Errrr, why do you need 2 lens hoods?

Guy, would it cause any scratches on the flange of the built-in hood of the Pany if the rectangular Hama is clipped on to it? I hate scratches :-) That's a pretty cool looking hood!

Why I need two hoods?
I don't really know, but it's always nice to have something to chose from. ;-)

Just put a Bower super wide angle on my GS-400 at the Sawgrass mall in Ft. Lauderdale...............It vignettes at wide open but looked clean thru LCD ........They wanted $320 I beleive it was a .490......More info soon!

Just put a Bower super wide angle on my GS-400 at the Sawgrass mall in Ft. Lauderdale...............It vignettes at wide open but looked clean thru LCD ........They wanted $320 I beleive it was a .490......More info soon!

vignetting in card mode
 

Hi,

vignetting is the black area in the 4 corners, right?

I've tested the Vitacom .5x wide angle lens on the GS400. Didn't see any vignetting in video mode but when I switch to card mode, I see it at 1x. When I zoom to 2x, not more vignetting.

Question:
* What are the benefits of the wide angle lens besides
providing a wider angle view and letting more light into the
camera?
* Should I leave the side angle lens attached at all times? Seems
troublesome to take it off and on all the time.
* With the vignetting effect in the card mode, I would prefer to
use the wide angle lens only in video mode. Any suggestions?

$320...WHEW! That's a chunk of change! My Kodak Ektanar was only $40 and it doesn't vignette.

Alvin, a wide angle does not let in more light but it does provide an increased field of view. Leaving it on all the time is a matter of preference. If you shoot a lot of close up videos, then maybe leave it on.

Thanks guy.

Any idea why vignetting only happend in card mode
and not video mode?

If not for this problem, I would leave it on all the time. Come to think of it, if I only intend to tape video but not photo snapshots, then it would be ok.

The GS400's field of view is wider in card mode than in video mode (37.6 degrees vs. 44.5 in video).

Yes, it's using more of the chip's surface area in the stills mode than in video mode, which makes for wider wide-angles using the same focal length lenses.

Note that although a wide-angle converter ''sees more'', it's also useful for its perspective control, where items close to the camera are given more prominence that those further away. A bit like the reverse of telephoto compression if you like.

Also note that fitting a wide-angle converter will lose you a bit of light. Not much, but if you're down on your knees in the gloom, take off converter lenses, filters and stick to the wide end of the zoom.

tom.