PDX10 accessories

Vladimir Koifman · June 15th, 2003, 01:52 AM

Boyd, thanks for the info.
On their site Century explicitly recommends these 0.5x convertors for TRV950, even now.
Either they are intentionaly misleading the customers or I don't understand something.
I'd like to see at least one more confirmation from Century users.

Bryant Wang · September 5th, 2003, 04:06 PM

I too wanted to cry after screwing on the century DS-05CV-37 0.5x converter ($170) to my pdx10. I even tested it against my sony 0.6X Wide Angle Lens?VCL-0630S ($80). I put both lenses on my sony pc101 and noticed the much cheaper sony lens was obviously clearer. I emailed century and got this:

"The .5x was good for the single chip lower res camcorders but with the introduction of the PDX10 we found very quickly that the performance of the .5x was not good enough for this camera. You will be much happier with the .65x."

He is refering to the replacement 0.65x "high rez " lens (DS-HR65-37 around $200) and also says:

"For the PDX-10, we recommend the DS-HR65-37. This unit is made specifically for this camera because of the higher resolution output of this camera."

I'm gonna go to BH to test this lens against the higher end sony 0.6x which is cheaper. As of now century isn't impressing me although the construction of the lens itself was a work of art, plus it was very compact, too bad is sucked.

Viethai Nguyen · September 8th, 2003, 10:20 AM

I found this site add with all kind of acessories for pdx10. Not advertising for them but I am wondering if any one using an 15hr-hour Lithinium batterie as it said? I did not found this battery when purchasing this camera less than 6months ago.

Ralph Oshiro · September 9th, 2003, 12:01 AM

I recently called Century Precision Optics because I also was interested in what lens accessories were available for the PDX10. The sales engineer told me that they did indeed have complaints about the DS-05CV-37, and that those complaints resulted in their new, higher quality 0.65x converter (full zoom-through), the DS-HR65-37. They said it was designed specifically for the PDX10. If I decide to get the PDX10, the DS-HR65-37 would be my choice for the wide. For the tele end, I spotted the Sony VCL-HG2037X 37mm "high-grade" 2x telephoto converter on B+H's site for $134.

My largest complaint about the (expensive!) 0.65x Century adapter I bought for my VX2000 is the extreme barrel distortion. I rarely use it. Bryant, I would love to hear your comments of the amount of barrel distortion you observe in the DS-HR65-37 when you see it at B+H mounted on the PDX10!

Boyd Ostroff · September 9th, 2003, 05:51 AM

I got a relatively cheap .45x converter from "digital optics" and have been very happy with it. I like the extreme wide angle effect and the barrel distortion doesn't really bother me.

I also recently got the VCL-HG2037X - that's a good price, I paid more at my local camera store. It's really nice. I've found that the 24x digital zoom actually produces an acceptable image as well, and when you combine this with the telephoto adaptor you can get some pretty impressive results. I am able to clearly see craters on the moon - its disk completely fills the 16:9 frame vertically. Was playing with it at the shore and could see ships on the horizon that were only specs to the naked eye.

However at first I thought it wasn't working; the infinity focus setting on the camera is blurred. You need to manually focus and it's fine. Autofocus works under some situations, but manual gives better results.

It does not have filter threads, however I've been using ND filters under it without problem.

September 5th, 2003, 04:06 PM	#17
Bryant Wang New Boot Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: new york Posts: 8	century DS-05CV-37 0.5x converter I too wanted to cry after screwing on the century DS-05CV-37 0.5x converter ($170) to my pdx10. I even tested it against my sony 0.6X Wide Angle Lens?VCL-0630S ($80). I put both lenses on my sony pc101 and noticed the much cheaper sony lens was obviously clearer. I emailed century and got this: "The .5x was good for the single chip lower res camcorders but with the introduction of the PDX10 we found very quickly that the performance of the .5x was not good enough for this camera. You will be much happier with the .65x." He is refering to the replacement 0.65x "high rez " lens (DS-HR65-37 around $200) and also says: "For the PDX-10, we recommend the DS-HR65-37. This unit is made specifically for this camera because of the higher resolution output of this camera." I'm gonna go to BH to test this lens against the higher end sony 0.6x which is cheaper. As of now century isn't impressing me although the construction of the lens itself was a work of art, plus it was very compact, too bad is sucked.

September 9th, 2003, 12:01 AM	#19
Ralph Oshiro DSR450 Shooter Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Los Angeles, CA USA Posts: 14	I recently called Century Precision Optics because I also was interested in what lens accessories were available for the PDX10. The sales engineer told me that they did indeed have complaints about the DS-05CV-37, and that those complaints resulted in their new, higher quality 0.65x converter (full zoom-through), the DS-HR65-37. They said it was designed specifically for the PDX10. If I decide to get the PDX10, the DS-HR65-37 would be my choice for the wide. For the tele end, I spotted the Sony VCL-HG2037X 37mm "high-grade" 2x telephoto converter on B+H's site for $134. My largest complaint about the (expensive!) 0.65x Century adapter I bought for my VX2000 is the extreme barrel distortion. I rarely use it. Bryant, I would love to hear your comments of the amount of barrel distortion you observe in the DS-HR65-37 when you see it at B+H mounted on the PDX10! __________________ . RALPH OSHIRO, DP/CAMERA OPERATOR 24FRAMEFILMS.COM PERSONAL FILMMAKING CAMERA: SONY DSR450 2/3" 16:9 24P DVCAM WET CAMERA: SONY HC1000 16:9 w/IKELITE HOUSING STUNT CAMERA: PANASONIC DVX100 CAMERA USED AT WORK: SONY BVW600 GET DIRT CHEAP TERANEX XANTUS SD-HDCAM UP-REZ SERVICE AT:REZFACTOR.COM

June 15th, 2003, 01:52 AM	#16
Vladimir Koifman Regular Crew Join Date: May 2003 Location: Israel Posts: 115	Boyd, thanks for the info. On their site Century explicitly recommends these 0.5x convertors for TRV950, even now. Either they are intentionaly misleading the customers or I don't understand something. I'd like to see at least one more confirmation from Century users.

September 8th, 2003, 10:20 AM	#18
Viethai Nguyen New Boot Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 19	I found this site add with all kind of acessories for pdx10. Not advertising for them but I am wondering if any one using an 15hr-hour Lithinium batterie as it said? I did not found this battery when purchasing this camera less than 6months ago.

September 9th, 2003, 05:51 AM	#20
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,802	I got a relatively cheap .45x converter from "digital optics" and have been very happy with it. I like the extreme wide angle effect and the barrel distortion doesn't really bother me. I also recently got the VCL-HG2037X - that's a good price, I paid more at my local camera store. It's really nice. I've found that the 24x digital zoom actually produces an acceptable image as well, and when you combine this with the telephoto adaptor you can get some pretty impressive results. I am able to clearly see craters on the moon - its disk completely fills the 16:9 frame vertically. Was playing with it at the shore and could see ships on the horizon that were only specs to the naked eye. However at first I thought it wasn't working; the infinity focus setting on the camera is blurred. You need to manually focus and it's fine. Autofocus works under some situations, but manual gives better results. It does not have filter threads, however I've been using ND filters under it without problem.