Filter and hood recommendation for PV-GS400 and Raynox HD-5000PRO set-up

Andreas Winkler · August 19th, 2004, 09:05 PM

I'm also using a Raynox HD-5000PRO WA with my GS400. There is no vignetting at all.
Furthermore I bought a 62mm Kenko circular polarizer which fits on the front of the WA. No vignetting again.
To use the polarizer without the WA I got three adaptor rings. I know it's a bit stupid to use three rings, but the guy in the shop explained it's the easiest and cheapest way (43-52-58-62mm). After testing this setup for vignetting again, I decided to go with it as no black corners appeared.

Prices for the parts were as follows: WA 2900NT$ (85US$), polarizer 750NT$ (22US$) and the three adaptor rings together 350NT$ (10US$).

I feel the additional weight of 110g for the WA is no big deal to handle, maybe even more balanced if you put a big battery pack on the other end of the cam.

...just to let anyone know who considers to order the same parts online maybe...

Allan Rejoso · August 19th, 2004, 10:30 PM

Wow Andreas, you seem to get all the BEST deals in Taiwan for items made in Japan. Do you pay any sales taxes there?

BTW, what do you use to protect your 5000Pro (ordinary MC protector or MC UV or the Kenko Hoya thin filter?)

Andreas Winkler · August 19th, 2004, 10:41 PM

Allan, I think I just use the Kenko polarizer as protection. Maybe I check for a UV filter later or maybe a ND filter.

Sales tax... hmm, good question... I think I read somewhere that the rate is 5 percent here, but not sure. It's never mentioned on the products.

Rokta Bija · August 20th, 2004, 01:33 AM

How's the barrel distortion with the Raynox on the GS400?

Andreas Winkler · August 20th, 2004, 09:11 AM

Rokta, there is an amazingly low amount of barrel distortion.
I tried to take some sample frame grabs and photo shots in different modes. But they are far from perfect, as I have no tripod yet and the lighting conditions were not good.
I also found the grabs using the wide conversion lens are not very clear, maybe due to further light reduction by the lens or problems with the auto focus ...or just the lens isn't really that good!?
I'll try to do some better grabs later. Anyway, you may take a look...

Video frame grabs without WA - normal wide screen pro cinema
Video frame grabs withWA attached - normal wide screen pro cinema

Photo - without WA
Photo - with WA attached

Btw. on the GS400's LCD the gray frame with the small white arrows was screen filling! So you can see from these grabs how much of the recorded image the LCD hides.

Andreas Winkler · August 20th, 2004, 09:43 AM

I have to make a small correction regarding vignetting:
when I use the Raynox HD5000pro and Kenko 62mm polarizer together there appears a little vignetting in photo mode.

Andreas Winkler · August 20th, 2004, 10:16 AM

<<<-- Originally posted by Rokta Bija : How's the barrel distortion with the Raynox on the GS400? -->>>

Hm, there is some barrel distortion when you zoom full out. But not too bad IMHO. When I took the test grabs and photos earlier I zoomed in a bit, so there was almost no barrel distortion visible.

Rokta Bija · August 21st, 2004, 09:31 PM

Andreas, The distortion doesn't look to bad but it does seem to have some focusing issues in the center vs. perimeter. Do you notice it much in normal shots?

Andreas Winkler · August 22nd, 2004, 11:18 AM

Yes Rokta, you seem to be right. Near the perimeter the picture looks not so clear. I packed some video frames with different configurations, take a look and get your own opinion. You can also see the vignetting in different modes.

Kaohsiung City - Cultural Center - file size is 11.8MB

The pack contains 18 BMP images.

Guy Bruner · August 22nd, 2004, 02:13 PM

Andreas,
Are you removing the GS400's hood before mounting the Raynox?

Andreas Winkler · August 22nd, 2004, 07:13 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Guy Bruner : Andreas,
Are you removing the GS400's hood before mounting the Raynox? -->>>

Yes Guy, I removed it. I use the original 37-43mm adaptor delivered with the Raynox directly attached to the GS400.
I was surprised to see so much vignetting, especially with Raynox and polarizer attached together. Should have done some more testing in the shop under better lighting conditions! :(
But anyway, the LCD hides some parts of the picture.

Allan Rejoso · August 22nd, 2004, 07:59 PM

"But anyway, the LCD hides some parts of the picture."

Andreas, are you referring to both Video and Still Mode? (under Still mode, vignetting can occur even though you don't see it on LCD :-( - but personally, I never use Still mode :-)).

