That was good advice in the days of soft lens coatings and (relatively) huge chips (35mm gates) but as the chips have got smaller, so too have the focal lengths. As Dave accurately points out, the two extra air-to-glass surfaces you're introducing can very quickly come in under the dof wire at wide angle and middling apertures. We've all seen the effects of this the first time any light hits that new, protruding, front element.

Modern multi-coatings are pretty tough. I know - I have Zeiss T* coating on my spectacles (same as on my Sony Zeiss lenses) and I clean my specs daily and have done for years on kitchen towel (pulped Canadian Redwoods). After 2½ years the coating is still pristine perfect, so you can clean your camcorder's front element weekly with not a worry in the world.

Use as deep a hood as you can for mechanical protection as well as flare supression.

tom.

xlr audio adaptor, lens hood/other quest
 

has anyone tried the studio 1 or beachtek xlr adaptor for the 550? i know you can attach the unit to the bottom of the camera on the tripod screw and take the mini jack into the audio slot. im wondering if the audio would sound good through this on this cam as well as it does on the 2000 or other cams that dont have xlr.
also, for those using the 550, are you manually wb, which is what im used to or are you using the auto?
cant seem to find a 52mm lens hood that has a stepdown to 37mm. ive heard the 37mm still gives you the blue dot.
thanks

ps
anyone used an led light on the cam, im looking at one with a dimmer that should help with this cam in lowlight especially at wedding receptions.

Haven't tried an XLR adapter, I'd expect the sound would be good, no real complaints with the audio so far.

The whole "blue dot" thing is simply a bit of lens flare, and the few times I've been able to re-create it, zooming in around 5% eliminates it, no big deal IMO. Frankly, I've had such a time reproducing the problem I just don't worry about it. Any hood will help reduce the angle of potential light getting to the lens elements (and causing the "dreaded blue dot"). The 37mm hoods I've tried have to be trimmed to not enter the sides of the frame, thus the suggestion that perhaps a larger size of hood (surmising the 52mm might be large enough to clear), with a step up ring with 37mm threading for the camera, and threads for the 52mm hood to screw into. Step up/down rings are pretty standard with still cameras, so shouldn't be hard to find one to go with a 52mm hood.

I've got some Sima 20LX lights as a cheap solution, but am looking for something with a dimmer myself - it's always hard with a small light source not to be "blinding" the "talent", even with diffusion! The CX550V is pretty good in low light to start with, particularly once you turn on low lux mode (which shuts itself off after the camera sits, so you have to REMEMBER to turn it "on"!).

Almost forget WB... Auto is actually fairly accurate, especially when shooting people, as the intelligent functions auto adjust for optimal skin tones... BUT you can manually WB, and I usually will just select the "indoor" or "outdoor" presets if I know the lighting will be shifting/challenging - making for a consistent WB for post.