Canon 3x wide angle lens

[Pete Bauer]

Hi Rachel,

There's a table at the bottom of this article that says it is 5 stops (3.1% transmittance):

http://www.dvinfo.net/canon/articles/article82.php

I guess I must not have used it yet as I didn't realize how dark it is! It only has an On/Off switch, no intermediate settings.

[Rachel Oliver]

Hi;

Thanks Pete, yeah it seems it's a 1.5, it really shocked me when I used it, coupled with a soft con and ultra pol I was out of range even at midday! Guess it's time to get me a .6 ND.....

Olly

[Donie Kelly]

Hi all

I've been trying to order an 3x lens for the XL2 for weeks now but all the major suppliers in the UK are out of stock so i have it on backorder.

Does anybody know where I can buy one in Europe? I don't want to order from outside the US due to import taxes.

If anybody has one for sale second hand I'd be intrested as long as it's in PWO.

many thanks
Donie

[John Threat]

I'm just getting a XL-2, so I'll put it thru the paces.

I have to say that if you are using the XL1S for certain kind of projects, the 3x wide can be a huge disappointment. Critical focus is hard to achieve and it shows off the weak side of mini-DV.

It unforunately has an eletronic focus ring. I will see if it performs well with the XL-2 shortly. I suggest testing it. I haven't tested the Century optics adapter. I hear good things about it and I am considering renting that next time I do a project with the XL series mini-dv camera from Canon.

[Rob Lohman]

Did you try OpTex: http://www.xl1s.com/ ?

[Donie Kelly]

Hi Rob

They are a good bit more expensive than other online sites (which are out of stock). Got an eta of 15-21st of March for the lens on www.dabs.com

Thanks for the heads up...
Donie

[Bob Stovall]

Hi all!

I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with the XL2 with the 20x and a Century Optics .7x Wide Angle adapter, and if so, what your thoughts were.

I'm wanting the best quality, and I am looking at both this adapter or a Canon 3x wide. I like the convienience of having an adapter so I don't have to change lenses, but will I be sacrificing quality by not getting the Canon glass?

Thanks for any input! You guys could either save me $600 or cost me $600, but I value your opinions!

Thanks so much!
Bob Stovall

[Chris Hurd]

Bob

You shouldn't think about this in terms of image quality. They're pretty much identical. Century is using Schneider optics, which I'd put on par with Canon's. The real question you have to answer for yourself is a matter of usability and form factor. Do you prefer the relatively light weight of the Canon 3x. The trade-off is its limited zoom range. Or do you prefer to have wide-angle of the adapter plus the full zoom range of the lens it's mounted on. The trade-off is the added weight to an already front-heavy camera. That's it in a nutshell.

[Bob Stovall]

Have any of you seen any chromatic abborations around the edges of the Century Optics converters? I always noticed on my Sony VX-2000 that the edges were a little blurry when using these converters. That's what I'm kinda worried about. Some people have suggested only buying the Canon 3x so it would be more pure of an image...

Any thoughts?

[Marty Hudzik]

Boy I hate to open this can of worms again but here goes.

Yes sir I have seen chromatic abberations on the Century optics .7x and 20x lens. IN fact....I have seen it with the 16x manual and the 16x IS lens too when the CO .7x is attached. In my quest to get the perfect wide angle image I have learned that one of the hardest things to do in the optics industry is make an affordable wide angle adapter. The Century is priced right and performs well. It does have a little optical blurring and chromatic blending at the edges but that is the nature of optics. The lens is not flat but spherical and therefore it bends the light at the edges much more than it does in the center. The light passing through the edges does not always focus perfectly on the same spot of the CCD therefore causing some of the colors to not be in perfect focus or as sharp at the very edges. I have talked to Canon Lens Guys and Century Guys in great length about this and this is just the way it is. To make some add-on glass that doesn't have any of these issues would be 3-4 times more expensive.

