video example of VCL-HG0737X wide angle lens
 

I put up a short video showing an indoor shot w/wo the VCL-HG0737X wide angle lens for those interested.

http://www.ibms.sinica.edu.tw/~sroff/wideangle.html

I added some outdoor shots to the videos at the link posted above.

This 0.7X wide-angle can zoom through all the way.

It is very ugly on the camera.

It seems to soften at the corners at full zoom.

To my eye, it seems to add some haze to the video. I don't know if all wide-angles do this simply due to adding more glass in front of the sensor. I would be interested to hear from others with experience with other WA lens.

I have a lot of wide-angle lenses and experience of using them and yes - anything you add in front of your zoom will degrade the image slightly. Even a UV filter will cause more flare as it introduces two extra light reflecting surfaces, and two more surfaces for dust and finger prints.

But we may be getting paranoid. The point of using a wide-angle is because it allows you such creative and artistic control over the perspective distortion at your command, and to worry that you might be loosing 1/8th of a stop of light shouldn't worry you.

The most expensive wide-angle converters I've tested have all degraded the image to a small degree, so my advice always is - if you don't need it - take it off. In other words use it to inncrease your field of view, but don't shoot at mid zoom with it on - the camera's own zoom will shoot at those focal lengths, and give better quality into the bargain.

tom.

Tom, which WA adapter would you recommend for the PDX10 for, say, US$200?

There are just so many w/a converters out there, all I can ever say is do test it out if at all possible before the money is taken.
Questions to ask yourself. Zoom through needed? 0.5x too powerful? Happy with barrel distortion? Can you afford an aspheric? Filter threads up front? Will it vignette the still frame?

One thing's for certain though, and that is that the PDX/950 cries out for some sort of w/a converter right out of the box.

tom.

> One thing's for certain though, and that is that the PDX/950
> cries out for some sort of w/a converter right out of the box.

Indeed. I have two, one low quality Sony three element one whish is full of internal reflections but fits neatly in the wide hood, and one better quality Sony two element 0.7 with an amazing concave front element. The problem with the latter is I bought it used and it's in bad shape. Even so, the quality is quite amazing, I would just love a similar one but with no scratches, and that fits in the hood.

So, I need:

Zoom-through
0.65, 0.6, 0.55 or 0.5
Don't care about stills
Front thread desirable but not required
Should fit in the Sony hood hopefully
Can afford about US$200

Any specific recommendation that meets this criteria?

Now that's a strange on - a two element w/a converter. Didn't know Sony made (badge engineered?) such a lens, but it sounds suspiciously like my Tecpro. I have it here, and it's a two element with a very concave front element, is really lovely and sharp right throughout the zoom range, is 0.5X and it coms apart to leave the 'macro' lens in place. Actuallythis 'macro' lens is about a +10 dioptre CU lens and is ok if used at small apertures. Oh, and the Tecpro 0.5S barrel distorts at wide, and has an 82mm filter thread. Sound like your Sony lens Ignacio? Except yours is a 0.7x....

Mine's a 50mm fitting, but I suspect Tecpro do it in a 37mm fitting if you ask nicely. When I used the PDX10 a 0.5x was just about right, taking tle lens down to 25mm in still camera terms.

tom.

Interesting, my Digital Optics Titanium .45x lens also unscrews to become a macro. It has 37 mm threads however and takes 49mm filters. Now if you look at the front of the lens you can tell that the company name is actually a separate piece that's glued on, so I suspect it is marketed under different names as well.

I don't mind the barrell distortion and like this lens a lot - the wider the better in my book - but I haven't attempted any serious tests. It cost around $100 US. You can shoot at full wide with no vignetting in 16:9 mode and it fits neatly inside the wide lens hood.

But I think we're kinda walking over ground that's been covered here before Ignacio, and your important question (posed in another thread) was what's available in Vancouver. Can't help much there, but a couple of the DV moderators call that city home... Dylan Couper and Frank Granovski. Maybe they can offer some insights regarding the best places to look for this sort of thing? I'll see if they have some suggestions for you.

Is Frank still listening?

Gee, now I really feel out of the loop... looks like he's gone http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/announcem...?s=&forumid=48. We'll miss ya Frank!

This great but battlefield-treated Sony WA adapter I have is the VCL-0746C, it has a 46mm thread on the back and a thread on the front which might be 50 or 55mm. It does not come appart in the middle. If Tom's Tecpro has this same quality at 0.5 then that is the WA I want, even more so if it fit's inside the PDX10's big hood!

Boyd? Is your Digital Optics 0.45 zoom through? Is it also a two element design with a concave front?

Ignacio,

Have you considered the Century 0.65x WA adaptor? It has a front filter thread, fits in the Sony wide hood (from what I've read here, I don't have one myself yet) and seems to be well regarded.

$210 at B&H

http://www.centuryoptics.com/product...65xhr_37mm.htm

The Century is indeed well regarded, and a 0.65x is pretty good on any other camera. But the TRV950 has no wide-angle to begin with (49mm in still camera terms) so that if you're going to all the hassle of fitting a converter, it might as well be *wide*. The 0.65 only takes the 950 down to 32mm. This is rather too 'normal' looking for my taste, and not a lot of use for interiors.

tom.

I have heard that lately Century has dropped in quality, I tend to trust the Sony High Grade better.

Tom there is a store in Vancouver offering a zoom-through Century 0.5, and this adapter is not listed on Century's web site. Should I trust the store? Could it be cheap imitation or something like that?

Specs for the Century 0.5 (from Leo's):
http://www.leoscamera.com/Video/lens...s_05cv_37.html

Aside from that one, it boils down to choosing between the Sony high grade 0.7 and the the Century Optics 0.65, which are both available from Lorne Lapham in Vancouver and quite expensive but trustable. If any of you care to voice on the choice, that would be great. Juan, who is a member of the board and lives in Vancouver might be able to visit the stores and try both or even all three with his PDX10 but he might not have the time so any advice I can get will be very welcome.

I have still not been able to find TecPro in the area.

Specs for the Sony:
http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/ser...80n47120n47125

Specs for the Century 0.65:
http://www.centuryoptics.com/product...37mm_specs.htm

I've had good results with the canon wd58 on a pdx10. Full zoom through and very little distortion.... you must ofcourse use a 37>58mm converter.

With the large battery on the back, it keeps a fair balance to the camera.

<<<-- Originally posted by Ignacio Rodriguez : Tom there is a store in Vancouver offering a zoom-through Century 0.5, and this adapter is not listed on Century's web site. -->>>

Sorry, have been out of town a couple days and am just catching up. You might want to read the following thread which discusses the Century .5x and includes an e-mail that century sent to an unhappy owner of this lens. They say it was designed for lower resolution 1 chip cameras and is not suitable for the PDX-10. I don't have any personal experience with this lens however, and can't be sure it's the one you are considering. Caveat emptor...

The Century 0.5 then is probably no better than the 'low grade' Sony I already have. So I might be going for the Century 0.65 but I won't make the choice until Juan has checked them both out with his PDX10. Thank you Boyd, your help is great and all the people at this site are so cool and willing to help. Love this place.