28mm lens on MiniDV at DVinfo.net

I J Walton · August 23rd, 2005, 12:23 PM

Howdy Peeps,

I've been looking into this "Mini35 thing" for a while now, even making my own failed devices LOL. However I am in it for a different reason to most other people. I am not bothered about the Depth of Feild that SLR lenses give. No, I want SLR style wide angle lenses (Not fisheye!).

I have loads of "Wide angle Attachments" for my Camcorder, but these attachments always come with a little (Or a lot!) of barrel distortion looking more like fisheye lenses than wide lenses. However, the wide lens that I use on my SLR (28mm) is very wide and has NO barrel distortion what so ever! All straight lines are still straight, even towards the edge. I love the effect that SLR wide lenses have, especially when you move the camera (watch A Clockwork Orange when Alex fights with the Cat woman, I love that type of shot).

Anyway, back to my point. After screwing up a couple of home made Mini35's, I had given up trying to use a 28mm lens on my camcorder. I was messing about with a small Macro lens unscrewed off the back of one of my wide attachments (pretty much just a magnifying glass). When I held this up behind the 28mm lens, it actually magnified the wide image, past the edges of my little magnifying lens! and held at the right distance away from the 20mm lens, it actually kept the quality of the wide SLR lens (No barrel distortion). However it does not have the Depth of Feild or focusing of the lens like it does when you use a ground glass. But that dosn't bother me as it is always on infinite focus.

I don't have a wide enough magnifyer at the moment to try to get the whole picture from the lens. I just wanted to know if any of you guys have tried this, and have you had any luck?

Thanks for reading!

Ian.

Matthew Wauhkonen · August 23rd, 2005, 01:30 PM

If you remove the GG from a 35mm adapter, it lets you use 35mm lenses with the correct focal length multiplier or whatever. But you can't focus or anything so it's esentially useless, imo, although the depth of focus would probably be deep enough for some shots to look roughly acceptable.

Anyhow, what camera do you have? My dvx definitely doesn't exhibit more wide angle distortion than 28mm slr lenses or my 17mm EF-S lens on my digital rebel. In my opinion, this is a useless project because you can't focus or stop down or anything.

I J Walton · August 23rd, 2005, 01:45 PM

It's not really a case of what camera I have, I think that it's just my Wide lens attachments. The all seem to have a fisheye effect (all straight lines are bowed slightly), even though they are supossed to be just wide-angle. Maybe because they are quite cheap ones (£50-£100).

Do you or anyone here know of any screw-on Wide-Angle lens attachments that do not Fisheye or bow straight lines? I'd like a REALLY wide lens (but not fisheye!)

Thanks.

Keith Wakeham · August 23rd, 2005, 02:35 PM

Can you put two wide angle convertors together without being fisheyed?

So long as the next lens is between the lense and the focal length you can put more lenses on your camera than just one assuming they have more threads to add stuff onto. -- I think, my optics knowledge is rusty since I've not studied it in about 3 years so I could be wrong, but I think it should work, but your result will probably fisheye.

Bill Porter · August 23rd, 2005, 03:59 PM

There are wide angle fisheye lenses and wide angle rectilinear (non-fisheye)lenses. Canon's fisheye is 15mm yet their wide angle rectilinear is 14mm (!).

You should mention your camera make and model. Don't worry, if it is cheap and/or old, people here won't make fun of you or your camera. And someone who has that same model may be able to offer some help.

You may be able to add on an inexpensive wide angle adapter like the Raynox but I would google for hits on them and see what comes up. Some of the earlier Raynox lenses get some pretty bad reviews, while others seem to do ok. And there are places that will refund your money if you're unhappy with a product, so buy from one of them if you do go this route.

If you can afford it I would say to buy a proven 35mm adapter, then use your wide angle lenses on that. They make 'em wider than 28mm, too! The shorter you get, the wider field of vision you get for each degree less focal length. In other words, the difference in angle of view between a 100mm lens and a 105mm lens is very little, while the same 5mm difference between a 20mm and a 25mm lens is a big change width of field of view.

Hope that helps, good luck!

