Wide Angle Adaptor for XH A1?

Barry Richard · February 15th, 2007, 03:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neil McLean

Barry,

the woman I talked to (on #107) told me all their heavier duty converters etc were bayonet mount so they don't strip some of the plastic threaded camera inserts.

good -- its nutty that Canon used the screw thread on their own converter...

Paul Alberts · February 16th, 2007, 01:06 AM

Any ideas of the cost?

Neil McLean · February 16th, 2007, 01:46 AM

No mention of costs, though she did suggest contacting my local dealer(s).

Dom Stevenson · February 16th, 2007, 10:59 AM

I had a go with one of these today. Falls to bits after zooming 50% but i was very impressed nonetheless. very light, user friendly and gives you a good extra 30% vision.

Dom Stevenson · February 16th, 2007, 10:59 AM

I had a go with one of these today. Falls to bits after zooming 50% but i was very impressed nonetheless. very light, user friendly and gives you a good extra 30% vision. Less than 200 quid too.

Khoi Pham · February 16th, 2007, 11:39 AM

I have one from Red Eye, .5 wide angle, it is very sharp, no resolution loss at all looking at it on my 1080 monitor, just as good if not better than my Century optics .6 but with the advantage of the size and weight of a filter, a little bending on the edge but that is to be expected with a .5, but I could not be any happier with it, the website said that it is not zoom through but I could with my A1 to about 1/3 range, they deliver it promptly and this company or the owner (videographer himself) is a pleasure to do business with, I highly recommend it.

Philip Hinkle · February 16th, 2007, 02:24 PM

I have the inexpensive Raynox .3 Semi Fisheye that has a spring loaded clip on mechanism. It is only about $100. Not the best piece of glass in the world but I used it for a few different things in weddings with the GL2 and VX cameras.

It wouldn't fit the 72mm threads of the A1. It snaps in up to 67mm. I went to the camera store and got a 72 -62 step down ring and now it fits fine. I just left the stepdown ring on the cam and got a new lens cap. It vignettes pretty good at full wide angle but I can zoom in almost half way before it goes blurry. The A1 focus can hold the image to about 1/2 way. I plugged my cam into my SD LCD tv to see how the image looks. It seemed as clean zoomed in to remove the vignetting as it did in full wide mode.

It isn't optimized for HD but for a few shots it will work while I save the money needed for one of the really good ones.

Just thought I would throw that one out there for a simple fix.

Holly Rognan · February 16th, 2007, 04:04 PM

Thanks for your help guys, I appreciate it. I can't wait to get one!

Bill Pryor · February 16th, 2007, 04:16 PM

That RedEye looks pretty good. Not a bad price compared to some.

Thierry Humeau · February 26th, 2007, 09:58 AM

Has anyone had any experience using Canon's WD-H72 wide converter? I am interested to buy it but would like to know if there are any other and better alternatives like Century Optics after market wide converters. Also, does the WD-H72 come with a lens hood or does the one from the XH stock lens fits it?

Thanks.

Thierry.

Jan Luethje · February 26th, 2007, 10:17 AM

Yep, comes with a lenshood. I am content with it (only tested it in SD), although I'll probably won't use it as often as the WD-58 of my old xm1 (gl1), because the 'onboard' lens itself is quite 'wide angle', compared with other cameras.

Chris Hurd · February 26th, 2007, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thierry Humeau

Has anyone had any experience using Canon's WD-H72 wide converter?

There are quite a few user reports in this forum already. Search for the term "WD-H72" and it should return about a dozen threads. Hope this helps,

Chris Ruiz · February 26th, 2007, 04:37 PM

I do own the wide angle adaptor and enjoy it quite a bit. It comes in a nice bag and some end caps for the glass. It also comes with a lens hood as well (that blocks the focus assist sensor). You can put the cap on the hood once attached to keep the lens safe. It is nice while zooming, not much barrel at all. It screws on the front of the 20x pretty tightly.

The most common problem you hear is that you cant attach a filter on the front without a mattebox

Toenis Liivamaegi · February 27th, 2007, 08:36 AM

Yes, the cheap ($79.00) Merkury 0.45x wide angle converter works with A1, with some limitations:
Converter this wide can`t use even the slimmest filters because of the A1`s quite wide lens and it`s actually not zoom-through as it vignettes just slightly.

It can be used as ultra wide only converter indoors or for landscapes but then again it barrels a little.

Good thing is that the it isn`t soft at the edges and it`s compact.

> It looks like this <

Crappy samples can be seen > here <

Cheers,
T

Tom Hardwick · February 27th, 2007, 09:38 AM

You say it 'barrels a little'. yet most 0.45x converters barrel a *lot*. Better you send us a picture of a house shot square on with and without the lens rather than a picture of the lens itself.

tom.

February 16th, 2007, 10:59 AM	#94
Dom Stevenson Major Player Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: London UK Posts: 430	RED EYE WA Converter I had a go with one of these today. Falls to bits after zooming 50% but i was very impressed nonetheless. very light, user friendly and gives you a good extra 30% vision.

