VCL-308BWH Wide-Angle Lens Hood & Filter
 

Are any of you other guys experiencing this? After you screw a lens filter on the VCL-308BWH Wide-Angle Lens, the lens hood won’t go back on. There’s simply not enough room between the filter and the hood. So if you plan to use any kind of filter, like a clear protective filter or a polarizer, you won’t be able to use the lens-hood.

I recently took the VCL-308BWH to a large electronics – camera store here in Tokyo. The store was nice enough to let me take the filters out of the boxes and try them on the lens but to my surprise, not a single one was thin enough to allow the lens-hood to be reattached. Not even the “thin” or “wide” type of filters fit.

I’ll keep looking for a solution. In the mean time if anybody else is experiencing this or has a solution, please let me know.

I don't have the wide angle lens, but it seems that since a clear filter fits on the stock lens, one should fit on the wide angle too.

should is the key word

a lot of things should be

Have you tried contacting Sony? It would seem pretty mean of them not to make room for a thin filter.

Zach, the wide-angle lens is 82mm while the stock lens is 72mm. I thought I'd ask around first before contacting Sony, but that's on my list of things to do in '09.

That's not good.

I was planning on getting the Z7 and the wide angle.
hmmm.....


As far as I'm concerned, a uv filter for protection is a must.


-Bill

Sony are telling you not to fit a filter to the front of their wide-angle converter, and it's very good advice indeed. When you're talking focal lengths in the 3 mm region then even keeping the front element of the wide-converter spotless is nigh on impossible, and adding a filter brings two more imperfectly cleaned surfaces into the picture. And with a filter placed ahead of the front element the dust and imperfections are even more included by the deep dof than the native front element alone.

tom.

I never put any filter in front of my camera. If not in use, just a flip of a switch and the lens is covered and protected. I do event and never have a problem.

Jun

Tom, thanks for the advice. the VCL-308BWH is the actual lens, it's not an attachment. My two-cents is always keep a protective filter on your investment. It's just a matter of time before it will come into contact with water, mud, gravel, a zipper, spit, what have you.

I guess the solution is to be extra careful w/ the lens & always close the barn doors (the lens hood has these just like the stock lens, right?)

overall, how do you like the lens?

The lens has only been used on one job so far so I can't really give a good evaluation right now. But I'm satisfied with it. It's a good lens.

Any noticeable difference in image quality from the stock lens?

I've found that I get problems with internal reflections from screw on filters on the Z7 stock lens. Has anyone else found this? It seems to be a particular issue with this lens.

I certainly hope you're using super multi-coated filters with any lens you attach to your camcorder. Whatever you attach up there becomes your zoom's front element remember, and as such needs to have the very best coating available.

You're dealing with focal lengths in the 1"/8 inch region - so space your fingertips that far apart and marvel at the tiny dimension from optical centre to chip surface. And remember this - if Sony thought adding another element to the front of their zoom was going to improve it in any way then it would be there. It isn't, so take note.

tom.

Thanks for that advice, Tom. I'll reconsider using a filter.

Review?
 

Hi Anthony, you have been using the lens for a while now and I would like to know what you think about it.
I'm really interested in buying a Sony Z7 with this lens, but would like to know more about it.

Could you perhaps share some footage shot with it? How does it compare to the stock lens, etc.?

Same here, I would like to know how it performs. In the specs I see that is has a (35 mm equivalent) of 24mm in it's widest angle. That is not really wide (I'm used to 14 mm on my photo cams). Is it wide enough for you?

I can show you two newsitems I shot with Sony's wide angle lens and standard lens on the S270:

Wide angle lens:

Zwaargewonde bij botsing met wals op snelweg Zideo, de grootste Nederlandse videosite waar je geld verdient met jouw video.

Standard lens:

Grote uitslaande brand in leegstaande boerderij Zideo, de grootste Nederlandse videosite waar je geld verdient met jouw video.

For foreign users, please skip the Dutch language voice-overs....

Tomorrow I can shoot two footages with both lenses from the same position if you want.