August 23rd, 2005, 12:23 PM	#1
I J Walton Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 40	28mm lens on MiniDV Howdy Peeps, I've been looking into this "Mini35 thing" for a while now, even making my own failed devices LOL. However I am in it for a different reason to most other people. I am not bothered about the Depth of Feild that SLR lenses give. No, I want SLR style wide angle lenses (Not fisheye!). I have loads of "Wide angle Attachments" for my Camcorder, but these attachments always come with a little (Or a lot!) of barrel distortion looking more like fisheye lenses than wide lenses. However, the wide lens that I use on my SLR (28mm) is very wide and has NO barrel distortion what so ever! All straight lines are still straight, even towards the edge. I love the effect that SLR wide lenses have, especially when you move the camera (watch A Clockwork Orange when Alex fights with the Cat woman, I love that type of shot). Anyway, back to my point. After screwing up a couple of home made Mini35's, I had given up trying to use a 28mm lens on my camcorder. I was messing about with a small Macro lens unscrewed off the back of one of my wide attachments (pretty much just a magnifying glass). When I held this up behind the 28mm lens, it actually magnified the wide image, past the edges of my little magnifying lens! and held at the right distance away from the 20mm lens, it actually kept the quality of the wide SLR lens (No barrel distortion). However it does not have the Depth of Feild or focusing of the lens like it does when you use a ground glass. But that dosn't bother me as it is always on infinite focus. I don't have a wide enough magnifyer at the moment to try to get the whole picture from the lens. I just wanted to know if any of you guys have tried this, and have you had any luck? Thanks for reading! Ian.

August 23rd, 2005, 01:30 PM	#2
Matthew Wauhkonen Major Player Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 285	If you remove the GG from a 35mm adapter, it lets you use 35mm lenses with the correct focal length multiplier or whatever. But you can't focus or anything so it's esentially useless, imo, although the depth of focus would probably be deep enough for some shots to look roughly acceptable. Anyhow, what camera do you have? My dvx definitely doesn't exhibit more wide angle distortion than 28mm slr lenses or my 17mm EF-S lens on my digital rebel. In my opinion, this is a useless project because you can't focus or stop down or anything.

August 23rd, 2005, 01:45 PM	#3
I J Walton Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 40	It's not really a case of what camera I have, I think that it's just my Wide lens attachments. The all seem to have a fisheye effect (all straight lines are bowed slightly), even though they are supossed to be just wide-angle. Maybe because they are quite cheap ones (£50-£100). Do you or anyone here know of any screw-on Wide-Angle lens attachments that do not Fisheye or bow straight lines? I'd like a REALLY wide lens (but not fisheye!) Thanks.

August 23rd, 2005, 02:35 PM	#4
Keith Wakeham Major Player Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: St. John's, NL, Canada Posts: 416	Can you put two wide angle convertors together without being fisheyed? So long as the next lens is between the lense and the focal length you can put more lenses on your camera than just one assuming they have more threads to add stuff onto. -- I think, my optics knowledge is rusty since I've not studied it in about 3 years so I could be wrong, but I think it should work, but your result will probably fisheye.

August 23rd, 2005, 03:59 PM	#5
Bill Porter Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Ventura, California, USA Posts: 751	There are wide angle fisheye lenses and wide angle rectilinear (non-fisheye)lenses. Canon's fisheye is 15mm yet their wide angle rectilinear is 14mm (!). You should mention your camera make and model. Don't worry, if it is cheap and/or old, people here won't make fun of you or your camera. And someone who has that same model may be able to offer some help. You may be able to add on an inexpensive wide angle adapter like the Raynox but I would google for hits on them and see what comes up. Some of the earlier Raynox lenses get some pretty bad reviews, while others seem to do ok. And there are places that will refund your money if you're unhappy with a product, so buy from one of them if you do go this route. If you can afford it I would say to buy a proven 35mm adapter, then use your wide angle lenses on that. They make 'em wider than 28mm, too! The shorter you get, the wider field of vision you get for each degree less focal length. In other words, the difference in angle of view between a 100mm lens and a 105mm lens is very little, while the same 5mm difference between a 20mm and a 25mm lens is a big change width of field of view. Hope that helps, good luck!