You're right, they do look identical.

http://www.exco.it/pagine/cavision/video/dwc05x58.htm

So what problems did you have with the 0.5X Cavisions?
Was there really a wider angle of view than the
Tecpro S? Would you recommend I just stick
with the S and forget about the Z?

I do know that Cavision changed their source after Tom tested them.

How long ago was this change, Bryan?

It looks like the only distributor is the
Cavision company, atleast outside of Europe.
I'm gonna try to get a price on that lens.
Probably isn't cheap.

I asked them about the lens last may. The price list is on it's way, check your email.

At the Video Forum in London in February I was told that Cavision no longer had a distributer in the UK, but I must admit that I haven't done a search to find out if it's true. I would suggest that the Tecpro 0.5s might very well suit you Dave. Two other guys have bought the lens on my recommendation and both were very pleased. Mind you - you have to rather like barrel distortion, and I'm not one of those.

Cavision do make some good lens hoods though (as shown on the link you posted Dave). Strange thing is I found the deeper and more efficient hood made for their 0.65x converter worked well on the 0.5x and didn't vignette the image at all.

tom.

So here's what I know.
Cavision never sent me the requested price list, but
Bryan sent a copy. The price on the 0.5X wide is
$200. With a lens hood it's $250. With a lens hood
and a pouch it's $300.
I did receive a correspondance from someone at
Cavision. I had asked if the vignetting would be viewable on a TV. Here's what I got:

"We have not had any problems with vignetting
with 0.5X w.a. adapter with the PD150. Could you
elaborate on vignetting on a TV screen?"

So I've heard about three different stories about
the vignetting with the "Z". What is appealing to
me is that the Z "0.5X" supposedly gives a much wider
angle of view than the S "0.5X", with less distortion.

Dave - although there are production tolerances at work here - if a lens calls itself a 0.5x converter then it should be just that. Maybe we can accept a + /- tolerance of (say) 0.05x, so a 0.5x lens could in fact be a 0.45x or a 0.55x and still be legally sold under the 0.5x label.

But unless the manufacturer is lying, all 0.5x converters will give viewfinder pictures that look the same. The Z and the S will ''see as wide'' but one may distort more that the other.

tom.

Anyone know a way I could get this lens? I'm in the USA.

Dave
The person you've been talking with at cavision is Jason. He has very little experience in video . The Company owners don't speak english very well either. John Anthony used to work there but he's gone on to bigger and better things. He was well versed in all segments of the industry.

I have the TecPro .5S lens here in the US. It does not vingette and is fully zoom through unless you put it on in addition to another filter between the lens and camera then it is slightly soft at the max zoomed in only. It most definately is not the same lens as the Cavision! It does not even look the same. Email me at AndysCam@aol.com if you are interested in obtaining one.

Well, I took the plunge and decided to go with the
0.5S.

I'm sure you'll like it Dave. For the money it's good and powerful and very sharp. Being a two element means there's less likelihood of internal flares, though it's still worth getting the Cavision LH-100P 3:4 lens hood for it, which fits a treat.

Unlike Bob (above) I've not seen the slight softness he refers to when using the Tecpro on top of my 58mm skylight filter. If you unscrew it to leave the powerful macro lens on your camera, be shure to shoot at pretty small apertures to bring the corners of the frame up to scratch.

tom.

So for you, Tom, it maintains sharpness on full zoom in?

Yes. Of course when fully zoomed in you're effectively shooting at a focal length of 36mm if you have the Tecpro in place. If you now remove the Tecpro and shoot at the same focal length (now in the middle of your 12x zoom's range) the pictures will be even better. Less distortion, chromatic aberation, flare and even greater sharpness. This is the same for all add-on lenses of course, and is not a criticism of the Tecpro alone.

tom.

How are the coatings on that S? Is the lens
prone to flare, or not too bad?