Wide angle adapter for the 14X manual lens.

[Jean-Philippe Archibald]

I think this might be useful for other people in the same situation.

I own the 14X manual lens, and was looking for a wide angle solution cheaper than the 3X lens. After looking to the wide angle adapters from century optics on the B&H web site, I found that these adapters come in two types: one with a bayonet mount, to mount in place of the sunshade hood on the 16X auto or the 3X, and another one that can be mounted on the 16X manual lens. No word about the 14X.

So before spending my money, I emailed century optics about that and here is the reply I received from Robert Orlando:

Hi Jean-Philippe,
For the 14x on the XL you will need the following:
VS-07CV-75 .7x Wide Converter, 75mm (full zoom capability) $795.
VS-06WA-75 .6x Wide Adapter, 75mm (fixed wide angle) $395.
These adapters clamp-on to the outside of your lens. They will not
work with the 16x Servo nor the 16x manual.

Best regards,
Robert

Schneider Optics - Century Division

These two items are available at B&H.

[Christopher Reynolds]

Jean-Phillipe, You have continuously proved to be a valuable source of information. Thank you for the fine information you provide to all the members.

[Greg Boston]

Jean-Philippe,

I actually own that adapter. I bought it from a fellow DV-INFO member thinking it was for the 16X standard lense. I am able to clamp it to my UV filter on the front but I'm not sure how much it negatively affects image quality. It appears to work ok.

I would be willing to sell it to you for a good price if interested. I would rather get the correct adapter for my lense.

regards,

-gb-

[David Lach]

Greg, would you happen to still have that adapter for sale? If so I might be interested.

Let me know, you can contact me at davidlach@hotmail.com


David

[Charles Papert]

Quick poll here: I mentioned some time ago that I may be able to get some prototype .7x wide angle adaptors for the 14x from Century Optics for about 60% off list. These were made for other lenses but have been modified by Century to fit onto the 14x. The catch is that they do not have full coverage, i.e. they will vignette in 4:3. That's on the XL1/XL1s. If you have the XL2, it will provide full coverage due to the way the XL2 image sensor works.

They can make up a few more, but it would be good to know who might be interested in one of these for around $300.

(p.s. don't bother calling Century to enquire about these, the sales department won't know about them).

[David Lach]

Well I would be interested if it was available in .6x, but not .7x. The 14x mounted on the XL2 gives a min. focal length of 45mm. A .7x brings it to about 32mm, which isn't quite wide enough for my needs. An ideal for me would be 25mm. the 27mm provided by the .6x adapter is close enough.

[John Sandel]

Charles, that's a great offer, if you can swing it with Century.

Just to clarify:

1. Have you tested their prototype adapter with the XL2, or are you reporting their info?

2. Either way, do you know if there's a vignette effect with the prototype adapter with the XL2 set to 4:3, or to 16:9, or both, or neither, or what?

(I plan to shoot almost exclusively in 16:9, so if there's no vignette effect with Century's adapter in that setting, please count me in.)

3. Would Century offer any guarantee (e.g., compatibility, workmanship, parts replacement) on a prototype? I've always found them to be helpful in after-sales support.

If you prefer, you can email me directly at:

johnsandel@earthlink.net

JS

[Charles Papert]

David:

It may be useful to remember that Canon's 35mm equivalency is not based on 35mm cine, but in 35mm still photography. By my calculations the 14x on the XL2 should deliver similar to a 30mm lens (35mm cine format), and the .7x will bring that back to a 21mm.

I have found that the zoomthrough aspect makes the .7x worth it, myself.

John:

Haven't tested the adaptor on the XL2 yet, but mathematically it should work based on my experience with the XL1. It should not vignette in either 16:9 or 4:3 on the XL2.
Not sure about support, I can ask.

[John Sandel]

Okay, then I'm in for one adapter. Support's not a deal-breaker for me, as their quality's high.

When you know more, please give a shout.

JS

[David Lach]

Thanks for the clarification Charles, I must say I'm fairly new to video and those conversions have me a bit confused at times.

What camera was this adapter designed for? Something with more resolution than the XL2? Less? Just wondering if it could make you lose a bit of resolution or sharpness.

Also, what use do you find for having a full zoom through? Do you zoom during takes a lot? I know that myself even if I have a zoom lens, I choose a focal length and stick with it. Very rarely will I want to zoom during a take (this is based on aesthetic preferences only). In fact I would have prefered if Canon came out with manual primes for the XL1 / XL2 instead of zoom lenses. Would have suited my tastes and needs much better.

I might want to zoom live during run and gun stuff, but I decided not to wait for the body only kit any longer and went ahead and bought the XL2 with the 20x lens, so I would probably use that lens for that kind of stuff. I'm not sure if a full zoom through would really serve me better for fictional work with the 14x.

[Joel Guy]

Charles,

You can count me in for one of the prototype adaptors, if you're able to get them! That sounds like too good of a deal to pass up.

If you need to email me, you can use the address in my profile, jguy@tulane.edu.

Thanks.

[Joel Guy]

Charles, for the time being, I'd like to hold off on the adaptor, until I'm sure I'm getting the XL2. While resistant to it at first, the rumors of the Z1's features are starting to get to me, and I want to see how it all pans out before buying.

[Jean-Philippe Archibald]

Charles, I might be interested by the adapter, too, depending of how my personnal finances are goiing when the adapter will be available :)

[Joel Guy]

Charles, nevermind my post above. I am most definitely in for the WA adaptor as I have just finalized my XL2 plans. I don't have the time to wait for the Z1 to ship in Spring of next year.

So, I'm in!

[Joel Guy]

Charles,

Did Century decide to go ahead and make more of these?

Thanks,