either way you'll get serious image distortion (of course many people want that effect). However the 3x plus the fisheye is not a very useful combo in my opinion. A lot of the recordable image area is going to consist of barrel vignetting. The 16x plus fisheye is a reasonable combination but I don't think you'd like the 3x plus fisheye unless you like a big black ring around everything.

Also, keep in mind that the 3x lens at $1100 is a bargain by videography standards... most professional broadcast video lenses start at around two or three thousand dollars, and skyrocket upward from there. The Canon 3x is one of the least expensive lenses to be found. Hope this helps,

[David Crusoe]

I have just purchased a Century Optics .6x adapter; I realize that it does not thread using conventional adapter threads, but do notice threads on the front of the lens. Being the immaculate type, I'd like to know what filter-size the front threads take. Looking at the Century Optics website, I get the impression that I'd need a 95mm adapter. However, the site is unclear if the 95mm is the OD (outside diameter) or ID (inside diameter) of the lens front. Anyone know?

Thanks!

David Harsany Crusoe

[David Crusoe]

Ok, so I talked to some people at the B&H "used equipment" department; apparently, the filter isn't a 95mm filter, but something in the 92-94mm range. Has anybody out there used a NON-Century Optics filter with their .6x wide angle adapter? Am I forced to purchase the 4x4 century optics kit?

[Andrew Petrie]

I believe you're using a bayonet style adapter - If you can't attach the stock sunshade, it's a bayonet. I think the only way around that is with a mattebox, maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong. I opted for the 3x lens instead of a bayonet adapter.

You may want to seriously consider some sort of shade with that adapter anyways. Light spill and flares really hurt a good shot :)

[Mark A. Foley]

Looking for a hood when I use the Century wide angle adapter...where?
Mark

[Mark A. Foley]

Found the hood I needed on Century's website (VS-FH44)....guess I should looked closer.....

[Jeffrey A. Dear]

Comparing the two wide angle conversion lens for the 16X, is one higher quality than the other based on experience? Also, I know the Century is only function in Auto mode with parital zoom capability (10X for the Optex). Is that the case for the Optex?

Thanks,

Jeffrey

[Frank Granovski]

Both these adaptors were reviewed in DV Magazine - http://www.dv.com. Also, you might find some info about them at: http://www.adamwilt.com

One of our members decided on the Optex over the century, but it was for his VX2000.

[Jeremy Monroe]

Hi there-

I'm wondering if I can fit a Century 72mm achromatic diopter between my Xl1s lens and the port of my underwater housing. If anyone has one of these, I would be very grateful for a measurement (mm) of the thickness of the metal rim. Thank you.

Jeremy

[Jeff Donald]

Century precision is very good with details like this. If you email or call them they will do everything they can to assist you.

[Rick Bravo]

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

[Jeremy Monroe]

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

[Michael Wagener]

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.

[Ken Tanaka]

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.

[Michel Brewer]

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