How many Wide Adapters is too many?

[Kevin McRoberts]

From the official "messing around with stuff I already have" files:

I think I cobbled together my very own convertible ~0.5x/0.3x wide adapter. Maybe. And quality on it isn't great. And overall it's probably more expensive than a purpose-made 0.3x fisheye adapter. BUT, I already had parts laying around and a little time, so...

I'd been intermittently using a yard-sale-find Chinese 0.5x wide adapter on a few of my lenses, notably the 20/1.7, just to get an actual 20mm-wide angle shot from time to time, and for wide interior shots - usually always where top quality wasn't a concern. The adapter is 52mm camera-side, and 62mm filter-side.

Now, I also have an HVX, for which I have 16x9s excellent 82mm screw-in 0.6x wide angle adapter. I also had a 72-82 step ring, on which I had stripped the 72mm threads some time ago.

And of course, plenty of black electrical tape. So...

Simply using step rings to screw the 0.6 adapter to the 0.5 adapter would have resulted in some heavy vignetting. Luckily, the back side of the 0.6 is significantly concave, and very wide and deep. The front side of the 0.5 can thus sit inside it some distance and eliminate any vignette.

The 0.6 isn't zoom-through, and as such is only useable with my <30mm lenses, which is fine, because why on earth would I use it with a longer lens?

So here's what I wasted my time with. Good enough for skateboarding, if I knew anybody that skateboarded.

[Jeff Harper]

Kevin, you have too much time on your hands! Fun post, thanks for sharinig!