Please try this.
Attach a 62-72 adapter ring on your Raynox and try a 72mm filter. If that doesn't work, try to go up the next size.

Otherwise, don't attach anything on your Raynox. I think the biggest weakness of that Raynos is that it's native size is too small/narrow compared to the diameter of the GS400 glass (that's why I'm wondering if I should have gotten the 52mm or 58mm 6600 PRO instead.).

If it's any consolation, Pany has a disclaimer as regards vignetting even with its own line of lens converters (consumer line)

Andreas Winkler · August 22nd, 2004, 11:11 PM

Allan, I mean the LCD panel does not display the full picture area that will be recorded, in both modes: still and video!

Regarding the glass size... yes, the GS400's filter diameter is 43mm, but the actual glas diameter is much smaller! I have to measure this later at home, but I think it's even smaller than the 37mm of the Raynox HD5000pro. Hm, the Raynox might actually also be even smaller than 37mm though.

OK, when I find some time I'll bother the guy in the cam shop again to let me test a 72mm filter! ;)
But as you can see from the sample frame grabs above, vignetting is even there in WIDE and ProCinema modes without the filter attached, only WA.

The 6600pro should be also worth a test, but it's only factor 0.66 instead of 0.5 for the 5000pro! Vignetting should be less an issue on a 0.66 even if had the same 37mm diameter.

Andreas Winkler · August 26th, 2004, 07:14 PM

My measuring showed that the Raynox HD5000Pro has an actual lens diameter of approximately 30mm on the back.
The GS400 also has a glas diameter of approximately 30mm, instead of 43mm for the filter ring.
So maybe I should try to get a thinner adapter ring from 37 to 43mm for my Raynox and test for vignetting again. The original included plastic one seems a little big to me.

Allan Rejoso · August 26th, 2004, 07:45 PM

The Pro6600 is a lot bigger and heavier than the 5500 Andreas. It doesn't come in 37mm thread. It comes in 3 thread sizes (43, 52 and 58mm).

August 20th, 2004, 09:43 AM	#21
Andreas Winkler Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kaohsiung, Taiwan Posts: 125	correction... I have to make a small correction regarding vignetting: when I use the Raynox HD5000pro and Kenko 62mm polarizer together there appears a little vignetting in photo mode.

August 20th, 2004, 10:16 AM	#22
Andreas Winkler Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kaohsiung, Taiwan Posts: 125	correction number 2... <<<-- Originally posted by Rokta Bija : How's the barrel distortion with the Raynox on the GS400? -->>> Hm, there is some barrel distortion when you zoom full out. But not too bad IMHO. When I took the test grabs and photos earlier I zoomed in a bit, so there was almost no barrel distortion visible.

August 19th, 2004, 09:05 PM	#16
Andreas Winkler Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kaohsiung, Taiwan Posts: 125	I'm also using a Raynox HD-5000PRO WA with my GS400. There is no vignetting at all. Furthermore I bought a 62mm Kenko circular polarizer which fits on the front of the WA. No vignetting again. To use the polarizer without the WA I got three adaptor rings. I know it's a bit stupid to use three rings, but the guy in the shop explained it's the easiest and cheapest way (43-52-58-62mm). After testing this setup for vignetting again, I decided to go with it as no black corners appeared. Prices for the parts were as follows: WA 2900NT$ (85US$), polarizer 750NT$ (22US$) and the three adaptor rings together 350NT$ (10US$). I feel the additional weight of 110g for the WA is no big deal to handle, maybe even more balanced if you put a big battery pack on the other end of the cam. ...just to let anyone know who considers to order the same parts online maybe...

August 19th, 2004, 10:30 PM	#17
Allan Rejoso Major Player Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Tokyo, Japan Posts: 569	Wow Andreas, you seem to get all the BEST deals in Taiwan for items made in Japan. Do you pay any sales taxes there? BTW, what do you use to protect your 5000Pro (ordinary MC protector or MC UV or the Kenko Hoya thin filter?)

August 19th, 2004, 10:41 PM	#18
Andreas Winkler Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kaohsiung, Taiwan Posts: 125	Allan, I think I just use the Kenko polarizer as protection. Maybe I check for a UV filter later or maybe a ND filter. Sales tax... hmm, good question... I think I read somewhere that the rate is 5 percent here, but not sure. It's never mentioned on the products.

August 20th, 2004, 01:33 AM	#19
Rokta Bija Regular Crew Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 61	How's the barrel distortion with the Raynox on the GS400?