I entirely agree - it's not *really* wide, just usefully wide. And to think the Panasonic 151 comes with a 28 mm wide end to the zoom right out of the box.

I'm of the opinion that if you go to the trouble of carrying, storing and fitting a wide-angle then it should be good and powerful. When my aspherical adapter is on my Z1 I have a 17 mm to 132mm (equivalent) f/1.6 to f/2.2. (7.8x zoom).

The 308BWH Sony lens is 24 - 192 mm, f/1.6 to f/2.4 as a reference (8x zoom).

tom.

Thanks for the footage Gabor!

I would really appreciate it if you would make some comparison footage of the two lenses in use. Perhaps (if it's not to much trouble) you can also show a bit of pan and tilt movements of the wide lens in use.

Are you using a 35mm camera or a DSLR with a full frame chip? Because most DSLRs today are using chips smaller than the frame of a 35mm negative. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but a 14mm lens on a Canon Rebel or Nikon D40 (budget DSLR) will have the same Field-of-View as as 21mm lens on my 1970s Minolta 35mm SRT-102.

Zach, Nikon cameras with a DX sized image device are indeed a 1.5 FOV factor when compared to 35mm film. FYI Nikon D200's or D300's certainly can not be considered "budget DSLR's" even though they do use DX sized imagers. I am not a Canon guy, but I think some of their DSLR's were a 1.6 factor.

Yep, I'm using the Canon 5D, full frame. 14mm is 14mm. So I tend to find everything else 'not really wide enough'.

Thanks for the info. I'd rather go for an aspherical adapter then, as soon as there is one for the Z7. Or am I mistaken and is there one already?

Stupid question: I had lots of problems with dust gathering on my Canon 5D's chip. I can imagine, when changing lenses on a Sony HVR-Z7 the problem is many times worse, given the small size of the chip. Do you clean the chip the same way I clean my 5D's? That is: with wet pads.

On the Z7, there is a prism that is exposed when you change lenses. The CMOS chips are not exposed at all.

Here's the next stupid question then: if dust gathers on the prism, what's the best method to get if off?

On a camcorder a 3.5 mm (like the Fujinon 13x lens) or 3.3 mm (Sony VCL lens for the Z7) is really wide!
Sure, on a digital still camera you can go wider, but I wouldn't recommend it for a camcorder. Because you have to be able to make pan and tilt movements without to much wide distortion these lenses give on a digital still camera. I have a 12mm to 24mm on my photo camera and if I look through the eye piece and move the camera around it looks really weird. I don't want to record that on tape. But if you keep the camera still and take a photograph it looks great.
It's also more expensive to get a nice wide angle lens for camcorders. I've worked with converters, but I don't like the barrel distortion you get from it... it looks cheap. I also have a digital (SD 4:3) camera with a Canon 4,4mm wide angle lens. And if you start working with such a lens, you don't want to use converters anymore. But unfortunately sometimes you have no choice.

So that's why I'm interested in this lens for the Z7. If I want to go extreme wide I will get a fish eye lens. ;) Otherwise I want a good wide lens that will fit most filming situations that I can keep on the camera most of the time.

I know what you mean Derran. When you film a constantly moving vehicle passing a camera fitted with a non barrel-distorting superwide the vehicle decelerates towards the centre of the frame and accelerates away from it. Same if you pan across a static scene - objects decelerate towards frame centre as they get smaller and accelerate away from it as they become larger.

If you do the same thing with a barrel distorting lens you lose this effect. Objects appear to move across the frame at a constant speed, but they grow larger in the middle as they barrel. And telegraph poles bend one way and then the other.

But super-wides are often used in what I call 'frightening' situations, where people move room to room or run through mazes (The Shining). It's at times like these that the non-distorting super-wide really earns its keep.

tom.

Yes absolutely.
Super wide is something you can't use for everything but their are moments you can really benefit from this effect. Also for a music shoot it can be useful. Same goes for a fish eye lens. You don't want to use it for your normal everyday shooting, but for action sports or music video's it can be a very useful effect.