Having said all of that I still swear by the.7x lens and 16x manual. Because the Xl2 samples it's 16x9 mode from the center of the 1/3" CCD it is really looking through the center of the glass vertically. So the "less sharp" upper and lower parts are kind of cropped. I see no chromatic or blurry areas at the top and bottom as a result.

Now the sides still show a little. If you grab a wide open frame and analyze it you will find some color shift and a little blur out there at the far right and left. It can either be a big turn off for you or a minor annoyance. It depends on what you are shooting and what your priorities are.

For me I do more run and gun and need wide angle and a long zoom range too. I don't have time to change lenses so I live with the little blur on the edges in exchange for easy use and quick setup times. If you zoom even a little the problem seems to go away as you are looking through the best part of the glass.

However if you are only doing scripted and have all the time in the world and are not worried about convenience the the 3x by Canon is awesome. It delivers great wide angle and is sharp all the way to both edges with no chromatic issues. The one drawback to this lens is that is seems to have a backfocus issue for a lot of us XL2 users. So setting a focus and then zooming has a very good potential to cause a focus shift. If you go with this lens on the Xl2 try to approach it as a fixed focal length adapter that lets you zoom a little to frame your shot. But I wouldn't bet the bank on having it hold focus as you zoom out. It might....your mileage may vary.

The bottom line is at this moment in time the 3x by Canon gives you the clearest picture from edge to edge. But it has little zoom and requires you to change lenses when you want any sort of telephoto shot at all.

The .7x Century is a great optical adapter that allows you to zoom all the way through it. It's minor flaw is that at the widest setting the very far edges often look slightly soft. This adapter also significantly increases the weight on the front of the Xl2 as Chris pointed out. I should also mention the edge softness should be alleviated quite a bit if you are shooting 4x3 as this mode derives it image from the center most point of the CCD which in theory would mask out some or all of the blurriness found on the edges.

FWIW.

[Bob Stovall]

You know...

With all that being said, I seem to have a backfocus issue on my 20x lens as well. It never holds focus. I always focus, pull out, and then re-focus because the image clearly isn't as sharp at wide. Should I get this checked out by Canon?

By the way, I think I've decided to go with the 3x so I don't have to worry about any chromatic issues. I don't run-and-gun to much anymore, and I have the time...

Bummer about the back focus though - Anyone know how to fix it?

Thanks! You guys rock!

Bob Stovall

[Marty Hudzik]

The backfocus is usually something that Canon can adjust at the service center. Now just to be clear the backfocus problems some are reporting with the 3x have not been diagnosed by Canon. What I am saying is there is no official recognition of a problem from Canon on these units. Some users claim to have sent them in to Canon and got them back marked as "working within factory spec" but still have backfocus issues. I think a few others have claimed there unit works fine but I have definitely seen enough comments to warrant some concern and when I tried a 3x it definitely behaved this way. It looked amazingly clear but did behave a little odd when zooming in/our. Those kooky servos!

I hope for your sake Bob that your 3x units does not exhibit any problems at all and retains focus throughout the zoom without having to readjust. You will be very happy with the image as the 3x is the best wide angle I have seen for the XL series cams. Keep us posted as we all would like hear your results.

[Lon Breedlove]

Does anyone have the 3x Wide angle zoom lens. (xl series)

I was wondering if its worth the money. We have a few cramped interiors to shoot, and need a good wide lens that will open up our space a bit. Will the 3x cut it?

Also, just generally speaking, what are your thoughts on buying lenses: Do you reccomend that I stick with the XL series, or should i get the ef adapter and go with the ef series?

Thanks a lot.

-Lon

[Jim Sofranko]

I love the 3x Canon lens. It is perfect for those small room situations you describe.

I have used it extensively on the XL1 but not yet on the XL2. There has been some discussion about back focus issues with this lens on the XL2. Some have remarked that the lense does not hold focus when zoomed in, focused and zoomed out.

[Christian Asnieres]

I have the 3X lens and use it extensively on the XL2. I have yet to find any problem with it. Well worth the cost.

Christian