Well I just got the HV30 and I am not sure the 10x optical will be good enough to film surfing and other scenery. Should I get the Canon TL-H43 1.7 telephoto lens? Will it zoom all the way in without seeing the lens in the shot, and is there a cheaper option? I have also read a lot in here about 52mm conversion lens? What are the advantages and what brands would you recommend.

I also have the odd wedding shoot come up, any suggestions on affordable mics and on camera lights? Should I also have a wide angle lens? The only extra I have purchesed so far is a 43mm lens hood that supposedly screws on the front of the cam. (awaiting delivery)
Thanks so much in advance to your responses - Tony

Anyone ?

The Canon H43 1.7x is a fine lens, and gives good results. I think it is well worth the money. It does not zoom through though. Vignetting starts at around 40-45% of full zoom in, so you are limited to the top half of the zoom range. Most add-on lenses behave like this - some are limited to around the top 30% of zoom only.

Any lens added to the front of the camera affects the balance, and I would not want anything heavier than this on the front - certainly not anything like the Century 52 mm thread 2X lens that I still have from my days with a Canon GL2. You would also need a thread adapter ring for a lens with any other thread size. Last time I tried this, I found that the camera produced a very blurred image at all focal lengths.

If you are used to still cameras, then the widest end of the Canon zoom is not very wide at all - say 40 mm in the old 35 mm camera terms. The matching Canon lens is not much wider than this, so most people go for one of the Raynox lenses. I have never used a wide angle add-on though.

This is also well worth buying - it makes manual focus a great deal easier!

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/canon-vixia-hv40-hv30-hv20-hv10/144685-hv30-manual-focus-ring-whoa-very-slick.html

Some people do fit a lot of extras on their HV series cams
HV30 Pictures - Page 9 - Canon HV20, HV30 & HV40 User Forum (http://www.hv20.com/showthread.php?t=7927&page=9)