Luc - I would use an air canister. Very carefully.

Still waiting for someone to post some direct comparison shots of the two lenses. High res stills would be appreciated - thanks in advance.

Thanks Mike.

I see what you mean, I hate barrel or cushion distortion as much as you do. But, as I'm only filming for fun, I find all these nice wide angle lenses too expensive. Which is, in your opinion, an acceptable convertor for the Z7?

Hi Luc. I don't have a Z7 yet, but hopefully I will own one soon. I now have two camera's and one is a Z1 (which I like to replace with the Z7). On the Z1 I use the 0.8x wide converter from Sony. It does gives a bit of barrel distortion.
I'm not sure, but I think that I've seen images of the Z7 with the Z1 wide converter mounted on the front. But perhaps someone else can confirm this. If this is indeed possible, I would recommend the Sony converter.

I've also used a few Century Optics converters the last couple of years and although they are very well build, I probably wouldn't use them again. The barrel distortion was to noticeable for me. I shoot a lot of real estate, so I need to have a wide angle of view without too much distortion. But still, it's a good piece of glass and I know people that are very happy with it and never take it of their lens.

It has taken me a litlle more time than I expected. Her it is:

Sony Carl Zeiss Wide Angle Lens Test on Vimeo

Oops, it's been deleted from Vimeo, Gabor.

Derran - I'm pretty sure the Sony 0.8x designed for the Z1 won't fit the (same thread size) Z7. The Z7's zeiss lens is of a quite different construction to the Z1's.

Ah too bad the link isn't working anymore. I really wanted to see the footage. Thanks Gabor, for taking the time to make this vid for us. Hopefully you can get it back online.

Tom, I must have seen it wrong then. Didn't Sony make a wide converter for this camera?

Yes, Sony make a 0.8x for the Z5 and the Z7 - it's just that I think they're different lenses and not interchangeable. Real users will know more.

Seond chance! If not in HD via Vimeo than back to SD:

Sony Wide Angle Lens Test Zideo, de grootste Nederlandse videosite waar je geld verdient met jouw video.

Yes fantastic! Thank you very much for this footage, really helpful. Looks like a great lens. This is the real wide view I was searching for.

Gabor, You use it on a S270 right? Do you ever take it off, or leave it on the cam the whole time?

Derran, yes, indeed I do use the version for the S270 which is slightly different from the Z7 version. It is my standard lens on the camera but so now and then I switch to the standard lens if I need more teleview. Both lenses are built with the same quality and optical there is no difference. Advantages of the standard lens compared to the wide angle lens: Longer zoomrange and barndoors on the front. The lenscap of the w/a lens drops off all the times. Every time I put the camera on the ground the lenscap drops of, quite frustrating.

Yes it can be very frustrating, if the lenscap keeps falling off. Too bad they didn't use the integral lens cap. Especially on a wide angle you want to keep the lens dust free. Otherwise it will be very noticeable on the screen.

Perhaps something like this will help you to protect the lens:
Century Precision Optics | DS-MBLC-00 Matte Box | 0DS-MBLC-00

I hope this helps. I bought a 16x9 WA lens for my Z7 and had to get the 16x9 rubber hood to go on it. I paid closer to $200 last year for it, but it seems to have had its price lowered. It doesn't close or have a cover, but does offer some protection. It slides over the lens and then you tighten it down a bit. It keep my fingers out of the shot as well ;)

16x9 Inc. :: Rubber Shade - 85mm

Last week I was on an assignment covering a whaling ship returning to port with its controversial cargo. Decided to use the standard stock lens with protective filter as opposed to the wide-angle without a protective filter. Boy am I glad I did because the lens came into contact with ocean-spray and rain. I was constantly wiping it with a chamois. There was a lot of run-and-gunning going on and there were many chances that lens could have been scratched. Here's the bottom line for me: There must be a protective filter attached when I used the wide angle. Now, I just gotta find a solution. Any ideas?