February 16th, 2007, 10:59 AM	#95
Dom Stevenson Major Player Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: London UK Posts: 430	RED EYE WA Converter I had a go with one of these today. Falls to bits after zooming 50% but i was very impressed nonetheless. very light, user friendly and gives you a good extra 30% vision. Less than 200 quid too.

February 16th, 2007, 11:39 AM	#96
Khoi Pham Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Dallas Posts: 747	I have one from Red Eye, .5 wide angle, it is very sharp, no resolution loss at all looking at it on my 1080 monitor, just as good if not better than my Century optics .6 but with the advantage of the size and weight of a filter, a little bending on the edge but that is to be expected with a .5, but I could not be any happier with it, the website said that it is not zoom through but I could with my A1 to about 1/3 range, they deliver it promptly and this company or the owner (videographer himself) is a pleasure to do business with, I highly recommend it. __________________ Khoi Pham www.proeditproductions.com

February 26th, 2007, 09:58 AM	#100
Thierry Humeau Telecam Films Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Washington DC Posts: 723	Canon's WD-H72 wide converter? Has anyone had any experience using Canon's WD-H72 wide converter? I am interested to buy it but would like to know if there are any other and better alternatives like Century Optics after market wide converters. Also, does the WD-H72 come with a lens hood or does the one from the XH stock lens fits it? Thanks. Thierry. __________________ Thierry Humeau, DoP Télécam Films www.telecamfilms.com

February 26th, 2007, 04:37 PM	#103
Chris Ruiz Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Moreno Valley, CA Posts: 29	I do own the wide angle adaptor and enjoy it quite a bit. It comes in a nice bag and some end caps for the glass. It also comes with a lens hood as well (that blocks the focus assist sensor). You can put the cap on the hood once attached to keep the lens safe. It is nice while zooming, not much barrel at all. It screws on the front of the 20x pretty tightly. The most common problem you hear is that you cant attach a filter on the front without a mattebox __________________ 2 Canon XH-A1's WD-H72 Wide-Angle Adaptor Petrol PCCB-2N Poratabrace RSXHAG1 Rain Slicker Sennheiser ME-80\K3U Panasonic AY-DVM63MQ Tapes Sony Vegas 7 & Final Cut Pro iMac COMING SOON: New sound package!

February 16th, 2007, 01:06 AM	#92
Paul Alberts New Boot Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Prince George, BC Posts: 17	Any ideas of the cost?

February 16th, 2007, 01:46 AM	#93
Neil McLean Regular Crew Join Date: May 2003 Location: U.K. Posts: 125	No mention of costs, though she did suggest contacting my local dealer(s).

February 16th, 2007, 02:24 PM	#97
Philip Hinkle Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Stoughton, WI Posts: 169	I have the inexpensive Raynox .3 Semi Fisheye that has a spring loaded clip on mechanism. It is only about $100. Not the best piece of glass in the world but I used it for a few different things in weddings with the GL2 and VX cameras. It wouldn't fit the 72mm threads of the A1. It snaps in up to 67mm. I went to the camera store and got a 72 -62 step down ring and now it fits fine. I just left the stepdown ring on the cam and got a new lens cap. It vignettes pretty good at full wide angle but I can zoom in almost half way before it goes blurry. The A1 focus can hold the image to about 1/2 way. I plugged my cam into my SD LCD tv to see how the image looks. It seemed as clean zoomed in to remove the vignetting as it did in full wide mode. It isn't optimized for HD but for a few shots it will work while I save the money needed for one of the really good ones. Just thought I would throw that one out there for a simple fix.

February 16th, 2007, 04:04 PM	#98
Holly Rognan Major Player Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Coalville America Posts: 244	Thanks for your help guys, I appreciate it. I can't wait to get one!

February 16th, 2007, 04:16 PM	#99
Bill Pryor Contributor Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 4,449	That RedEye looks pretty good. Not a bad price compared to some.

February 26th, 2007, 10:17 AM	#101
Jan Luethje Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Berlin, Germany Posts: 89	Yep, comes with a lenshood. I am content with it (only tested it in SD), although I'll probably won't use it as often as the WD-58 of my old xm1 (gl1), because the 'onboard' lens itself is quite 'wide angle', compared with other cameras.

February 27th, 2007, 08:36 AM	#104
Toenis Liivamaegi Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Tartu, Estonia Posts: 579	0.45x $79.00 wide angle converter works with A1! Yes, the cheap ($79.00) Merkury 0.45x wide angle converter works with A1, with some limitations: Converter this wide can`t use even the slimmest filters because of the A1`s quite wide lens and it`s actually not zoom-through as it vignettes just slightly. It can be used as ultra wide only converter indoors or for landscapes but then again it barrels a little. Good thing is that the it isn`t soft at the edges and it`s compact. > It looks like this < Crappy samples can be seen > here < Cheers, T Last edited by Toenis Liivamaegi; February 27th, 2007 at 10:35 AM.

February 27th, 2007, 09:38 AM	#105
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	You say it 'barrels a little'. yet most 0.45x converters barrel a lot. Better you send us a picture of a house shot square on with and without the lens rather than a picture of the lens itself. tom.