August 20th, 2004, 09:11 AM	#20
Andreas Winkler Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kaohsiung, Taiwan Posts: 125	Rokta, there is an amazingly low amount of barrel distortion. I tried to take some sample frame grabs and photo shots in different modes. But they are far from perfect, as I have no tripod yet and the lighting conditions were not good. I also found the grabs using the wide conversion lens are not very clear, maybe due to further light reduction by the lens or problems with the auto focus ...or just the lens isn't really that good!? I'll try to do some better grabs later. Anyway, you may take a look... Video frame grabs without WA - normal wide screen pro cinema Video frame grabs withWA attached - normal wide screen pro cinema Photo - without WA Photo - with WA attached Btw. on the GS400's LCD the gray frame with the small white arrows was screen filling! So you can see from these grabs how much of the recorded image the LCD hides.

August 21st, 2004, 09:31 PM	#23
Rokta Bija Regular Crew Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 61	Andreas, The distortion doesn't look to bad but it does seem to have some focusing issues in the center vs. perimeter. Do you notice it much in normal shots?

August 22nd, 2004, 11:18 AM	#24
Andreas Winkler Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kaohsiung, Taiwan Posts: 125	Yes Rokta, you seem to be right. Near the perimeter the picture looks not so clear. I packed some video frames with different configurations, take a look and get your own opinion. You can also see the vignetting in different modes. Kaohsiung City - Cultural Center - file size is 11.8MB The pack contains 18 BMP images.

August 22nd, 2004, 02:13 PM	#25
Guy Bruner Major Player Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Ashford, AL Posts: 937	Andreas, Are you removing the GS400's hood before mounting the Raynox?

August 22nd, 2004, 07:13 PM	#26
Andreas Winkler Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kaohsiung, Taiwan Posts: 125	<<<-- Originally posted by Guy Bruner : Andreas, Are you removing the GS400's hood before mounting the Raynox? -->>> Yes Guy, I removed it. I use the original 37-43mm adaptor delivered with the Raynox directly attached to the GS400. I was surprised to see so much vignetting, especially with Raynox and polarizer attached together. Should have done some more testing in the shop under better lighting conditions! :( But anyway, the LCD hides some parts of the picture.

August 22nd, 2004, 07:59 PM	#27
Allan Rejoso Major Player Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Tokyo, Japan Posts: 569	"But anyway, the LCD hides some parts of the picture." Andreas, are you referring to both Video and Still Mode? (under Still mode, vignetting can occur even though you don't see it on LCD :-( - but personally, I never use Still mode :-)). Please try this. Attach a 62-72 adapter ring on your Raynox and try a 72mm filter. If that doesn't work, try to go up the next size. Otherwise, don't attach anything on your Raynox. I think the biggest weakness of that Raynos is that it's native size is too small/narrow compared to the diameter of the GS400 glass (that's why I'm wondering if I should have gotten the 52mm or 58mm 6600 PRO instead.). If it's any consolation, Pany has a disclaimer as regards vignetting even with its own line of lens converters (consumer line)

August 22nd, 2004, 11:11 PM	#28
Andreas Winkler Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kaohsiung, Taiwan Posts: 125	Allan, I mean the LCD panel does not display the full picture area that will be recorded, in both modes: still and video! Regarding the glass size... yes, the GS400's filter diameter is 43mm, but the actual glas diameter is much smaller! I have to measure this later at home, but I think it's even smaller than the 37mm of the Raynox HD5000pro. Hm, the Raynox might actually also be even smaller than 37mm though. OK, when I find some time I'll bother the guy in the cam shop again to let me test a 72mm filter! ;) But as you can see from the sample frame grabs above, vignetting is even there in WIDE and ProCinema modes without the filter attached, only WA. The 6600pro should be also worth a test, but it's only factor 0.66 instead of 0.5 for the 5000pro! Vignetting should be less an issue on a 0.66 even if had the same 37mm diameter.

August 26th, 2004, 07:14 PM	#29
Andreas Winkler Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kaohsiung, Taiwan Posts: 125	My measuring showed that the Raynox HD5000Pro has an actual lens diameter of approximately 30mm on the back. The GS400 also has a glas diameter of approximately 30mm, instead of 43mm for the filter ring. So maybe I should try to get a thinner adapter ring from 37 to 43mm for my Raynox and test for vignetting again. The original included plastic one seems a little big to me.

August 26th, 2004, 07:45 PM	#30
Allan Rejoso Major Player Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Tokyo, Japan Posts: 569	The Pro6600 is a lot bigger and heavier than the 5500 Andreas. It doesn't come in 37mm thread. It comes in 3 thread sizes (43, 52 and 58mm).