hi there, for my next project it looks like im going to need a wide angle lens.. this one is reasonably priced but im worried it wont be great quality with distortion etc.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/72MM-0-5X-PRO-WIDE-ANGLE-LENS-MACRO-FOR-SONY-HDR-FX1_W0QQitemZ280076986132QQihZ018QQcategoryZ64327QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem

any thoughts?

Peace

I'm always suspicious of lenses being sold with no names visible. This 72 mm 0.5x zoom through converter can be unscrewed to leave behind the powerful +10 dioptre colse-up lens, but my hunch (after testing a lot of wide-angle converters) is that although cheap, it could be a real disappointment.

There's no indication of whether it's multi-coated (some only have one sufrace of the front element coated) and certainly no indication of whether it gives barrel distorted images. I'll bet my boots that it does.

The best lens is available from Bolex in Switzerland, a 0.52x Aspheron that is powerful and doesn't add *any* barrel distortion. Then there's the much milder Canon and Sony 0.8x lenses, but these are so feeble I'd probably not bother fitting them.

Century do a very expensive 0.7x. It's a bayonet, is very heavy and beautifully made, but barrel distorts. Their 0.6x is even worse.

Then there's lenses by Raynox and Kenko that are worth a look at, but in my view they're all beaten by the Aspheron.

tom.

yeah, I bought a 58 mm teleconvertor with no name for my VX2000 once, and talk about chromatic aberation. Everything had a distinct halo around it.... nasty. Learned my lesson.

The .8x wide-angle lens VCL-HG0872 made for the FX1/Z1 by Sony is a great lens, with full zoom-through. Not quite as wide as some, but then very little barrel distortion. Keep in mind that the FX1 already is pretty wide at its widest.

About $200-300 on eBay. Run away from the nonames. Trust Sony, Canon, and the like.